New vehicle exemption

Nevada stretched this exemption a few years ago, and the DMV now leads its emissions page with it: new vehicles are exempt from testing until their fourth registration. Because Nevada registrations run a full year, that usually means three years without a test. Here are the details that decide when your first one arrives.

At a glance

• First three registrations: exempt. Fourth registration: test (Nevada DMV).
• Registrations are for a full year, so this is usually three years.
• Hybrids have a longer exemption: five model years.
• Diesels up to 14,000 lb GVWR follow the same fourth-registration rule.

What counts as new

The exemption is for new motor vehicles, which the state's emissions law ties to a vehicle that has never been registered before. A car you buy off a dealer's new-car lot starts its count at its first registration. It does not restart when the car is sold: a three-year-old car bought used is past its third registration and tests at its next renewal.

Counting to four

The DMV counts registrations, and the DMV says you must register a vehicle for a full year, with no partial registrations. So for most cars the first, second and third registrations cover the first three years on the road, and the renewal notice for the fourth registration says a smog check is required.

Your renewal notice is the authority. If it says a test is required, the DMV has counted to four.

Hybrids and EVs

Hybrids have their own exemption, five model years, tested in the sixth, which usually outlasts the three-registration rule. Electric vehicles are exempt altogether.

Diesels

The DMV's diesel page applies the same rule: new vehicles on their first three registrations are exempt, and a test is required at the fourth registration, for diesels with a GVWR of 14,000 pounds or less based in a testing area.

Your first test

A car in its fourth year is usually the easiest test there is: a 1996 or newer light-duty vehicle gets the plug-in OBD test, and a well-kept late-model car with the check engine light off is normally ready. Drive into either Reno location with no appointment, and renew right after; the pass reaches the DMV electronically and is good for 90 days.

One thing to watch: if a dealer or shop replaced the battery or cleared codes recently, give the car a week of normal driving before the test.