- Average, every test counted once
- $66.83
- BAR's published average
- $69.66
- Index (2020 = 100)
- 129.8
- Tests that month
- 897,082
How has the price of a smog check changed?
The average rose from $49.74 in January 2019 to $66.83 in September 2026. The largest move came in August and September 2023, when it went from $56.27 to $61.60 in two months. BAR’s reports don’t give a reason.
| Year | Average, every test counted once |
|---|---|
| 2026 (9 months) | $65.96 |
| 2025 | $64.58 |
| 2024 | $63.01 |
| 2023 | $58.09 |
| 2022 | $54.42 |
| 2021 | $52.24 |
| 2020 | $51.49 |
| 2019 | $50.60 |
Why is this lower than BAR's published average?
Since September 2023, BAR’s overall average has matched the plain mean of its two test averages, in all 37 reports to date. Before that it matched the average weighted by test count, in all 56 reports we read. Only 6.3% of tests in September 2026 used the costlier tailpipe test, so the plain mean reads $2.83 higher. We worked this out from the published tables; BAR has not confirmed it to us.
| Test | Tests | BAR average |
|---|---|---|
| On-board computer (OIS), mostly 2000-and-newer | 840,399 | $66.42 |
| Tailpipe (BAR-97), mostly 1999-and-older | 56,683 | $72.90 |
| Plain mean of the two, which BAR publishes | 897,082 | $69.66 |
| Every test counted once, which we use | 897,082 | $66.83 |
Have smog checks gone up faster than inflation?
About in line with it. From September 2019 to September 2026 the average smog check rose 33.7% and US consumer prices rose 31.2% (BLS CPI-U, all items). BAR’s published figure rose 39.3% over the same months, which overstates the change because the way it is calculated changed partway through.
What does a smog check cost at each type of station?
In September 2026, non-STAR test-only stations averaged the least, $53.19, and non-STAR test-and-repair stations the most, $77.30. Each figure counts every test at that kind of station once, so they differ from the station lines in BAR’s table.
| Station | September 2026 | January 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| STAR test-only | $59.19 | $48.90 | 21% |
| Non-STAR test-only | $53.19 | $43.29 | 22.9% |
| STAR test-and-repair | $65.79 | $49.10 | 34% |
| Non-STAR test-and-repair | $77.30 | $54.52 | 41.8% |
What do smog check coupons cost by county?
Coupon prices run well below the average: the median was $39.75 across 111 stations on October 30, 2026. This is a different measure. It covers only stations that publish a coupon on SmogCheckDeals, some of which pay us for marketing, so it is not a sample of every station. We save one copy a month and don’t change it afterward.
| County | Median coupon price | Lowest | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin County | $31.75 | $29.75 | 5 |
| Orange County | $36.75 | $26.75 | 24 |
| Los Angeles County | $39.75 | $19.75 | 26 |
| San Diego County | $39.75 | $21.75 | 17 |
| San Bernardino County | $39.75 | $26.75 | 11 |
| Riverside County | $40.85 | $31.75 | 16 |
Counties with fewer than 5 stations publishing a price are left out. The current figures are on smog check prices.
What was the average smog check price each month?
Every month we have, newest first, each linked to BAR’s report. Failure rate is the share of initial tests that failed.
