No, Pennsylvania state vehicle inspections are not stopping in 2025 | VERIFY

PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Social media posts have recently circulated online, claiming Pennsylvania is ending annual vehicle inspections on January 1, 2025. 

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) most recent Vehicle Safety Inspection Program Effectiveness Study, vehicle safety inspections in the U.S. started in 1926. By 1929, Pennsylvania enacted laws requiring periodic inspections. 

Currently, all registered vehicles in Pennsylvania must be inspected either semiannually or annually, according to PennDOT. Noncommercial private vehicles are required to be inspected once a year. 

THE QUESTION

Is Pennsylvania getting rid of annual state vehicle inspections in 2025?

THE SOURCES

• Pennsylvania General Assembly
• Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
• Senator Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna and Luzerne)

THE ANSWER

No, Pennsylvania is not ending annual vehicle inspection requirements in 2025 or at all, as of now.

WHAT WE FOUND

There is currently no legislation in the Pennsylvania House or Senate which would end annual vehicle inspection requirements. There has also been no bill signed into law.

Pennsylvania Senator Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna and Luzerne) sent a co-sponsorship memorandum to lawmakers on August 29, 2023. This memo only shows a legislator's intent to introduce potential legislation. 

In it, Sen. Flynn said he planned to introduce legislation which would "modernize the vehicle inspection process in Pennsylvania, while saving vehicle owner’s money and increasing funds to the Motor License Fund."

Specifically, Sen. Flynn said the bill would make vehicle inspections a requirement only when one is sold or the title is transferred, rather than an annual requirement. It would save drivers the cost of annual inspection but would also institute a new $15 fee on the cost of drivers' annual vehicle registrations, which would generate at least an additional $120 million into the state's Motor License Fund. 

Sen. Flynn's bill would not affect vehicle emissions testing. This would still be required, on a per county basis, under current EPA guidelines.

FOX43 reached out to Sen. Flynn's office this week to discuss the memorandum. A spokesperson for the senator said any potential legislation would not be introduced this year.

Even if a bill were to be introduced eventually, it would have to pass through both chambers of the General Assembly then be signed by the governor in order to become law.

Last year, State Rep. Parke Wentling (R-Mercer) became the prime sponsor of House Resolution 172, which urges members of U.S. Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action and end regulations relating to vehicle emissions testing. A resolution is not binding law, but rather a way for lawmakers to express their sentiment on a particular issue.

PennDOT released this statement when we asked about inspections:

Pennsylvania still requires annual safety inspections, and there has not been any bill signed into law reducing or removing this requirement. Texas recently passed a law eliminating their state inspection requirement. Coverage of this Texas change is circulating widely, but it does not apply to PA. You can view PA’s state inspection process at www.dmv.pa.gov/VEHICLE-SERVICES/Inspection-Information/Pages/default.aspx.

Currently, less than 20 states still require annual vehicle inspections.

Starting on January 1, 2025, Texas will end annual inspection requirements for non-commercial vehicles, though depending on where the vehicle is registered, they may still need to pass emissions tests.