- Deadline approaching? Call (858) 257-8576 Now
Check Out Our Reviews!
When a DMV registration hold hits, or a Notice to Submit to Testing shows up with a 30-day deadline, the clock starts immediately. For owner-operators and small construction fleets running out of the San Jacinto Valley, that kind of disruption doesn’t just cost time it costs contracts. Clean Truck Check compliance is what keeps your truck on the road and your business moving.
Here’s what most Hemet operators don’t realize: SR-74 and SR-79 are the only ways in and out of this valley. Unlike cities with freeway access and alternate routing, every truck leaving Hemet passes through the same state route corridors where CARB and CHP enforcement operations run. There’s no back road around a compliance check. If your 2013-or-newer heavy-duty truck isn’t tested and cleared, every run out of Hemet carries real risk.
The good news is that getting compliant doesn’t have to mean pulling your truck off a job site and burning half a day. We come to you your yard off Florida Avenue, your construction site in west Hemet, wherever the truck is parked. The test happens there. The results go directly to CARB’s database. You get back to work.
All SMOG Motors is a CARB-credentialed emissions testing company serving Riverside County which means Hemet, East Hemet, Valle Vista, San Jacinto, and the surrounding communities are squarely in our service area. We don’t test passenger cars. We don’t test pre-2013 trucks. We test 2013-and-newer heavy-duty OBD trucks with a GVWR over 14,000 pounds, and that’s it.
That focus matters. The Clean Truck Check HD I/M program has specific equipment requirements, specific submission protocols, and specific credentialing standards. When you hire a generalist smog shop to handle a specialized CARB compliance program, you risk an invalid test result that won’t hold up in the system. We use only CARB-certified OBD test equipment with Executive Order approval, and we submit results directly to CARB’s CTC-VIS database on your behalf.
You can verify our credentials on CARB’s public tester list at arb.ca.gov before you ever call us. That’s how it should work.
It starts with a call or a booking. You tell us where the truck is a yard in Hemet, a job site in the valley, a commercial lot near the Florida Avenue corridor and we schedule a time that works around your operation. There’s no facility to drive to, no drop-off, no waiting room. We come to the truck.
When our technician arrives, we connect CARB-certified OBD equipment directly to your truck’s ECU and download the emissions data. The whole test is built around what your truck’s onboard systems are already reporting fault codes, readiness monitors, emissions control status. For trucks operating in Hemet’s summer heat, where temperatures regularly push past 100°F and put real stress on diesel particulate filters and EGR systems, catching a fault code before your compliance deadline is far better than discovering it after. That’s why CARB allows you to submit a passing test up to 90 days before your deadline and why testing early is worth it here.
Once the test is complete, we handle the electronic submission to CARB’s CTC-VIS database directly. Your VIN shows as compliant in the system, CARB transmits that data to DMV nightly, and your registration status updates within three to five business days. You don’t log into a portal. You don’t upload anything. The process is done.
Ready to get started?
Clean Truck Check applies to diesel trucks that are model year 2013 or newer with a GVWR over 14,000 pounds. If your truck doesn’t meet both of those criteria, it’s not covered under this program and we won’t test it. That specificity is intentional. We’re not trying to upsell you on a test your truck doesn’t need.
For trucks that are covered, the current requirement is semi-annual testing twice per year. Starting October 1, 2027, that increases to quarterly testing for OBD-equipped vehicles, meaning four times per year. If you’re running a construction fleet in Hemet with multiple trucks active on job sites across the San Jacinto Valley, that’s a real scheduling commitment. Getting a testing relationship established now before the quarterly requirement kicks in means you’re not scrambling when the frequency changes.
One thing that trips up a lot of Riverside County operators: the $31.18 annual compliance fee and the emissions test are two completely separate requirements. Paying the fee does not mean your truck has been tested. CARB tracks both independently, and a truck that paid the fee but never submitted a passing test will still trigger a DMV registration hold. If you registered for the program and assumed that covered you, it’s worth checking your test status before your next registration renewal comes around. We can confirm your compliance status and get you tested the same day.
Yes and this is one of the most common questions we get from operators in the San Jacinto Valley. If your construction truck is a model year 2013 or newer and has a GVWR over 14,000 pounds, it’s covered under CARB’s Clean Truck Check HD I/M program. That includes dump trucks, concrete mixers, flatbed haulers, and equipment transporters that are active on job sites throughout Hemet and the surrounding valley.
