Bexar County's New Emissions Test Will Not Start November 1 After All — the EPA Put It on Hold
The first-ever mandatory emissions inspections for Bexar County gasoline vehicles were set to begin Nov. 1, but an EPA stay has delayed the requirement while officials pursue a Clean Air Act exemption that could take 18 to 24 months.
Bexar County drivers will not have to pass an emissions test to renew their registration on Nov. 1. The requirement — the county's first, covering gasoline vehicles two through 24 model years old — has been put on hold after the Environmental Protection Agency granted a stay, KTSA reported, giving federal and state officials more time to review the program. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's program page still lists Bexar County's start date as Nov. 1, 2026.
The push to stop the mandate has been led locally by District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears and Bexar County Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody, who traveled to Washington to press EPA officials to reconsider, according to KTSA. Spears argued the testing could burden residents who depend on older vehicles if their cars need costly repairs to pass, and that pollution from Mexico and the region's geography contribute to the area's air-quality readings.
Local officials are also pursuing an exemption under Section 179B of the federal Clean Air Act, which can provide relief when pollution contributing to an area's problems originates outside the region. Spears has said that process, which now moves through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, could take 18 to 24 months or longer — so for now, the standing answer for Bexar drivers is that no emissions test is required when they renew.
