Vehicle Safety Inspection Requirements in Ohio

Driving is a freedom that allows you to get from one place to another relatively easily and on your own time. While it might seem like there are only pros of being able to drive in Ohio and having your own car, there are other costs for maintenance that you’ll always have to consider. One of those costs is the requirement for having safety inspections regularly in our state.

If you didn’t realize that you needed regular inspections, you should look into these laws so that you can keep your car up to date and as safe as possible. You might think these regulations are just to cost you more money, they’re actually to keep you safe. By having regular inspections, you can ensure that your car is running smoothly for you and can keep you protected in an accident.

Ohio Car Inspection Laws

According to state requirements, Ohio drivers are not required to have their vehicles pass a safety inspection every year like other states require. Just because they’re not required, though, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep up on the safety of your vehicle. In order to keep yourself and your passengers as safe as possible, you should get inspections regularly.

Even though they’re not required, if you get pulled over and an officer suspects that your car is unsafe, they can enforce that you need to get it inspected for safety. For example, if you get into a car crash that causes damages and don’t get it fixed but still drive the car around, a cop might force you to get an inspection. Otherwise, your receipt for inspection never expires. This means that once your car passes inspection, it likely won’t need to get inspected ever again unless you are required to by police officers.

When your car is inspected, though, you might need to go through an E-Check that evaluates your vehicle’s emissions and whether or not they fall within the requirements. In Cincinnati, since it’s in Hamilton County, you don’t need to go through emissions inspections. But if you lived in the Cleveland or Akron area, you might be subject to getting an E-Check from the EPA.

Even though your car doesn’t need to be inspected again after that initial inspection, you still need to maintain its registration. The expiration date for your registration will be listed in your paperwork, and according to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), you must renew your registration 90 days before the expiration date.

Documents to Bring for Your Vehicle Inspection

When you go to get your vehicle inspected, there are documents that you’ll need to bring along. In order to avoid rescheduling or anything more complicated, you should know the documents that you need for your inspection. In 2020, over 44,000 people got their vehicles inspected in Ohio.

Here are the documents you’ll need so that you can easily become one of the people getting their vehicle inspected this year:

• The original vehicle inspection receipt from the Ohio BMV if you have it
• Your driver’s license if you’re driving the car, otherwise a state I.D. or passport
• Title of the car
• Original receipts for any car parts that were replaced
• The donor vehicle’s VIN if that’s where parts were from

Having all of this information can help this process go smoothly and ensure that your car is inspected as quickly as possible. This will allow you to go on with your day and not have to stress about whether or not your car is safe to drive on the roads. When your vehicle is unsafe, it could lead to collisions that cause injuries and other damages.

Our Cincinnati Car Accident Lawyer Is Here for You

When your vehicle isn’t safe, it could lead to you getting into an accident. Similarly, if another driver on the road is driving an unsafe car, they could crash into you and cause you injuries and damages, which you shouldn’t have to worry about. When the accident wasn’t your fault, you shouldn’t be responsible for all the costs you incur from the collision.

That’s where our Cincinnati car accident lawyer comes into play. At Bey & Associates, we’re dedicated to getting justice for our clients who have been harmed by someone else’s negligence behind the wheel. Reach out to our office today so that we can schedule a free consultation.