Technically you don't need to take anything with you, though in rare cases
there have been smog station that charge an additional fee to input your
car's information into the smog machine manually. Normally you would take
the car's registration renewal notice or some document with a bar code which
contains your vehicles details on it. The smog technician scans the bar code
and the vehicle's information is entered into the smog machine
automatically; the smog check is then performed. In cases where no
documentation or paperwork is present, the smog technician must manually
enter the vehicle's information into the smog machine (this is why a very
few station charge extra for this - Personally I'd avoid these stations).
Vehicle's information meaning... Vehicle make, model, year, and VIN (vehicle
identification Number). So again, you really don't need any paperwork to get
a smog check. The smog technician will enter all the required information
into the smog check machine for you manually, and that information will be
sent to the DMV after the smog test is complete, regardless of whether the
car fails, passes or the test is aborted. Once the test has concluded the
smog station will give you a document of your vehicle smog check results
called the VIR, and this will be your record of the smog inspection.
posted by SmogTips Support