| Report | Every test counted once | Index (2020 = 100) | BAR published | Failure rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | $66.83 | 129.8 | $69.66 | 8.23% |
| August 2026 | $65.90 | 128.0 | $69.16 | 8.26% |
| July 2026 | $66.67 | 129.5 | $69.54 | 8.13% |
| June 2026 | $66.20 | 128.6 | $69.14 | 8.18% |
| May 2026 | $65.69 | 127.6 | $68.84 | 8.16% |
| April 2026 | $65.88 | 127.9 | $68.70 | 8.4% |
| March 2026 | $65.69 | 127.6 | $68.56 | 8.53% |
| February 2026 | $65.38 | 127.0 | $68.26 | 8.52% |
| January 2026 | $65.43 | 127.1 | $68.24 | 8.35% |
| December 2025 | $65.61 | 127.4 | $68.18 | 8.2% |
| November 2025 | $64.99 | 126.2 | $67.87 | 8.31% |
| October 2025 | $65.29 | 126.8 | $67.88 | 8.42% |
| September 2025 | $65.01 | 126.3 | $67.63 | 8.43% |
| August 2025 | $64.93 | 126.1 | $67.44 | 8.45% |
| July 2025 | $64.48 | 125.2 | $67.19 | 8.35% |
| June 2025 | $64.71 | 125.7 | $67.15 | 8.39% |
| May 2025 | $64.85 | 125.9 | $67.04 | 8.42% |
| April 2025 | $64.33 | 124.9 | $66.74 | 8.71% |
| March 2025 | $63.99 | 124.3 | $66.54 | 8.85% |
| February 2025 | $63.53 | 123.4 | $66.09 | 8.77% |
| January 2025 | $63.50 | 123.3 | $65.97 | 8.72% |
| December 2024 | $63.46 | 123.2 | $65.79 | 8.42% |
| November 2024 | $63.78 | 123.9 | $65.71 | 8.58% |
| October 2024 | $63.19 | 122.7 | $65.49 | 8.66% |
| September 2024 | $62.90 | 122.2 | $65.21 | 8.63% |
| August 2024 | $63.89 | 124.1 | $65.70 | 8.56% |
| July 2024 | $63.23 | 122.8 | $65.19 | 8.46% |
| June 2024 | $62.73 | 121.8 | $64.70 | 8.48% |
| May 2024 | $63.42 | 123.2 | $65.08 | 8.54% |
| April 2024 | $62.33 | 121.0 | $64.45 | 8.78% |
| March 2024 | $63.17 | 122.7 | $64.67 | 8.77% |
| February 2024 | $61.96 | 120.3 | $64.04 | 8.74% |
| January 2024 | $62.07 | 120.5 | $63.75 | 8.5% |
| December 2023 | $61.74 | 119.9 | $63.46 | 8.55% |
| November 2023 | $61.93 | 120.3 | $63.41 | 8.74% |
| October 2023 | $61.44 | 119.3 | $63.18 | 8.94% |
| September 2023 | $61.60 | 119.6 | $63.18 | 8.78% |
| August 2023 | $59.92 | 116.4 | $59.92 | 8.68% |
| July 2023 | $56.27 | 109.3 | $56.26 | 8.71% |
| June 2023 | $56.30 | 109.3 | $56.29 | 8.62% |
| May 2023 | $56.03 | 108.8 | $56.03 | 8.74% |
| April 2023 | $55.64 | 108.1 | $55.64 | 9.11% |
| March 2023 | $56.49 | 109.7 | $56.50 | 8.99% |
| February 2023 | $55.74 | 108.2 | $55.74 | 8.93% |
| January 2023 | $55.10 | 107.0 | $55.10 | 8.74% |
| December 2022 | $56.03 | 108.8 | $56.02 | 8.73% |
| November 2022 | $55.32 | 107.4 | $55.32 | 8.9% |
| October 2022 | $55.37 | 107.5 | $55.38 | 9.02% |
| September 2022 | $54.79 | 106.4 | $54.79 | 8.91% |
| August 2022 | $54.89 | 106.6 | $54.89 | 8.84% |
| July 2022 | $54.08 | 105.0 | $54.08 | 8.67% |
| June 2022 | $54.08 | 105.0 | $54.08 | 8.76% |
| May 2022 | $54.63 | 106.1 | $54.64 | 8.93% |
| April 2022 | $54.52 | 105.9 | $54.52 | 9.18% |
| March 2022 | $53.15 | 103.2 | $53.15 | 9.11% |
| February 2022 | $53.45 | 103.8 | $53.45 | 9.2% |
| January 2022 | $53.23 | 103.4 | $53.24 | 9.13% |
| December 2021 | $53.29 | 103.5 | $53.29 | 8.84% |
