Federal Judge Puts Brakes on New Hampshire Plan to Abolish Car Inspections

A federal court judge has halted New Hampshire’s plan to end motor vehicle inspections.

U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty granted a preliminary injunction on January 27 to prevent the state from implementing a new law abolishing the annual inspection program for non-commercial vehicles until and unless the state receives approval from the federal government that the plan is in compliance with the Clean Air Act.

The new law sought to do away with annual inspections that include tests for vehicle emissions as well as safety effective Saturday, January 31, 2026.

The judge found that unless the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approves the state’s decision to abolish the inspection program before that effective date, the state will be in violation of the Clean Air Act. That federal law requires states to have inspection and maintenance programs to protect air quality. New Hampshire’s current program was last reviewed and approved the EPA in 2013.

The challenge to the law was brought by Gordon-Darby Holdings, Inc., the parent company of the vendor that has administered the program since its inception and has a contract that does not end until December 2026. The company said it expects to lose approximately $4.1 million through the remainder of the term of its contract if the law is implemented. Gordon-Darby notified the state in October that it would sue under the Clean Air Act if the state enacted the law.

The judge ordered state officials to resume the program immediately and warned they could already be in violation of the federal law by advising the public that inspections are no longer required and telling inspections stations they are no longer authorized to do them before obtaining EPA approval.

“Unless the EPA approves a SIP [state implementation plan] amendment before January 31, New Hampshire will indisputably be violating the Clean Air Act as of that date,” the judge wrote in granting the injunction. “The court is unaware of another case in which a regulated entity announces an intent to commence violating the Clean Air Act on a particular date, and a plaintiff is able to show a substantial likelihood that the entity’s announced violation will occur as stated.”

The new state law says that the bulk of the inspection program’s repeal takes effect on January 31, 2026, regardless of whether the EPA has approved it.

At this Wednesday’s Governor’s and Executive Committee meeting, Attorney General John Formella said he had just learned of the court order on Tuesday afternoon. He said his office is determining what to do and will issue “clear public guidance” for motorists and inspection stations in the coming days. In the short term, he said the state must comply by keeping the program running.

To obtain EPA approval of the plan to end the inspections, a state must demonstrate that the area’s air quality standards can be maintained without benefit of the emission reductions attributable to the vehicle program. The state said it has submitted a request to EPA to accept its plan but EPA has not yet acted on it.

The judge noted that since the law was passed in June the number of inspections conducted in the state has dropped every month. In July 2025, the total number of inspections was 10% lower than in July 2024. For August and September, they decreased by 17% and 16%. October saw a 24% decrease and November’s decrease was 33% from the previous year.

Topics Auto Legislation