Braking news folks,
A Federal judge has ordered NH to continue the state’s vehicle inspection program.
That’s right, State Inspections are back.
For us here at Auto Care Plus, this has been a whirlwind of change.
How did we get to this point?
Let’s lay out the facts:
In March of 2025, New Hampshire lawmakers voted in House Bill 649. This bill eliminates mandatory annual vehicle safety and emissions inspections. This change was for passenger vehicles slated to begin after January 31, 2026.
In May, NH senate decided to postpone the advance of HB 649 until it’s attached to broader legislation.
In June, the repeal was added to the two-year state budget named House Bill 2. The house narrowly approved this budget leading to Governor Kelly Ayotte signing the bill into law.
In October, The NH DMV published guidance confirming the end of safety and emissions testing. Announcing that inspection stickers are still required until the end of January 2026.
In November, Equipment manufacturer Gordon Darby filed a federal lawsuit challenging the repeal. They argued the state must get U.S. EPA approval before eliminating vehicle emissions testing under the Clean Air Act. A hearing for a temporary injunction was set for January 2026.
Late January 2026, U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty grants the preliminary injunction. Preventing NH from ending the vehicle inspection program.
As of today, annual safety and emissions inspections remain required statewide. This will remain the case until either the court lifts the injunction or NH secures EPA approval for ending the program.
The public’s response to this change has been very mixed across NH.
Some residents welcome the change. Citing reasons like inspections being costly, inconvenient and not actually impacting safety.
Other residents including us at Auto Care Plus are against the change. Keeping unsafe vehicles off the road protects our community. We also find many inspections catch small issues before they become larger and more costly to repair.
Regardless of what side of the fence you are on, this saga has caused more confusion than anything else.
We here at Auto Care Plus will do our best to keep you in the loop. If we hear something important we promise to update you as soon as we can.
Here is the latest instruction from the DMV:
“due to the public’s reasonable expectation that the program was ending on January 31, 2026, the Department of Safety is extending the deadline to obtain a state inspection to April 10, 2026, for any vehicle with an inspection that expires prior to March 2026.“
State Inspections are back and we want to lessen the load. We are offering $25 off your NH State Inspection.
