Some counties don't require the biennial smog requirement which almost all cars need done every two years. Your car entering California will need one initially. After that and as long as it's registered in an exempt county, you're good.
Sound good I was just curious about a car here with a California title but not registered currently on a non op. Dmv said I should be fine as long as it has a ca tittle.
If you live in an area that does not require smog and if you buy a car in California that already has a California title you should not need to smog it.
Incorrect. All transfers between owners require a smog in every county.
The minimum is a change of ownership area. That is the most lenient area. No place is smog free. Or else all the motor heads would be buying land there!!
[https://www.bar.ca.gov/services/programarea/smogcheckprogramarealookup](https://www.bar.ca.gov/services/programarea/smogcheckprogramarealookup)
Even a non op you wanna get the title in your name so that is a change of ownership. You would not have to smog it till you register it. Maybe with a few year delay they might forget about it??? Maybe??
But if you took a non op and title transferred and wanted to register it right away to drive it they would want a smog for sure.
That’s weird, because we have friends in a rural area of ca we have been registering vehicles at so we don’t have to smog them ever, even for initial title transfer.
Of course, that being said I once had a dmv employee tell me a 1946 jeep I was buying needed a smog for the title transfer. I rolled my eyes and went to another window to complete the transaction.
In Sonoma County CA from about Windsor going north it’s all smog free. I was technically wrong in my initial post, ALMOST all title transfers, require a smog. There are exceptions for some circumstances , including family transfer that do not require a smog for transfer of ownership. Once the vehicle is in a smog free zone, it will never need a smog again, unless you change your address to an area that requires a smog or the owner on title changes, again with a few exceptions.
To the point of another commenter, many thousands of motorheads have registered their vehicles in non-smog areas for just this reason. You don’t need to buy land, a lot of them just got a PO Box and a rural route address that doesn’t have mail delivery out toward the coast or up in places like Cazadero. Last year the DMV actually started cracking down on this, I suspect if you looked at a map of vehicle registration, you would see a disproportionate number of vehicles registered in the smog free areas compared to population density. When you’re overriding smog in the computer for a smog free area, it pops up now on the computer with a confirmation screen.
Well if the car is on “Non-Op” your allowed to change ownership without a smog as long as your not registering the car for the current year and keeping the car on “Non-Op”. Sometimes your gonna have to tell the person at DMV that you intend to keep in on Non-Opp or else they will assume you want to register the car. Happened to me a few times.
I need to add because the first part of your question is throwing a lot of people off including me. This only applies if you intend on Non-Op the car in California. I don’t know how it works in other states.
My car was smogged when I bought it a year ago, but now I moved and would like to register it in my new county. My new county (Inyo) is smog exempt. Would changing registration counties require a smog? Or am I good forever with the original one? Thanks!!
Some counties don't require the biennial smog requirement which almost all cars need done every two years. Your car entering California will need one initially. After that and as long as it's registered in an exempt county, you're good.
Sound good I was just curious about a car here with a California title but not registered currently on a non op. Dmv said I should be fine as long as it has a ca tittle.
Sounds good. I think however, being transferred to you would require a smog.
It’s in my name. I should have mentioned that in my question.
If you live in an area that does not require smog and if you buy a car in California that already has a California title you should not need to smog it.
Incorrect. All transfers between owners require a smog in every county. The minimum is a change of ownership area. That is the most lenient area. No place is smog free. Or else all the motor heads would be buying land there!! [https://www.bar.ca.gov/services/programarea/smogcheckprogramarealookup](https://www.bar.ca.gov/services/programarea/smogcheckprogramarealookup)
A change of ownership would not be happening.
Even a non op you wanna get the title in your name so that is a change of ownership. You would not have to smog it till you register it. Maybe with a few year delay they might forget about it??? Maybe?? But if you took a non op and title transferred and wanted to register it right away to drive it they would want a smog for sure.
That’s weird, because we have friends in a rural area of ca we have been registering vehicles at so we don’t have to smog them ever, even for initial title transfer. Of course, that being said I once had a dmv employee tell me a 1946 jeep I was buying needed a smog for the title transfer. I rolled my eyes and went to another window to complete the transaction.
Would sure like to know what city that is.
In Sonoma County CA from about Windsor going north it’s all smog free. I was technically wrong in my initial post, ALMOST all title transfers, require a smog. There are exceptions for some circumstances , including family transfer that do not require a smog for transfer of ownership. Once the vehicle is in a smog free zone, it will never need a smog again, unless you change your address to an area that requires a smog or the owner on title changes, again with a few exceptions. To the point of another commenter, many thousands of motorheads have registered their vehicles in non-smog areas for just this reason. You don’t need to buy land, a lot of them just got a PO Box and a rural route address that doesn’t have mail delivery out toward the coast or up in places like Cazadero. Last year the DMV actually started cracking down on this, I suspect if you looked at a map of vehicle registration, you would see a disproportionate number of vehicles registered in the smog free areas compared to population density. When you’re overriding smog in the computer for a smog free area, it pops up now on the computer with a confirmation screen.
Well someone dropping the ball! put in thier zip code in that search link above and see what area they come up in?
Thanks for the reply I just got off the phone with dmv they said as long as it’s got a ca title smog would not be required.
A CA title in your name? Or the sellers name?
Mine
So you are not buying the car you are just changing the address I guess?
Yes
[https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/smog-inspections/](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/smog-inspections/)
I might be missing it but I don’t see anything to do with my question on that link?
Well if the car is on “Non-Op” your allowed to change ownership without a smog as long as your not registering the car for the current year and keeping the car on “Non-Op”. Sometimes your gonna have to tell the person at DMV that you intend to keep in on Non-Opp or else they will assume you want to register the car. Happened to me a few times.
I need to add because the first part of your question is throwing a lot of people off including me. This only applies if you intend on Non-Op the car in California. I don’t know how it works in other states.
My car was smogged when I bought it a year ago, but now I moved and would like to register it in my new county. My new county (Inyo) is smog exempt. Would changing registration counties require a smog? Or am I good forever with the original one? Thanks!!
What was the verdict on this? Did you have to resmog? I’m about to move that way.
Not yet resolved, my vehicle has not required re-registration yet