Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
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Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
I'm on the western side intersection towards katy. Waller seems to be abit more west than I wanted to live... i didnt want to drive that far to work. Dont know what I am gonna do
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Inspection will be determined on where the car is registered, not just by where you go to. Or all the city hot rods would simply get their inspections out of town.
My first year, I had to sign a waiver that I had moved to the correct county & wasn't simply bypassing inspection laws
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
So your saying I can keep it registered in PA and get it inspected down here in Texas, per PA regulations? Doesnt make sense to me that they could do that.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Orr89RocZ
So your saying I can keep it registered in PA and get it inspected down here in Texas, per PA regulations? Doesnt make sense to me that they could do that.
You could get away with that the first year (I'm away on business.) MAYBE the second year. But by the 3rd year, they'd get skeptical.
I had a friend moved here from Michigan going through that. Worked the first year, but that was it.
He used my address, because I'm in a non-emissions county, outside of the Austin area.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
where are you going to be working at?
if i recall, Waller county is just a little bit west of Katy.
Katy is about 20 miles or so west of I-10 and the beltway.
so depending how far into Houston you need to drive, the commute may not be too bad.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
ANyone register their car in another state? Can i keep my car registered to my dad's home address since the car is actually in his name since i got it in highschool and just drive it around? Would i need inspections then?
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Orr89RocZ
ANyone register their car in another state? Can i keep my car registered to my dad's home address since the car is actually in his name since i got it in highschool and just drive it around? Would i need inspections then?
As long as it is registered in his name, no problem keeping it registered there too. But not sure what they would do about inspections, since technically, it would need to be inspected in the state it is registered in.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Out of state vehicles in Texas......
Non-Texas residents currently visiting/traveling in Texas
First things first. Understand that vehicle registration and inspection are separate processes. In Texas, the Department of Transportation oversees the vehicle titling and registration process and the Department of Public Safety supervises the inspection program. Generally, states honor the laws of other states, and there are even reciprocal agreements, where this state honors other states laws as their own.
* What should I do if my out-of-state inspection sticker expires while I'm in Texas?
You may obtain an inspection sticker by presenting your vehicle for inspection at a local inspection station.
Remember: Your vehicle does not have to be registered in Texas in order to be inspected; you do, however, have to show proof of financial responsibility.
o Texas has both a safety inspection program and an emissions (I/M) program. Counties participating in the emissions (I/M) program include: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, El Paso, Travis, and Williamson counties.
o If you present your vehicle for inspection in one of the emissions counties it will receive a safety & emissions test.
* My home state requires that I have an emissions test to renew my registration. Where can I obtain an emissions test in Texas?
Counties participating in the emissions (I/M) program include: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, El Paso, Travis, and Williamson.
o If you require an emissions test, the only places to get an emissions inspection are in one of the emissions counties.
o You will need to show proof of financial responsibility.
* Military Personnel where installation is in an emissions county:
If your military installation is located in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, El Paso, Travis, or Williamson county, your vehicle is subject to the I/M program testing guidelines.
Background: The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) enacted new regulatory requirements for motor vehicles operating in ozone and carbon monoxide non-attainment areas. In the CAA, Congress imposed additional requirements on the Federal government to assure that government and Federal employee vehicles operated on Federal facilities located within a state motor vehicle I/M program area shall be tested, regardless of whether the vehicles are registered in the state or local I/M area. The program applies to government owned/leased vehicles ((CAA Section 118(c)) and employee owned/leased vehicles (CAA Section 118(d)) operated on federal facilities more than 60 days per year, regardless of the state where the vehicle is registered. Military tactical vehicles are exempt.
§ 3.72. Acceptance of Out-of-state Vehicle Inspection Certificates
(a) Texas-registered vehicles: acceptance of inspection certificates issued outside the State of Texas. A valid certificate of inspection issued in the District of Columbia or in another state of the United States having an inspection law similar to that of the State of Texas is acceptable on a Texas-registered vehicle provided the inspection certificate was obtained while the owner or operator of the vehicle was residing in the other jurisdiction and the vehicle was regularly assigned, garaged, or stationed outside of the State of Texas. This acceptance does not extend to owners and operators who have resided continuously in Texas. Except: New vehicles which are purchased in a state having an inspection law similar to that of the State of Texas which were inspected and issued an inspection certificate before registration are acceptable in Texas until the expiration date of the certificate.
