How to Fill Out and Submit the Nevada EC-008 Smog Exemption Form

The Nevada EC-008 smog exemption form lets you renew a Clark or Washoe County vehicle registration without a Nevada emission inspection when the vehicle is temporarily located somewhere that doesn’t require one. You fill out the two-sided application, sign it under penalty of perjury in front of a notary, and mail or fax it to the DMV in Carson City with your registration renewal.¹

When the EC-008 Is the Right Form

The EC-008 is built for one situation: your vehicle is registered at an address inside the Clark or Washoe testing area, but the vehicle itself is temporarily elsewhere. The form recognizes two versions of that scenario.¹ The first is a vehicle being used and maintained in a Nevada county or area outside the testing boundaries. The second is a vehicle being used and maintained in another state, or part of a state, that has no emission inspection program.

Military members stationed outside Nevada are the most common filers. The DMV directs service members who can’t get a Nevada smog check to submit the EC-008 when their current location doesn’t require emission testing. If you’re stationed somewhere that does require testing, you can submit a passing smog check from that jurisdiction instead.² College students, seasonal residents, and snowbirds with a vehicle parked out of state face the same choice.

One boundary worth flagging. The EC-008 is not for vehicles that are physically in the testing area but can’t pass. If your car needs repairs before it can pass inspection, the DMV recommends letting the registration expire, pulling a movement permit to drive it to a shop or testing station, and then renewing in person with an Affidavit of Non-Operation to avoid late fees.³

How to Fill Out the Form

Download the EC-008 as a PDF from the Nevada DMV website. The front page explains the rules and penalties; the actual application is on the back.¹ Have your registration card or renewal notice next to you before you start. Details like the VIN are easy to mistype from memory, and a single transposed digit can bounce the application.

Owner and Vehicle Information

The top section asks for your name, Nevada driver’s license number, registered address (city, county, state, and ZIP), and a phone number. Below that, enter a separate mailing address for your registration documents if you need the paperwork sent to where you actually are rather than to the registered address.

For the vehicle, fill in the license plate number, VIN, year, make, model, and color. Check the VIN against your registration card character by character.

Vehicle Location and Reason

The form asks you to explain why the vehicle isn’t at the registered address and to give the physical address where it is currently located, used, stored, or garaged, including city, county, state, and ZIP. This is the evidence for your exemption, and the address you list has to be in an area that doesn’t require emission testing — rural Nevada or an out-of-state location with no smog program.

Two declarations on the form match the two qualifying scenarios. One states the vehicle is in a Nevada area that doesn’t require inspection. The other states it’s in another state or county without an inspection program. Pick the one that fits.

Signature and Notarization

You sign under penalty of perjury, affirming that everything on both sides of the form is true. The signed form must then be notarized, either by a notary public or by an authorized Nevada DMV representative.¹ If you’re out of state, any notary public where you are can handle it. Banks, UPS stores, and shipping centers commonly offer notary services for a small fee.

No smog technician signature is required on the EC-008. If you happen to be in a state that does require emission testing and you get a local smog check anyway, that passing result is submitted separately rather than attached to this form.

Where to Submit It

Mail the completed, notarized EC-008 together with your registration renewal to:

Department of Motor Vehicles
Customer Service Division – Back Office
Registration Renewal by Mail
PO Box 6900
Carson City, NV 89702-6900¹

The DMV also accepts fax submissions for registration renewals at (775) 684-4797.⁴ If you’re out of state and the renewal deadline is close, faxing the notarized form can save days over postal mail. Keep the fax confirmation.

You cannot renew online when a smog check is required and you don’t have one. The online system will block the renewal, and the EC-008 by mail or fax is the way around that.³

After the DMV Approves the Exemption

Once the DMV processes your EC-008, the smog-check hold on your registration clears and your renewal goes through for the current cycle. Your registration documents are mailed to the address you listed on the form.

The exemption is temporary. When the vehicle returns to your county of residence in the testing area, you have 30 days to get a Nevada emission inspection and submit the results to the DMV. The 30-day clock starts the day the vehicle comes back.¹ Miss that window and the DMV can issue an administrative citation under NRS 482.545 or cancel your registration under NRS 482.461.

Nevada has no grace period for expired registration, so send the EC-008 well before your renewal deadline. If registration lapses because the form arrived too late, the online system will add late fees automatically, and those fees can’t be refunded.³

Penalties for False Statements

Because you sign under penalty of perjury, submitting false information on the EC-008 — such as claiming the vehicle is out of state when it’s actually parked in your Las Vegas driveway — is a gross misdemeanor. The consequences can include criminal prosecution, cancellation of the vehicle’s registration, and an administrative fine of up to $2,500 under NRS 482.565.¹

If a cancelled registration triggers an insurance lapse, separate penalties apply. Reinstatement fees for an insurance lapse run from $250 to $750, with additional fines from $250 to $1,000 depending on how long the lapse lasted and whether there are prior violations.⁵ A fraudulent exemption that leads to cancellation can get expensive fast.

1
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. EC-008 Nevada Emission Control Exemption Application
2
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada DMV Information for Military Members
3
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration Renewal
4
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Emission Control Program
5
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Registration Insurance Reinstatement Guide