Texas Got Rid of Most Mandatory Vehicle Inspections – Should Louisiana Do the Same?

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPEL News) - Texas lawmakers have gotten rid of one burden on car owners, and folks in Louisiana wonder if we should do the same.

Currently, drivers have to pay a $7.50 inspection fee, get their car inspected, and do it all over again the following year - much like we do in Louisiana (except we also have a 2-year inspection option). However, the new law would eliminate the inspection and just charge drivers an annual $7.50 fee.

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“Vehicle inspections are costly, time-consuming, and provide little benefit to public safety,” Republican state Sen. Mayes Middleton said in defense of Texas House Bill 3297. “[This bill] saves hardworking Texans tens of millions of hours of their time, not taken away any more from their family or work.”

So, as of 2025, Texas drivers across most of the state no longer have to do this.

READ MORE: Texas Ends Vehicle Safety Inspections – Most Of Them Anyway

Texas law enforcement agencies and the Texas State Inspection Association spoke out against the bill, but it passed anyway.

However, not all Texans are free of fees. There is a different kind of inspection, called an"emissions test" that vehicles need to undergo in several areas - particularly larger urban ones.

In addition to El Paso County, Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson counties all still need inspections, aka

What About Louisiana?

Louisiana law, meanwhile, still requires inspections annual (or once every two years) inspections. There was an attempt in 2019 to eliminate inspection stickers, however, it was actually found unconstitutional.

"I'm disappointed because it's the most popular bill I've ever carried," said Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, in 2019 after he authored House Bill 546. Like Texas, his bill would have eliminated the inspection and inspection stickers, but have drivers pay $20 annually, which would have been used to fund more state troopers.

However, the Louisiana Constitution sets a limit on the money for registration renewals. That $20 fee would have exceeded that limit.

Still, the idea is popular among drivers, who don't want to go get an inspection after driving around for 2-5 months with an expired sticker they haven't paid attention to until they were pulled over.