New to Nevada: your first smog check

Print this checklist

1. Switch your insurance

   The DMV requires liability insurance from a Nevada-licensed carrier, in the exact names that will be on the registration and title.

2. Get the smog check

   Drive into either Reno location. The result goes to the DMV electronically and stays valid for 90 days.

3. Get the VIN inspection

   A vehicle that has never been registered or titled in Nevada needs the Vehicle Inspection Certificate, form VP 015.

4. Gather the title or registration

   The DMV lists your out-of-state title or registration among the documents it needs.

5. Note the odometer

   Have the current reading; the DMV asks for it.

6. Register

   In person, or through the DMV's Rapid Registration if you qualify; new residents who have not swapped their out-of-state license yet register in person.

Moving to Reno comes with a list, and the car is on it. Nevada's registration rules and its emissions rules meet at the first registration: the DMV lists the Nevada Emissions Vehicle Inspection Report among the documents for registering a vehicle, when the vehicle needs one. Here is how the pieces fit together for someone arriving from another state.

At a glance

• New residents get a Nevada driver license and registration within 30 days (Nevada DMV).
• A vehicle based in the Washoe County testing area needs a Nevada smog check report to register, unless it is exempt.
• Out-of-state insurance is not accepted: you need a Nevada-licensed insurer before you register.
• A vehicle never titled in Nevada also needs a Vehicle Inspection Certificate (form VP 015).

The 30-day clock

The DMV's residency rules say new residents must obtain a Nevada driver license and vehicle registration within 30 days. Nevada counts you as a resident when your legal residence is here, when you live here and work here, or when you claim residency to get a privilege nonresidents do not get.

Some people who live here part of the time still have to register: the DMV says a vehicle operated in Nevada for more than 30 days in a calendar year, or a household that enrolls children in a Nevada public school, triggers registration. Active-duty military members and out-of-state students are among the exceptions.

Does your car need the test?

If the car will be based in Reno, Sparks, Washoe Valley or anywhere else in the Washoe testing area, and it is a gasoline vehicle from 1968 on or a diesel up to 14,000 pounds GVWR, plan on a test. The usual exemptions apply: a new vehicle in its first three registrations, a hybrid in its first five model years, electric vehicles, motorcycles and 1967 and older vehicles.

A car that passed a smog check in another state still needs a Nevada test. The result has to be in the Nevada DMV's system.

Why test first

The DMV lists the emissions report with the other registration documents, so having the pass on file before your DMV visit saves a second trip. Because Nevada stations send results to the DMV in real time, there is nothing to carry for the smog part; the DMV already has it.

If the car does not pass, you learn it before you stand in line, and you have time to repair and retest while the 30-day window is still open.

Cars from states without testing

Many cars arrive from places that never tested them. That is fine: the Nevada test looks at the car as it is today. On a 1996 or newer vehicle the OBD test reads the engine computer, and the most common surprise is a check engine light that has been on for a while. A lit light is an automatic fail in Nevada, so if yours is on, read our check engine light page before you come in.