nahh MA inspection I call a pyramid scheme. I lived in CA and even there did not have a yearly inspection. MA inspections supposed to "help" the local places to make some money afterwards to try to fix the inspection issues. Needless to say today cars except for basic stuff are beyond local inspection facilities to correct issues especially emissions related for ICE vehicles.
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State Inspection in MA
- Thread starter bostonkid
- Start date
correct. if you do not get an inspection sticker and keep driving around without it you can be stopped and issued a citation and I believe it is a moving violation i also believe sticking to your record for 5-7 years. For a mere $35. I am sorry I will pay the $35See Section 4.03.
(1) General Provisions. Every owner or person in control of a Massachusetts registered motorvehicle shall submit the vehicle for inspection under 540 CMR 4.03(1)(a) through (i)a) Inspection Upon Registration. Every owner or person in control of a motor vehiclewhich is newly acquired in the Commonwealth shall submit such motor vehicle for arequired inspection within seven days of the date on which the motor vehicle is registeredto said owner in the Commonwealth.
Farmer
Member
I think it's a moving violation *and* they can deem the car undrivable and insist on it being towed rather than driven away, though I am not sure that in practice they actually do that. Expired stickers (if only by a month or so,) they are more lenient, but if they see *no* sticker, well, that speaks to a higher contempt of the law and I wouldn't care to try to defend that in a roadside conversation with an officer.
Chewy13
https://ts.la/nick670348
I vividly recall the day that I registered the very first car I ever purchased, a 1965 Mercedes Benz 190D (Diesel sedan). I was then a naval officer stationed in DC and living in Arlington Virginia. The car was 2 years old and had a windshield crack, and I had made an appointment for it to be replaced once I had the car. Anyway, I understood that I had a certain number of days to get the car inspected (which meant replacing the windshield first) after I registered it. The very first evening I had the car with its new VA plates, I was running some errand in Arlington not far from my apartment when an Arlington cop pulled me over for lack of an inspection sticker. My excitement of having my first car was immediately dimmed by my encounter with the long arm of the law! I do not recall some of the details (it was about 50 years ago!), but I do recall that after than I always tried to keep my inspections up to date, especially in Virginia!
Back in the mid-90's I was living in MA and let my inspection lapse. I had planned to get it done at lunch on the first of the month after it expired (ie, 1 day over). That morning I got pulled over on the way to work for the out of date sticker. The cop explained it was a 2 point moving violation but gave me a written warning, which would have been my "get out of jail free" card if I got pulled over again that morning.
I took it to a shop at lunch that I didn't normally use (near work). They put the cup of a floor jack right on the unibody seam weld and left two bends in it!!!
I took it to a shop at lunch that I didn't normally use (near work). They put the cup of a floor jack right on the unibody seam weld and left two bends in it!!!
I have always wondered how often people get pulled over for inspection sticker violations. My cynical view has been that the police around here (at least in suburban Boston) do not usually pull over people for that but that is entirely my speculation. My spouse has a life-long habit of trying to squeeze an extra month out of her inspection sticker, and almost never gets them renewed on time. She has not been caught yet!
On the other hand, I remember a time many years ago when my now late wife was coming home from a horse show with her Jeep and horse trailer on a hot summer day, with one or two kids in the car and at least one horse in the trailer, and got stopped for an outdated inspection sticker. Turned out that not only was the Jeep's sticker expired but so was the sticker for the trailer (and yes, they need to be inspected, as well!). The cop also took pity on her (what with the kids and all) and gave her a warning. That might have even been long enough ago that Mass. still had the separate police in the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and I suspect they were more attentive to things like inspection stickers because that was their specific scope.
So, I guess it is the luck of the draw -- and I personally try not to miss my renewal 9although i have been a day or two late once or twice).
On the other hand, I remember a time many years ago when my now late wife was coming home from a horse show with her Jeep and horse trailer on a hot summer day, with one or two kids in the car and at least one horse in the trailer, and got stopped for an outdated inspection sticker. Turned out that not only was the Jeep's sticker expired but so was the sticker for the trailer (and yes, they need to be inspected, as well!). The cop also took pity on her (what with the kids and all) and gave her a warning. That might have even been long enough ago that Mass. still had the separate police in the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and I suspect they were more attentive to things like inspection stickers because that was their specific scope.
So, I guess it is the luck of the draw -- and I personally try not to miss my renewal 9although i have been a day or two late once or twice).
I have a friend in MA who was a big believer in the "13 month inspection plan." I've been told that NH police won't pull you over for an expired inspection, but will ticket you if they stop you for another reason. I went almost a year and a half once, partially out of laziness, partially to "test the system."
Farmer
Member
MA now emails you a couple of months after your inspection sticker expires if they have your email on file (which they will if you do any transactions through the MVR website), because, ofc, now everything in your MA RoMV account is tied together as a family member discovered last month. Frankly, if they're going to do this, they might as well send out an email reminder at the beginning of the expiration month. So many people I know simply don't recall the status of their inspection sticker.
Why they don't do the same for license renewal reminders I have no idea. I happened to notice mine had expired a few days after-the-fact, as I was on the RMV site processing my registration renewal and referencing my license as part of authenticating on the site.
There's a gas station about two blocks from my home that does inspections, and I made a habit of getting 13 months out of them by going there the morning of the first day of the following month - figuring I was unlikely to get caught by a cop in those two blocks. The shops would just give the month sticker for the current month, so it was automatic. Kind of silly to make a conscious effort to squeeze 1/12 extra out of the $35 annual fee, but it felt like I was beating the system.
Once we forgot about our minivan's inspection for about five months, so got nearly an extra half year. But this year they changed the law - even if you go in six months late, you still get the sticker for the original month when inspection was due. So there is no longer any incentive or way to squeeze extra months.
terraform
21' Model Y
I don’t think they need to lift the car for an inspection. Unless I’m mistaken, they only lift if something needs to be repaired?
A thorough front end inspection requires lifting the front tires off the ground.
540 CMR 4.04 (6)(c): "The front end (each side) of all vehicles will be raised by jacking and visually examined. Vehicles equipped with ball joints will be raised and checked in accordance with the applicable manufacturer's specifications."
The only times I recall not having the car lifted (jacks or lift) was at sketchy shops that were known to be "easy passers"
they used a floor jack on mine.. (I have seen it a few times with cars I took for inspection)
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