| November 2021 | $53.12 | 103.2 | $53.12 | 9.25% |
| October 2021 | $52.22 | 101.4 | $52.22 | 9.48% |
| September 2021 | $52.48 | 101.9 | $52.48 | 9.33% |
| August 2021 | $53.32 | 103.6 | $53.32 | 9.31% |
| July 2021 | $52.93 | 102.8 | $52.93 | 9.21% |
| June 2021 | $52.62 | 102.2 | $52.62 | 9.26% |
| May 2021 | $51.58 | 100.2 | $51.59 | 9.5% |
| April 2021 | $51.94 | 100.9 | $51.94 | 9.96% |
| March 2021 | $51.18 | 99.4 | $51.17 | 10.01% |
| February 2021 | $51.42 | 99.9 | $51.42 | 9.79% |
| January 2021 | $51.07 | 99.2 | $51.07 | 9.97% |
| December 2020 | $51.65 | 100.3 | $51.65 | 9.64% |
| November 2020 | $51.68 | 100.4 | $51.68 | 10% |
| October 2020 | $51.16 | 99.4 | $51.16 | 10.12% |
| September 2020 | $50.99 | 99.0 | $50.98 | 10.08% |
| August 2020 | $52.50 | 102.0 | $52.50 | 10.1% |
| July 2020 | $51.03 | 99.1 | $51.03 | 10.14% |
| June 2020 | $52.13 | 101.2 | $52.12 | 10.08% |
| May 2020 | $51.92 | 100.8 | $51.92 | 10.2% |
| April 2020 | $50.54 | 98.2 | $50.54 | 10.28% |
| March 2020 | $51.80 | 100.6 | $51.80 | 10.3% |
| February 2020 | $50.62 | 98.3 | $50.62 | 10.28% |
| January 2020 | $51.56 | 100.1 | $51.56 | 9.89% |
| December 2019 | $51.35 | 99.7 | $51.36 | 9.78% |
| November 2019 | $51.59 | 100.2 | $51.59 | 10.03% |
| October 2019 | $51.46 | 99.9 | $51.46 | 10.25% |
| September 2019 | $50.00 | 97.1 | $50.00 | 10.18% |
| August 2019 | $50.90 | 98.9 | $50.90 | 10.07% |
| July 2019 | $52.02 | 101.0 | $52.02 | 9.91% |
| June 2019 | $49.89 | 96.9 | $49.88 | 9.79% |
| May 2019 | $50.24 | 97.6 | $50.24 | 9.97% |
| April 2019 | $49.93 | 97.0 | $49.93 | 10.31% |
| March 2019 | $50.28 | 97.6 | $50.27 | 10.62% |
| February 2019 | $50.19 | 97.5 | $50.19 | 10.24% |
| January 2019 | $49.74 | 96.6 | $49.74 | 10.17% |
How we compiled these numbers
- Source. The table “Inspection Costs by Station and Test Type” in each monthly BAR Smog Check Executive Summary. BAR’s reports before January 2019 are not on its site.
- Calculation. (tailpipe average × tailpipe tests + on-board computer average × on-board computer tests) ÷ all tests. 2020 is 100, using that year’s tests as weights.
- What BAR warns about. Inspectors enter their prices once a month. BAR says they “may or may not include any discounts and may not reflect the actual inspection cost”, and tailpipe entries above $99 can’t be entered. Read these as reported prices, not receipts.
- The certificate. The station must charge an $8.25 certificate on a pass. BAR lists it as a separate charge and doesn’t say whether every inspector’s entry leaves it out. Repairs aren’t included, and BAR gives no county figures.
- Who we are. SmogCheckDeals is a California smog check directory, and some stations pay us for marketing. The statewide figures use only BAR’s data, so they are unaffected by that.
Download the data: every month (CSV) and coupon prices by county (CSV). Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite as “SmogCheckDeals California smog check price index, from Bureau of Automotive Repair reports, September 2026” with a link to this page.