(a) Annual safety inspection.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the department shall establish a system of annual safety inspection of vehicles, including emergency vehicles, farm vehicles with a gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 17,000 pounds for which a Type D biennial certificate of exemption has been issued and private noncommercial vehicles used to transport students.

(b) Semiannual safety inspection of certain vehicles.--The following vehicles shall be subject to semiannual safety inspection:

(1) School buses.

(2) Vehicles which are:

(i) under contract with or owned by a school district or private or parochial school, including vehicles having chartered group and party rights under the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; and

(ii) used to transport school students.

(3) Passenger vans used to transport persons for hire or owned by a commercial enterprise and used for the transportation of employees to or from their place of employment.

(4) (Deleted by amendment).

(5) (Deleted by amendment).

(6) Mass transit vehicles.

(7) (Deleted by amendment).

(c) Safety inspection criteria for street rods.--The department, after consultation with the National Street Rod Association and other interested groups, shall prescribe special inspection criteria for vehicles registered as street rods. Vehicles registered as street rods will not be required to be equipped with bumpers, fenders or engine coverage as originally manufactured. If the hood, top and sides, or both, are removed from the vehicle, the engine fan must be enclosed with a shroud designed to protect the fan from accidental contact from the outside.

(c.1) Safety inspection criteria for collectible motor vehicles.--The department shall prescribe special inspection criteria for vehicles registered as collectible motor vehicles.

(d) Extension of inspection period.--The department may extend the time for any of the inspections required by this chapter for not more than 30 days due to weather conditions or other causes which render compliance with the provisions of this chapter within the prescribed time difficult or impossible.

(e) Prohibition on centralized inspection.--The department shall not require or direct the use of a centralized safety inspection program for purposes of performing vehicle safety inspections.

(f) Emission inspection.--Subject vehicles operated in this Commonwealth must be emission inspected as provided in section 4706 (relating to prohibition on expenditures for emission inspection program).

(g) Exceptions.--The following are exceptions to subsection (f):

(1) Emission inspection criteria for registration of subject vehicles with new registration plates.--A subject vehicle never before registered in this Commonwealth or any other jurisdiction having less than 5,000 miles on its odometer and for which an annual or temporary registration plate was originally issued within the past 12 months shall be exempt from emission inspection for one year from the date of original registration. A certificate of exemption shall be affixed to the subject vehicle in a manner prescribed by department regulations.

(2) Emission inspection criteria for new vehicles with transferred registration plates.--A subject vehicle never before registered in this Commonwealth or any other jurisdiction having less than 5,000 miles on its odometer and bearing a registration plate which has been transferred from another vehicle shall be required to pass an emission inspection prior to the next registration renewal, but not within nine months of the date of purchase of the subject vehicle.

(3) Emission inspection criteria for used subject vehicles with new or transferred registration plates.--A subject vehicle sold having a title issued in this or any other jurisdiction or sold with a manufacturer's statement of origin and having 5,000 or more miles on its odometer and which displays a currently valid certification of emission inspection shall be required to be emission inspected prior to expiration of the certificate of emission unless the renewal of registration becomes due immediately before the expiration of the certificate of emission inspection, in which case the subject vehicle shall be emission inspected prior to expiration of the new or transferred registration plate. If there is no evidence of emission inspection, an emission inspection must precede the next registration renewal.

(4) Emission inspection criteria for vehicles operated with miscellaneous motor vehicle business registration plates or dealer registration plate.--A subject vehicle which displays a miscellaneous motor vehicle business registration plate or a dealer registration plate shall be exempt from the requirements for emission inspection until it has accumulated 5,000 miles on its odometer. At that time it shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (f).

(June 18, 1980, P.L.223, No.67, eff. imd.; July 10, 1981, P.L.250, No.82, eff. imd.; May 26, 1982, P.L.435, No.129, eff. imd.; May 9, 1986, P.L.163, No.52, eff. imd.; Dec. 16, 1992, P.L.1250, No.166; Dec. 7, 1994, P.L.820, No.115, eff. 60 days; July 6, 1995, P.L.246, No.30, eff. imd.; Dec. 20, 1995, P.L.669, No.75, eff. 120 days; July 11, 1996, P.L.660, No.115, eff. 60 days; Apr. 17, 1997, P.L.6, No.3, eff. 60 days; Dec. 21, 1998, P.L.1126, No.151; June 26, 2001, P.L.734, No.75, eff. 60 days; Dec. 1, 2004, P.L.1767, No.228, eff. 60 days; Oct. 24, 2012, P.L.1407, No.174, eff. 60 days; Nov. 4, 2016, P.L.1277, No.165, eff. 90 days)

2016 Amendment. Act 165 deleted subsec. (b)(7).

2012 Amendment. Act 174 amended subsec. (a).

2004 Amendment. Act 228 amended subsec. (c).

1998 Amendment. Act 151 amended subsec. (b)(2) and deleted subsec. (b)(5), effective July 1, 1999, as to subsec. (b)(2) and immediately as to subsec. (b)(5).

1997 Amendment. Act 3 amended subsec. (b).

1995 Amendments. Act 30 amended subsec. (a) and Act 75 added subsec. (c.1). See section 5 of Act 30 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to equipment standards and inspection criteria.

1982 Amendment. See sections 10, 11 and 12 of Act 129 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to implementation of annual inspection program, promulgation of regulations on inspections and automobile emission program.

Cross References. Section 4702 is referred to in sections 4702.1, 4706, 4708 of this title.