Did New Hampshire end vehicle inspections? Not yet

Drivers still need to follow the operating inspection program

New Hampshire's 2025 budget law repealed the state statutes behind annual safety inspections and onboard-diagnostic emissions checks, with the repeal scheduled for January 31, 2026. But before that date, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction directing the state to continue the inspection and maintenance program that remains in New Hampshire's federally approved Clean Air Act plan.

The New Hampshire Departments of Safety and Justice then told the public that the inspection program would continue after January 31. The temporary April 10 extension described in that January guidance applied to vehicles whose inspections expired before March 2026; it should not be treated as an ongoing exemption for later expiration dates. Until official guidance or a later court or EPA action changes the situation, owners should use the current DMV requirements and obtain an inspection when due.

EPA has proposed two connected actions—not finalized them

On August 11, EPA proposed to grant New Hampshire's petition to leave the Ozone Transport Region. In a separate but connected proposal, EPA proposed to conditionally approve the state's request to remove its motor-vehicle inspection and maintenance program from the State Implementation Plan. EPA is accepting comments on both actions through September 25, 2026.

The legal sequence matters. Repealing state statutes did not by itself erase a federally approved air-plan requirement. EPA must complete its rulemaking, and the court order remains relevant while that process and any litigation continue. A proposal describes what EPA may do after considering the record; it does not itself terminate inspections on publication.

• Enacted state law: the legislature repealed the state inspection statutes effective January 31, 2026.
• Court action: a January 27 preliminary injunction kept the approved inspection program operating.
• EPA action: two August proposals are open for comment through September 25, 2026.
• Not yet established: a final federal approval and a confirmed date when drivers may stop obtaining inspections.

Why EPA calls the approval conditional

EPA's inspection-program proposal would require New Hampshire to submit an additional plan revision placing the inspection program on a list of possible contingency measures for the state's 1997 ozone maintenance plan. The state committed to make that submission within one year after a conditional approval.

If the state failed to meet that commitment, EPA says the conditional approval would automatically convert to a disapproval after one year. If the state submits the promised revision, EPA would still need to act on it. That conditional structure is another reason not to compress the current record into the claim that emissions testing has already ended.

What New Hampshire owners should check

Check the New Hampshire DMV inspection page for the requirement attached to your current expiration date, and keep the inspection receipt and repair records. A valid sticker or a shop's ability to perform a test does not settle the broader federal litigation, but it does document that the owner followed the program operating at the time.

Owners should also separate mandatory inspection from prudent maintenance. Even if the program is later removed, brakes, tires, steering, lights, emissions equipment, and other safety systems still need attention, and other state and federal rules can continue to prohibit operating an unsafe or unlawfully modified vehicle.

How to participate in the federal process

EPA scheduled a virtual public hearing on the Ozone Transport Region proposal for August 26, 2026. Written comments on the inspection-program proposal belong in docket EPA-R01-OAR-2026-2147; comments on the Ozone Transport Region petition belong in docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-2179. EPA's project page links both dockets and the hearing information.

A comment period is an opportunity to supply evidence or legal and policy arguments. It is not a vote, and filing a comment does not suspend a driver's current inspection obligation.