Emissions tests in every state › New Jersey
New Jersey emissions testNew Jersey: NJ MVC inspection
Will your car pass New Jersey's emissions test? For cars from 1996 on, the station plugs into your car and reads the same things Athena OBD reads, so you can know before you go.
Where
statewide, every two years
Which cars
1996+ plug-in test; new vehicles exempt 5 years
What it takes to pass
- The check engine light must work and be off, with no fault stored that turns it on.
- New Jersey is stricter: the misfire, fuel system and components self-tests must always be finished.
- Just reset the codes or changed the battery? The self-tests start over: drive normally for a few days, in town and on the highway, before you go.
Check your car's year
A guide, not a guarantee: stations also check things Athena OBD can't (the gas cap, paperwork), and rules change. Checked against New Jersey's sources in October 2026.
Drive a BMW?
Athena OBD reads the engine codes every car shares. Our sister app, AutoLingo for BMW, goes much further on a BMW: the airbags, ABS, instrument cluster and body modules too, plus service resets, even on older E-chassis cars.
See AutoLingo for BMW