Gas, diesel and hybrid vehicles, for registration renewal, change of ownership, or registering a car brought in from out of state. No appointment necessary. $50 for vehicles 2000 and newer.
A Test-Only license is the state's way of removing the conflict of interest. It is the entire reason the category exists.
For anything built from 2000 on, that's the whole test — we read the car's own computer. No tailpipe probe, no rollers.
A STAR Test-Only station is prohibited by the state from doing repair work. That's the whole point of the license. A shop that tests and repairs makes money when your car fails. We don't. We hand you the result, pass or fail, and that's the end of our involvement.
We are not licensed to do repairs. There is nothing for us to sell you.
We meet the state's higher performance standard, which lets us test any vehicle — including the high-polluting ones ordinary stations can't.
Same building on Woodside Road for 22 years.
Then you're in the right place. About one in seven California vehicles gets directed to a STAR station at renewal — sometimes because of a past failure, sometimes just by selection. An ordinary smog station cannot certify you. We can.
Bring the notice with you.
We can't write these and we can't take them down. Themes drawn from public reviews as of August 2026.
The thing reviewers mention most is how quickly it's over.
Repeatedly described as the least expensive option nearby.
Customers who didn't pass the first time single it out.
The $8.25 state certificate is inside the number, not added at the register. Same either way — pass or fail, we're paid the same.
Cars built from 2000 on carry a standardized onboard computer. We read it directly, so there's no tailpipe probe and no dynamometer.
The state requires these to be run on a dynamometer with a tailpipe probe. It takes longer and uses more equipment, which is why it costs more.
No appointment, no booking, no phone tree. Pull into the bay on Woodside Road and we'll take you in the order you arrive.
Wait in the waiting room — there's a TV, and parking is never a problem. Most people are done while they wait.
Your certificate goes to the DMV electronically the moment you pass. In most cases you don't have to do anything else.
Redwood City, CA 94061