(b) Out-of-state registered vehicles. Vehicles required to be registered in Texas will be required to be inspected at an official vehicle inspection station and obtain a vehicle identification certificate, Form VI-30-A, before the registration process can be completed. Valid out-of-state safety inspection certificates will not be honored on vehicles required to be registered.
(c) Time allowed to acquire inspection certificate. The Department of Public Safety extends the time within which a certificate of inspection shall be obtained by a resident owner or operator of a Texas-registered vehicle, when the vehicle has no valid inspection certificate. The extension will be granted only on the first occasion of operation in this state during an inspection year and only until the resident owner or operator of the vehicle has arrived at his home, station, or destination in this state and for three days thereafter.
(d) Texas-registered vehicles with out-of-state inspection certificates. Texas-registered vehicles may operate in Texas on a valid inspection certificate from the District of Columbia or any of the following states provided the certificate was obtained while the owner of the vehicle resided in the other jurisdiction: Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
It sounds like a station can inspect your car, according to YOUR STATES requirements, not ours. You'd still get a TX sticker, but only have to pass your states requirements.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
it may sound like that, but a Texas state safety inspector must do the same inspection on all vehicles for that class of vehicle.
an example, we have a placard on the wall that lists all emissions counties and says all vehicles registered in those counties must receive an emissions inspection. by the wording, you would think that a vehicle registered in any non-emissions county would only need a safety only inspection.
but our state rep has said that any vehicle that falls under emissions testing by model year and goes thru any state inspection shop in an emissions county must be emissions tested. that includes any vehicle from another state.
the guy i work with just got his inspection license suspended for doing safety only inspections on 3 cars that were not registered in an emissions county.
some of the inspection laws are strange.
like the drivers seat does not need to be bolted down or you can even have an actual bucket for a seat.
the vehicle can not be failed for either of those. but, the inspector can refuse to drive the car because he feels its unsafe. no test drive, no inspection.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DENN_SHAH
it may sound like that, but a Texas state safety inspector must do the same inspection on all vehicles for that class of vehicle.
an example, we have a placard on the wall that lists all emissions counties and says all vehicles registered in those counties must receive an emissions inspection. by the wording, you would think that a vehicle registered in any non-emissions county would only need a safety only inspection.
but our state rep has said that any vehicle that falls under emissions testing by model year and goes thru any state inspection shop in an emissions county must be emissions tested. that includes any vehicle from another state.
the guy i work with just got his inspection license suspended for doing safety only inspections on 3 cars that were not registered in an emissions county.
some of the inspection laws are strange.
like the drivers seat does not need to be bolted down or you can even have an actual bucket for a seat.
the vehicle can not be failed for either of those. but, the inspector can refuse to drive the car because he feels its unsafe. no test drive, no inspection.
But my point was for out of state vehicles NOT registered in Texas, just temporarily in Texas, such as vehicles belonging to military personnel stationed away from their home state. They can't be required to drive their vehicle back to their home state, just to get it inspected, but they also cannot just be can a waiver of NO inspection, while they ar4e her in Texas.
As for the emissions county inspections.....
That doesn't surprise me a bit. People in emissions counties commonly try to get a sticker by going to a non-emissions county to get an inspection, but they can't do that. They must be inspected, where the vehicle is registered...in Texas.
