A smog technician — also called a smog tech, smog check technician or emissions inspector — tests vehicles for emissions compliance and repairs the systems that fail.
Inspection work exists where states run emissions programs: EPA's I/M page, updated Sept 18, 2026, links to the state programs, and California's Bureau of Automotive Repair issues individual licenses for its two Smog Check roles.
This guide covers the job, the states with programs, the two roles, the route in, pay and open jobs.
What does a smog tech do?
"Smog technician" is the working title for two halves of one problem: keeping vehicles within their emissions limits.
The inspection half performs the state's emissions test; the repair half diagnoses a vehicle that failed and fixes what caused it.
The inspection half exists only where a state or local program requires emissions inspection.
O*NET's classification captures the inspection side.
It groups emissions inspectors, smog technicians and safety inspectors under Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation (53-6051.07), whose listed tasks include inspecting vehicles for compliance, inspecting repairs, and attaching OBD scanner cables to conduct emissions inspections.
The repair side is technician work aimed at emissions systems.
O*NET lists troubleshooting fuel, ignition and emissions systems with electronic testing equipment among the core tasks of automotive service technicians and mechanics (SOC 49-3023), and BLS describes diagnostic technicians as having extensive knowledge of engine management and fuel, electrical, ignition and emissions systems.
The paperwork is on the duty list too.
BLS's duties for technicians cover identifying problems, often with computerized diagnostic equipment; documenting the repair — parts used, hours worked, vehicle condition; and explaining the problems and repairs to the customer.
Which states have smog and emissions programs?
There is no single national smog program: emissions inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs are run by the states, and EPA keeps an I/M information page that links to them.
EPA's page, updated Sept 18, 2026, links to vehicle emissions inspection programs run by states and DC.
The jurisdictions on it include AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, GA, IL, IN, LA, ME, MD, MA, MO, NC, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, UT, VT, VA and WI; our research did not confirm that this list is complete.
A link on the list is not a running program.
New Hampshire's inspection statute, RSA 266:1, was repealed effective January 31, 2026, and the NH DMV's February 13, 2026 guidance suspended its inspection program until further notice.
Treat the list as what it is: a set of links, not a legal register.
I/M requirements applied to certain areas under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, and many programs cover only some counties, so whether inspection work exists in a given city — and which vehicles it covers — is a state and local question.
Any list is a snapshot — EPA's carries an update date, Sept 18, 2026 — so the current status of any state's program is something to confirm with the agency that runs it rather than assume from a list.
California shows what licensed smog roles look like.
Its Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) issues three individual licenses: Smog Check inspector, Smog Check repair technician and vehicle safety systems technician — two of them Smog Check roles.
Those two roles and their requirements are the next two sections' subject.
Inspector vs repair technician: who tests, who fixes
The split is between testing and fixing.
The inspector performs the emissions test and produces the vehicle's result; the repair technician takes a failed vehicle and diagnoses and repairs what caused the failure.
California licenses both roles separately, and each carries its own training and renewal rules.
California makes the split explicit.
BAR issues three individual licenses: Smog Check inspector, Smog Check repair technician and vehicle safety systems technician.
Applicants apply online, pay the fee and pass an exam — and Smog Check inspectors, unlike repair technicians, must complete biometric enrollment.
Renewal differs by role.
California Smog Check inspectors must complete 4 hours of online update training every two years to renew their licenses; Smog Check repair technicians must complete 16 hours of update training every two years as part of the license renewal process.
The repair side also works under a federal rule.
The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. section 7522) makes it unlawful to install a part whose principal effect is to bypass, defeat or render inoperative emission controls where the person knows or should know of that use.
The same statute bars knowingly removing or disabling emission controls after a vehicle's sale.
How to become a smog technician
No national smog license appeared in the sources we checked — the route runs through the state program where you want to work.
The trade skills underneath, though, are the ones the automotive trade already builds: BLS lists typical entry for technicians as a postsecondary nondegree award, with no related work experience required, plus short-term on-the-job training.
Some technicians enter with a high school diploma and learn on the job instead, and some complete an apprenticeship combining paid on-the-job training with technical instruction.
Because emissions systems are among the systems general technicians already troubleshoot, the base-trade routes in are the routes smog work builds on; the automotive technician career guide covers them.
Complete the BAR-required training
Smog Check Training (Level 2), a 28-hour minimum, is required for all Smog Check inspector applicants. Applicants with minimal or no experience also complete Engine and Emission Control training (Level 1), a 68-hour minimum. Repair-technician applicants complete Diagnostic and Repair Training, a 72-hour minimum.Apply with BAR and pass the exam
BAR takes applications online. Applicants pay the fee and pass an exam, and Smog Check inspectors must complete biometric enrollment; repair technicians do not.Consider industry certification alongside the license
Certification is a separate question from licensure: ASE certification is voluntary — ASE's own guide says so — though BLS notes employers may require or prefer that technicians become certified, and some pay for it. ASE's L1 Advanced Engine Performance Specialist test targets technicians who can diagnose sophisticated driveability and emissions-related problems.Plan for renewal from the start
Both California smog licenses renew on a two-year update-training cycle — 4 hours for inspectors and 16 hours for repair technicians, as covered above. Budget those hours into your first years of licensed work.
One federal credential sits alongside the license.
Federal law requires anyone who repairs or services a motor vehicle A/C system for payment or bartering to be trained and certified by an EPA-approved Section 609 program — the same rule that applies to any technician doing paid A/C work.
License rules are state rules — and they change
Smog technician pay and demand
BLS has no smog-technician code: the occupation that includes smog check technicians is its broader automotive service technicians and mechanics (SOC 49-3023), so every figure here is that group's, not a smog-specific number.
In BLS's OEWS survey for May 2025, national and covering all industries, the group's median wage was $50,620 a year, or $24.34 an hour.
The 10th percentile earned $34,660 and the 90th percentile earned $81,790, so the spread within the group is wide.
Outlook numbers cover the same group.
BLS projects employment of automotive service technicians and mechanics to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, a gain of 40,900 jobs.
About 66,200 openings a year are projected over the decade, mostly from workers transferring to other occupations or leaving the labor force.
For emissions work itself, the programs shape the job market: inspection roles exist where programs operate, and program coverage is a state and local matter that shifts over time.
BLS's drivers for the group's outlook — more vehicles in use, owners keeping vehicles longer and more demand for advanced-safety-system calibrations and repairs — describe the trade as a whole, not smog work alone.
Find smog technician jobs
Smog work follows the programs.
Inspection roles sit where a state's program runs its tests; repair roles sit where failed vehicles get fixed — and because emissions systems are among the systems general technicians troubleshoot, the repair half sits with the general repair trade.
Titles move with the local vocabulary.
O*NET groups emissions inspectors, smog technicians and safety inspectors under one inspection occupation code, and California's licenses carry the Smog Check name — smog technician, smog check technician and emissions inspector are all titles in this family of work.
AutoTechHires gathers the openings in one place: smog technician jobs at repair shops, dealer service departments and inspection and emissions stations.
Filter by city, pay range and benefits to narrow the list.
Career information, not licensing, legal, tax, insurance or safety advice. License, training, exam and renewal rules are set by each state's program agency and change over time — confirm current requirements with the agency that runs your state's program; in California, that is the Bureau of Automotive Repair.