To get a Texas state inspector license, you must be at least 18, hold a valid driver license, be associated with a licensed inspection station, clear a DPS criminal background check, pass a written exam with a score of at least 80, pay a $25 application fee, and — if you’ll perform commercial or emissions inspections — pass the corresponding practical or emissions exam. Since January 1, 2025, when HB 3297 ended mandatory safety inspections for non-commercial vehicles, licensed inspectors work on two things: commercial vehicle safety inspections statewide and emissions inspections for vehicles registered in designated metropolitan counties.1Texas Department of Public Safety. Vehicle Safety Inspection Program Changes Now in Effect
Who Can Apply
The baseline eligibility rules are short. You must be at least 18, provide a valid driver license number, and not currently be suspended or revoked in the Texas vehicle inspection program.2Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.3 – New or Renewal Vehicle Inspector Application Inspectors do not operate independently, so you also need to be tied to a station that already holds a DPS-issued station certificate. Have the station number ready before you start the application.
Criminal History That Blocks a License
DPS reviews your record because inspectors handle owners’ personal information and produce official records. The disqualifying offense categories are theft, fraud, robbery, burglary, arson, bribery, perjury, and criminal homicide.3Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.5 – Vehicle Inspection Station and Vehicle Inspector Disqualifying Criminal Offenses
How long a conviction keeps you out depends on the classification:
- Felony convictions disqualify you for ten years from the date of conviction. If the felony was committed while working as an inspector or was made possible by holding the license, the disqualification is permanent.
- Class A misdemeanors disqualify for five years.
- Class B misdemeanors disqualify for two years.
- Sexually violent offenses are permanently disqualifying, regardless of classification.3Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.5 – Vehicle Inspection Station and Vehicle Inspector Disqualifying Criminal Offenses
If you’re inside a disqualification window, the rules let you submit evidence of rehabilitation, including employment history, character references, and completion of rehabilitation programs, to argue you’re fit to hold the license despite the conviction.3Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.5 – Vehicle Inspection Station and Vehicle Inspector Disqualifying Criminal Offenses
How to Apply
Applications go through the DPS Direct online portal. The old paper Form VI-40 has been retired.4Department of Public Safety. Inspector Qualifications and Training You’ll need your driver license information and the station number for the facility where you plan to work.
The application fee is $25 for both initial and renewal licenses, with a separate portal convenience fee. Military applicants can request a fee exemption by submitting supporting documents with the application.4Department of Public Safety. Inspector Qualifications and Training Once DPS accepts your application and clears the background check, you’re scheduled for testing.
The Written and Practical Exams
The written exam covers Texas Transportation Code Chapter 548 and DPS inspection regulations. You must score at least 80 to pass.2Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.3 – New or Renewal Vehicle Inspector Application The department provides training material to prepare for it.
For a commercial vehicle endorsement, a hands-on practical follows. A DPS program investigator meets you at your inspection station and watches you perform a commercial inspection, confirming that you can operate the testing equipment and identify defects correctly.4Department of Public Safety. Inspector Qualifications and Training Schedule both the written and practical exams through your local DPS Vehicle Inspection Office.
The Emissions Endorsement
Inspectors working in emissions-required counties need a separate emissions endorsement on top of the base license. Emissions testing is required for vehicles registered in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Travis and Williamson counties around Austin, and El Paso County, with Bexar County joining on November 1, 2026.5Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Vehicle Emissions Inspections in Texas
The endorsement exam is a separate test focused on On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) systems: how the system detects component malfunctions, the visual Malfunction Indicator Light checks (key-on engine-off and key-on engine-running), connecting a diagnostic analyzer to the Diagnostic Link Connector, interpreting readiness monitors and trouble codes, fuel cap pressure testing, and the pass/fail/abort criteria.6Texas Department of Public Safety. Emissions Inspector Study Guide You schedule the emissions exam through your local DPS Vehicle Inspection Office, the same way you schedule the commercial practical.4Department of Public Safety. Inspector Qualifications and Training
Renewal
Renewal runs through the same online portal and costs $25. Your renewal application must meet the same eligibility criteria as a new application, including a fresh background check and confirmation that you’re not currently suspended or revoked.2Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.3 – New or Renewal Vehicle Inspector Application Start well before your expiration date, because you cannot conduct inspections between expiration and reinstatement.
If you switch stations, update your affiliation with DPS promptly. Records that show an outdated station can create administrative complications, including potential suspension.
What Can Cost You the License
DPS has broad authority to deny, suspend, or revoke an inspector’s certification for regulatory violations, and can also impose probation or a formal reprimand.7Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.62 – Violations and Penalty Schedule
One rule catches inspectors off guard. Entering your personal PIN into the inspection system creates a legal presumption that you performed the inspection. If someone else uses your PIN to log a fraudulent inspection, you are presumed responsible unless you can prove otherwise, and proving someone else used your PIN is itself an admission that you failed to secure it and allowed an uncertified person to inspect a vehicle.7Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.62 – Violations and Penalty Schedule Treat the PIN like a bank password.
For emissions-related violations, DPS can immediately suspend or revoke your certification without the usual hearing process if the violation poses a threat to public health or safety.7Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 23.62 – Violations and Penalty Schedule Reinstatement after a suspension is not automatic: you contact DPS, retake the training program, pass the full written and practical exams again, and pay any outstanding certification fees or hearing-related charges.
Criminal penalties sit alongside the administrative ones. Under the Texas Transportation Code, most inspection-related offenses are Class B misdemeanors, but certain violations rise to a third-degree felony, and if a violation involves intent to defraud or harm someone, the charge escalates to a second-degree felony.8State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code TRANSP 548.603 A fictitious inspection report is a Class B misdemeanor on its own.