Emissions test before vehicle registration and title?

[Kaillus]

I got it all done on Thursday. I did the emissions and safety inspection at the same time at a Liberty gas station, then drove over to the DMV. I got my drivers license, title, and registration all done at the same time.

For Fairfax County, there is no locality sticker, you just have to register online.

Thanks for everyone's help!

[leighland]

Can anyone recommend a not too busy station to do the emissions and safety inspection? I live next to Falls Church, inside exit 50 off the Beltway so I figured the DMV near me is in Tysons Corner. We plan to do it on a Wednesday and I'll have the toddler in tow so patience will be short..
Thanks! Leighland

[Norman22030]

Originally Posted by car54

Virginia came by it's "strictness" the hard way.

During the '90s, a DMV Commissioner who believed in the basic "goodness" of people allowed applicants with NO identification to execute an "affidavit of identity" and get it notarized. And voila, they were issued a driver license or photo ID with no supporting documents.

Unfortunately (and predictably), the identity affidavits were abused. Most embarrassingly, all but a few of the the 9-11 hijackers boarded their planes that fateful day using phony Va IDs.

Hence, today's overkill at the DMV.


To the OP: You should get both inspections first and take the emissions receipt to DMV when you register your vehicle. They will register without the emissions, but only for one month. DMV will not ask for the safety inspection because it is a sticker on the windshield that the police look out for.

Also, some localities (like Fairfax Co) no longer require decals or stickers.

PS: I don't think they take a SS card as proof of legal presence, as someone said...I'd dig out the ole birth certificate if you don't have a passport.

The Virginia citizenship requirements are a joke even to this day. I had a driver license, voter ID card but no passport. My birth certificate was a certified copy BUT the Korean lady conferred with the Muslim in a Burka and the two told me in broken English that my paperwork to prove citizenship was inadequate. As for the 9-11 attackers - let's face it having an id was the least of the problems identified by the 9-11 commission. The larger problem was that officials were notified and the Bush administration ignored the warnings. Had airport security been tighter... look around Northern Virginia today and tell me all this documentation is working. It is just a nuisance to make the xenophobes happy