My wife (5 yrs ago) was the one all the inspectors hated....The Supervisor down at DPS headquarters, in charge of the department that was over all the stations in Texas. I always heard about which stations were getting "stinged, which ones were getting shut down, licenses suspended etc.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
well we'll see what happens...i'll probly cam only swap the LS1 TA i have to keep it emissions legal and still have some power to keep me somewhat happy. The twin turbo car i'm thinking will stay in PA for now... Not sure what the hell i'm gonna do with that car. It sucks to be in this position
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Orr89RocZ
The twin turbo car i'm thinking will stay in PA for now... Not sure what the hell i'm gonna do with that car. It sucks to be in this position
I'll let you keep it (and the keys) at my house. They won't even blink at the car.
I'm in a small town, in a non-emissions county & they don't even bother popping my hood out here, at inspection time. Ah.....The joys of small town living!
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
I work in the city man, so i cant get around it haha. My home town here in PA dont open the hood cuz we got this gift of no emissions if under 5000 miles a year
Austin is abit far for me but I'd store the car there if it was free
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Orr89RocZ
I work in the city man, so i cant get around it haha. My home town here in PA dont open the hood cuz we got this gift of no emissions if under 5000 miles a year
Austin is abit far for me but I'd store the car there if it was free
I've got a 3/4 acre privacy fenced lot...PLENTY of room. And I never said anything about a storage fee....Just the keys.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by one92rs
how do you tell if they are non emissions
Easy.
As it says on the page in my link...."Emissions counties currently include: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Brazoria, Ft Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, El Paso, Travis and Williamson counties."
If you are not in one of those counties, it is safety inspection only. In the future, other counties could get included, but those 17 counties are the only emissions counties. Basically, around the cities of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, El Paso. I'm 2 counties away from Austin & just barely in the non-emissions testing counties. 5 miles east & I would hafta get tested.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen
Easy.
As it says on the page in my link...."Emissions counties currently include: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Brazoria, Ft Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, El Paso, Travis and Williamson counties."
If you are not in one of those counties, it is safety inspection only. In the future, other counties could get included, but those 17 counties are the only emissions counties. Basically, around the cities of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, El Paso. I'm 2 counties away from Austin & just barely in the non-emissions testing counties. 5 miles east & I would hafta get tested.
okay so what if you are in these 17 counties and your car is older than 25 years? do we still need the emissions test?
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by antsZRS
okay so what if you are in these 17 counties and your car is older than 25 years? do we still need the emissions test?
thanx!
Which vehicles are required to have the emissions test?
* Vehicles registered in designated counties. Designated counties include: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson and El Paso counties.
* Gasoline powered vehicles. Diesel powered vehicles and motorcycles are exempt from emissions testing, but are still required to have the annual safety inspection.
* Vehicles 2 through 24 years old OR upon expiration of the two-year initial inspection sticker.
Obviously after the 24 yr mark...No more testing required.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Also, once you reach the 25 year mark, you can register it as an antique. At that point you don't even need a safety inspection and the registration is good for 5 years.
__________________ If it breaks, make it stronger.
If it doesn't, try harder.
First (Official) Antique 3rd-Gen. 27 years and counting!
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by esc
Also, once you reach the 25 year mark, you can register it as an antique. At that point you don't even need a safety inspection and the registration is good for 5 years.
But you are also very limited on your driving.
In Texas, "Antique plates are issued for passenger cars, trucks, or motorcycles that are at least 25 years old and are a collector’s item. The vehicle must be used exclusively for exhibitions, club activities, parades, or other functions of public interest and not used for regular transportation. The vehicle may not carry advertising."
You can't get up one morning & just decide "It's a nice sunny day, I'm taking my (insert antique car here) to work today."
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
It is true that an antique registration would not be appropriate for a daily driver. But the rules about when/where it can be driven allow for a lot of leeway.
Club activities? So any time you are driving to, from or around anything related to a club you are OK. I keep a stack of fliers for a local club in my console and often go on "Membership Drives", looking for others who might be interested in joining the club.
Also "functions of public interest" is a very broad term.
Finally, one you did not mention, to or from any place where routine maintenance will be performed. One component of routine maintenance is taking the car for a drive so that the various components will not seize up.
