Background
The Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance (HD I/M) regulation subjects nearly all non-gasoline vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 14,000 pounds that operate in California to periodic emissions testing. These testing requirements help ensure that heavy duty vehicles operating in California remain equipped with properly functioning emissions controls, and when malfunctioning, that these systems get repaired in a timely manner. Through the repair of malfunctioning emissions control systems, the HD I/M regulation will substantially reduce toxic particulate matter and emissions of oxides of nitrogen from the heavy-duty vehicle sector. This will help reduce air pollution and improve public health across the state, especially in communities disproportionally impacted by heavy-duty vehicle activity.
The HD I/M regulation is being implemented through a multi-phased approach with each phase building on the efforts of the previous one. In January 2023, the regulation began the first implementation phase with deployments of roadside emissions monitoring equipment to screen for vehicles operating with potentially high emissions. Vehicles identified as potential high emitters receive a Notice to Submit to Testing and are required to submit a passing compliance test to CARB within 30 days of receipt of the notice.
On September 22, 2023, CARB established an effective date of December 31, 2023, for sections 2196.1, subdivision (f), 2196.8, 2197, and 2197.2, subdivision (b), of the HD I/M regulation. This announcement meant that owners of vehicles subject to the HD I/M regulation must report their vehicles to CARB (§ 2197.2(b)) and pay the annual compliance fee (§ 2196.1(f)) by December 31, 2023. Further, the announcement established, through section 2197, that freight contractors, brokers, and applicable freight facilities must verify that vehicles they contract with for services or that enter their facilities are compliant with the
HD I/M regulation as of December 31, 2023. Finally, this announcement established that the parts unavailability compliance time extension provisions of section 2196.8 are enacted as of December 31, 2023, to provide vehicle owners a compliance extension mechanism for situations when a repair component necessary to bring a vehicle back into compliance is unavailable.
Before beginning the implementation of the final phase of the program, the HD I/M regulation requires CARB to notify entities of the effective date through publication in the California Regulatory Notice Register at least 90 days prior to the effective date. On December 29, 2023, CARB announced an effective date of April 1, 2024, for section 2196.2 of the HD I/M regulation. Through the publication of this updated notice, CARB is establishing that the effective date for section 2196.2 of the HD I/M regulation will now take effect on October 1, 2024.
As of October 1, 2024, vehicles subject to the HD I/M regulation to pass an emissions compliance test twice per year, except motorhomes and agricultural vehicles, which must pass an emissions compliance test once per year. Following the initial three years of periodic testing requirements, the compliance testing frequency increases to four times per year on October 1, 2027, for vehicles equipped with onboard diagnostics systems.
For further details on these enacted regulatory requirements, refer to CARB's HD I/M Regulation webpage.
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