Hemet’s construction sector is one of the city’s fastest-growing industries right now, with new residential subdivisions and infrastructure projects keeping heavy equipment moving across the valley on a regular basis. That activity is exactly what this program was designed to address. If you’re running a construction fleet in Hemet and you’re not sure which of your trucks fall under the requirement, the safest move is to check the model year and GVWR on each vehicle. We can help you sort that out before you schedule testing.
A failed test means your truck’s onboard diagnostic system flagged an emissions-related issue most commonly a problem with the diesel particulate filter, the EGR system, or the SCR system. The test itself doesn’t create the problem; it just surfaces what’s already there. You’ll need to have the issue diagnosed and repaired by a qualified diesel mechanic, and then retest once the repair is complete.
The important thing is not to ignore it. A failed test without a follow-up repair and retest still leaves your truck non-compliant in CARB’s system, and that non-compliance will trigger a DMV registration hold at renewal. For trucks operating out of Hemet where every route to the freeway runs through SR-74 or SR-79 a registration hold isn’t just an administrative inconvenience. It can pull your truck off the road entirely. Getting the repair done and the retest submitted as quickly as possible is the only way to clear the hold and get back to operating normally.
Right now, most OBD-equipped heavy-duty trucks covered by the program require testing twice per year semi-annually. That’s the current enforcement standard as of 2025. However, starting October 1, 2027, the frequency increases to quarterly testing for OBD-equipped vehicles, meaning four tests per year going forward.
For owner-operators and small fleet managers in Hemet who are used to annual smog checks on their personal vehicles, this is a meaningful difference. Semi-annual testing means you’re scheduling this twice a year already, and quarterly means it becomes a regular part of your operational calendar. The practical upside of working with us is that we bring the testing to you so adding a test to your schedule doesn’t mean pulling a truck off a job site or losing a run. It means a technician shows up at your yard, does the test, and you move on with your day.
Yes. This is a detail that catches a lot of operators off guard. Clean Truck Check applies to any qualifying vehicle operating on California roads not just California-registered trucks. If your truck is registered in Nevada, Arizona, or any other state but you’re regularly running routes that take you through Riverside County and the San Jacinto Valley, you’re subject to the same testing requirements as a California-registered vehicle.
The program defines “operating in California” broadly, and CARB’s enforcement doesn’t stop at the state border. If you’re an out-of-state operator who regularly uses SR-74 or SR-79 to move freight between the Inland Empire and the Coachella Valley routes that pass directly through Hemet and your truck is a 2013-or-newer diesel with a GVWR over 14,000 pounds, you need to be in compliance. We can test out-of-state trucks at any location in our Riverside County service area, and the submission process to CARB’s CTC-VIS system is the same regardless of where the truck is registered.
That’s exactly how we operate. We don’t have a fixed facility you drive to we send a CARB-credentialed technician to wherever your truck is located in Hemet or the surrounding San Jacinto Valley. Your yard, your job site, your commercial property wherever the truck is parked is where the test happens.
For operators in Hemet, mobile testing isn’t a luxury option. It’s the only version of this service that makes practical sense. Hemet has no direct freeway access, which means driving a heavy-duty truck to a testing facility anywhere else in Riverside County involves a significant run on SR-74 or SR-79 and back. That’s time off the road, fuel cost, and a half-day of lost productivity for a test that takes a fraction of that time when we come to you. We schedule around your operation, not the other way around.
They’re two completely different programs designed for different vehicles. A standard smog check the kind you get at a shop on State Street or Florida Avenue in Hemet is for passenger cars and light-duty vehicles. It tests tailpipe emissions using a different process and is administered through the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) program.
Clean Truck Check is a CARB program specifically for heavy-duty diesel trucks that are model year 2013 or newer with a GVWR over 14,000 pounds. It uses OBD onboard diagnostics to pull data directly from the truck’s ECU rather than testing tailpipe output. The equipment required is CARB-certified specifically for this program, the results are submitted to CARB’s CTC-VIS database rather than the BAR system, and the credentialing requirements for testers are separate from standard smog check licensing. The local smog shops in Hemet that handle passenger vehicle testing are generally not equipped or credentialed to perform a valid Clean Truck Check. We exist specifically for this program 2013-and-newer heavy-duty OBD trucks over 14,000 pounds GVWR and nothing else.
Local Resources
Useful Links
Other Services we provide in Hemet
