NH vehicle inspections won’t be required starting in 2026

New Hampshire drivers will no longer need to get their vehicles inspected starting next year, after Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the new state budget into law Friday afternoon.

A provision of the budget that was tacked on will do away with vehicle inspections as of Jan. 31, 2026. Sources tell News 9 the repeal was an “absolute condition” for House Republicans to pass the budget during the negotiation process.

Emissions testing will also be repealed by the end of next September, although the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is allowed to get a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency that can remove it sooner. Sources tell News 9 the process to get that waiver approved is happening “quickly.”

As of now, all New Hampshire vehicles need a safety inspection. A new one is needed every year, costing up to $50 for each vehicle, and the required sticker is commonly seen on windshields.

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Officials with the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association see the decision to move away from the system as dangerous. They point to winter weather causing problems with cars that come into shops, and wonder what will happen with the quality of secondhand cars that are sold.

“We want these roads to be safe, and we take a lot of pride in that. By eliminating a safety inspection program, we’re throwing that all out the window,” said Jason LaCroix, chairman of the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association.

The House Republican Caucus sees it as a win for drivers. They said it gets rid of major costs for car owners, and drivers can still inspect their car if they want, without getting a big bill for mandatory repairs or getting a new car altogether.

“It’s a scam, really, because the data shows that forcing car inspections doesn’t actually lead to safety. It can lead to $1,000 bills that average people weren’t expecting,” Rep. Sam Farrington, R-Rochester, said.

The decision also calls into question what the change will mean for mechanics, and how businesses will be impacted.

Mechanic Brad Fournier, vice president at Ron’s Toy Shop in Manchester, was raised around cars. He started working with his dad at the business as far back as the early 1990s, getting his master’s from General Motors and Toyota for certified repairs.

“I don’t know much about life outside of cars, so it’s like my life is 100 percent based on cars,” he said, jokingly.

Part of the family business is safety inspections, which can only be issued by state-licensed inspectors or authorized dealers, such as Ron’s Toy Shop.

Fournier doesn’t see business changing in the long term, although he expects auto repair shops like his might see a short-term dip in inspection services.

For him, no matter if the vehicle is old or new, every one needs repairs, no matter what the law says.

“At any given time, things can happen,” he said. “One pothole, you could have a bad ball joint right then and there.”

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