2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 20-183.5. When a vehicle that fails an emissions inspection may obtain a waiver from the inspection requirement.

§ 20‑183.5.  When a vehicle that fails an emissions inspection may obtain a waiver from the inspection requirement.

(a)       (For amendment to subsection (a) effective January 1, 2006, see notes.) Requirements. – The Division may issue a waiver for a vehicle that meets all of the following requirements:

(1)       Fails an emissions inspection because it passes the visual inspection but fails the analysis of exhaust emissions or the analysis of data provided by the on‑board diagnostic (OBD) equipment.

(2)       Has documented repairs costing at least the waiver amount made to the vehicle to correct the cause of the failure. The waiver amount is seventy‑five dollars ($75.00) if the vehicle is a pre‑1981 model and is two hundred dollars ($200.00) if the vehicle is a 1981 or newer model.

(3)       Is reinspected and again fails the inspection because it passes the visual inspection but fails the analysis of exhaust emissions or the analysis of data provided by the on‑board diagnostic (OBD) equipment.

(4)       Meets any other waiver criteria required by 40 C.F.R. § 51.360.

(b)       Procedure. – To obtain a waiver, a person must contact a local enforcement office of the Division. Before issuing a waiver, an employee of the Division must review the inspection receipts issued for the inspections of the vehicle, review the documents establishing what repairs were made to the vehicle and at what cost, review any statement denying warranty coverage of the repairs made, and do a visual inspection of the vehicle, if appropriate, to determine if the documented repairs were made. The Division must issue a waiver if it determines that the vehicle qualifies for a waiver. A person to whom a waiver is issued must present the waiver to the self‑inspector or inspection station performing the inspection to obtain an inspection sticker.

(c)       Repairs. – The following repairs and their costs cannot be considered in determining whether the cost of repairs made to a vehicle equals or exceeds the waiver amount:

(1)       Repairs covered by a warranty that applies to the vehicle.

(2)       Repairs needed as a result of tampering with an emission control device of the vehicle.

(3)       If the vehicle is a 1981 or newer model, repairs made by an individual who is not engaged in the business of repairing vehicles.

(d)       Sticker Expiration. – An inspection sticker put on a vehicle after the vehicle receives a waiver from the requirement of passing the emissions inspection expires at the same time it would if the vehicle had passed the emissions inspection. (1965, c. 734, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 754, s. 1; 2000‑134, s. 16.)