Virginia Emissions Decal (transfer, DMV, inspector)

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

After three painful visits to the DMV, I thought that I was all done. Then, as I was walking through my parking structure, it donned on me that I didn't have a Virginia emissions decal - the girl at the DMV did not give one to me. Do these come in the mail, or did she just forget? Thanks!

[oneasterisk]

Emissions is tied with your license plate. You should get those in the mail with new plates or with the registration. They should have given you temp stickers though...

[ChristineVA]

You don't get an emissions decal.

You get a state inspection sticker. You will also get a printout showing you passed emissions. You should keep that in the car/glovebox. Once you pass your emissions you can then get your new registration decals (the little squares that go on your license plate). That's all you need.

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

Then what are those yellow stickers that people have affixed to their front windows? State Inspection, right? When I went to the DMV, they accepted my SMOG test from California as sufficent evidence of the state inspection for a one-year period, but didn't give me any other sticker beyond the April 2011 stickers to put on my licence plate. So am I good to go, or am I still missing something?

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by RyanZ

Then what are those yellow stickers that people have affixed to their front windows? State Inspection, right? When I went to the DMV, they accepted my SMOG test from California as sufficent evidence of the state inspection for a one-year period, but didn't give me any other sticker beyond the April 2011 stickers to put on my licence plate. So am I good to go, or am I still missing something?

You are good to go. The sticker you got was for state. Your emissions information has been entered into the "system."

[car54]

There are TWO State inspections...Safety and Emissions. The Safety inspection is the yellow sticker on the windshield, which can only be affixed by the Inspector. The Safety inspection is done annaully. The police enforce the Safety inspection...they look for that yellow sticker. No grace period on the Safety...if you have VA plates and no sticker, you can get a ticket.

As mentioned, the Emissions is tied to the license plates, there is no separate sticker for the Emissions. The Emissions is good for 2 years....you can't register or renew your plates without it (except they do have a one month registration if you don't have it).

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

Originally Posted by car54

There are TWO State inspections...Safety and Emissions. The Safety inspection is the yellow sticker on the windshield, which can only be affixed by the Inspector. The Safety inspection is done annaully. The police enforce the Safety inspection...they look for that yellow sticker. No grace period on the Safety...if you have VA plates and no sticker, you can get a ticket.

As mentioned, the Emissions is tied to the license plates, there is no separate sticker for the Emissions. The Emissions is good for 2 years....you can't register or renew your plates without it (except they do have a one month registration if you don't have it).

So do I need to get an inspection? I was issued licence plates, a drivers licence, and waived of the emissions test because I was coming from California. However, I did not get the car inspected, and was never asked if I did by the DMV. Can I assume that I need to have the car inspected at this time in order to get the proper yellow decal?

[nwc07]

I thought you had to show the safety inspection in order to get VA plates? I would get the safety inspection done. Its only about $15 and can be done quickly. The police routinely look for the sticker on your windshield.

[bornindc]

Originally Posted by RyanZ

So do I need to get an inspection? I was issued licence plates, a drivers licence, and waived of the emissions test because I was coming from California. However, I did not get the car inspected, and was never asked if I did by the DMV. Can I assume that I need to have the car inspected at this time in order to get the proper yellow decal?

You'll need to get an inspection. The police can cite you for driving a Virginia-licensed vehicle without an inspection sticker. The tags can be issued without it I think, the dates of your tags and the inspection sticker dates are often different (you can transfer your tags in Virginia to another vehicle for example which may be on a different inspection schedule). Here's some more information from the DMV:

Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

Thank you so much for letting me know about this! I've been to the DMV 3 times since I got here and not once was I asked if I had the safety inspection done, let alone if I had proof of it.