What is the difference between emission certification and emission inspection?
The emissions certification process applies to automotive manufacturers, not to individual passenger car or truck owners. Before an automobile manufacturer can sell a new model of any passenger car or truck in the United States, it must “certify” or guarantee that the new model meets stringent emissions standards. The Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to test new model passenger cars and trucks to ensure that they meet these emissions standards. This testing process is known as the Federal Test Procedure or FTP and is very rigorous and expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars on average per vehicle model. If more than 40 percent of the new model vehicles tested fail to meet the emissions standards, EPA may deny or revoke a manufacturers “certificate” to sell the new model. Emission inspection programs apply to individual passenger car or truck owners. These programs provide a way to check whether or not the emission control system on a vehicle is working correctly over the life of th
