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Purchased Vehicle from Enhanced Smog Region

Hi, I've purchased a vehicle from a enhanced smog region in Southern California and I reside in a basic region in Northern California. I'm relocating this purchased vehicle from an enhanced smog check region to a basic smog check region. The problem has been I need to drive to a enhanced region to do a smog check due to change in ownership. This sounds a bit crazy. Do I need to first register the vehicle in my name prior to a smog check or what? Thanks.

Answer:

The DMV requires that a vehicle's seller provide to the buyer a valid smog certificate at the time of purchase. With this method, the vehicle is smog checked in the county which it was registered in before the sale. The problem arises when a vehicle is bought without a smog certificate and relocated to a county which has different smog check requirements; such as a vehicle being bought in an Enhanced Smog Check area and being registered in a Basic Smog Check Area. The DMV will require a smog check from an enhanced smog check area prior to completing the title transfer to the buyers name. You may pay the DMV the fees due for the purchase however these monies will only be reported as Report of Deposit of Fees. The complete registration will be pending. Please verify this information for most recent changes by calling the DMV at (800) 777-0133. posted by SmogTips Support

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