The criteria are so broad that the reality of it is, in my experience, as long as you are not seen driving it up and down the same street at the same time of day every day (commuting) no one will ever question you about your destination. The only likely exception is if you are pulled over for doing something stupid, the officer might ask you where you are going, so you should always have a destination in mind which meets one of the VERY broad criteria.
__________________ If it breaks, make it stronger.
If it doesn't, try harder.
First (Official) Antique 3rd-Gen. 27 years and counting!
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
For Texas.....
"Antiques & Classic Registered Vehicles
Vehicles registered as "Antiques" are exempted from the annual inspection. To see the restrictions on the use of antiques or to obtain more information on how to register your vehicle as an "Antique", see the TxDOT website.
Vehicles registered as "Classic" are required to have the annual safety inspection. These types of vehicles are inspected like any passenger vehicle. Certain items of inspection, however, may or may not be required to be inspected, depending on the age of the car. (For example, seatbelts and anchorages are only required if the vehicle was originally manufactured with them.)"
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
From what i'm told they just do OBDII plug and scan test for codes. No actual emissions out the pipe test for 96+ cars. So if i keep cats and emissions stuff on the car but have a cam swap and a tune, it should read no codes and pass but who knows what will come out the tail pipes
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
I have lived here in Lubbock County for about 10 months now and I still have my Florida Tags on it(no inspection in FL). I was gonna switch it over to Texas but when I went to get it inspected, my exhaust wouldn't pass. So I just decided to leave my florida registration. Now, I don't know about near Houston, but around here, we have little rinky dink shops that pass everybody. Ever see the cars driving on the road and wonder how the heck they passed inspection???? Forgot to mention that we don't have emissions testing here, They only do a visual cat check(which I didnt have...LOL).
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Kudo's to Stephen for quite accurately posting all the in's & outs
of Texas registration/inspection. I think it would be a good idea
to summarize/sticky it myself.
That said, my suggestion is renew your PA inspection before you make
the final transition. Then you have one whole year. As annoying as
Tx. inspection might be, (& I will argue that it is more about revenue
enhancement, than air quality... ), it's still once/year, but your
commute is 5 times/week. And it's really not that hard to pass.
Bite the bullet, pay a shop like Denn-Shahs for some analysis,
and then do what is necessary to get it into compliance.
(For the couple of occasions I've needed them, they're stand-up guys.)
And as neil points out, stickers CAN be bought, but not cheap.
Good luck & welcome to TX.
Get used to hearing "Ain't from 'round here, er ya..."
PS;
"Terrible Towels" can be hazardous to your health.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by l_dis_travlr
Kudo's to Stephen for quite accurately posting all the in's & outs of Texas registration/inspection. I think it would be a good idea
to summarize/sticky it myself.
Thanks. My wife was the head "bad guy" at DPS. The Supervisor of the section of DPS that regulated the Inspection Stations. She'd always come home with a story about a station getting a sting run on them. If a station was suspected of just selling the stickers or passing illegal cars anyeways, they'd get an undercover cop to take in a KNOWN failure car, to see if it would pass.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
Dont think i'm gonna bring the car. I"m too worried about it for a few reasons.
One is inspection, ok maybe keep the PA tags for awhile and enjoy the car here adn there but the other is maintenance...
I will be living in an apartment complex and even tho i may have a small garage I will not be working on the car outside. I dont trust the area, security is non existant and not going to take a chance. This car requires maintenance constantly and i'm still working out bugs that i just dont want to deal with down there.
Second is that the car runs stupid hot and its coooold outside here. Once temps reach over 65-70 degrees i dont think this car will stay cool. Thats my major 'bug' i need to work out. I think more fans will help but hard to say, these turbos heat up the block alot. Heat is ridiculous.
Re: Nearest county to Houston that doesnt have emissions?
the only thing you have to do is show proof of residency in waller county.
i.e. ups store, fedex store ect..
any where a mail box can be rented.
you can have your insurance, Registration and one or two bills go to this box to show residency.
if you don't want to go to waller county, austin county is right there as well.
14psi, street tune 
They won't even blink at the car.
), it's still once/year, but your
