DC residents are required to have their vehicles inspected prior
to registration. New vehicles which have a Manufacturers Certificate
of Origin (i.e., title for a new vehicle) and which are not used
for commercial or for hire use are exempt from an initial inspection.
The vehicle's inspection must be periodically renewed.
The best times to visit the station are Tuesday, Wednesday
or Thursday afternoons from 3 pm - 6 pm. Customers are advised
that the days before and after a holiday and most Saturdays are
especially busy due to many customers being off from work.
General Advisories:
Items that will be inspected on the vehicles include: lights,
brakes, suspension, emissions, and other safety components.
Vehicles smoking excessively will not be inspected.
Please do not bring pets to the inspection station
Vehicle mileage at the inspection station is recorded to the
nearest thousand by rounding down. This is an industry standard.
Once an inspection sticker is removed from the windshield,
it will display "VOID". Since it is illegal to display a voided
sticker, if your windshield is replaced, please proceed to the
Inspection Station within 72 hours for an inspection sticker
replacement. A fee is
required for the sticker replacement.
Due to the implementation of the EPA mandated requirement to
perform IM240 inspections on vehicles 1995 and older, which require
a dynamometer test, your inspection will take longer than newer
vehicles.
As of September 19, 2005, this requirement was not being accomplished
due to new dynamometers being installed at the station; the new
equipment is now in place and in service as of July 30, 2007
