The DMV requires that a vehicle's seller provide to the buyer a valid smog certificate at the time of purchase. With this method, the vehicle is smog checked in the county which it was registered in before the sale. The problem arises when a vehicle is bought without a smog certificate and relocated to a county which has different smog check requirements; such as a vehicle being bought in an Enhanced Smog Check area and being registered in a Basic Smog Check Area. The DMV will require a smog check from an enhanced smog check area prior to completing the title transfer to the buyers name. You may pay the DMV the fees due for the purchase however these monies will only be reported as Report of Deposit of Fees. The complete registration will be pending. Please verify this information for most recent changes by calling the DMV at (800) 777-0133.
