Illinois: Is there an annual vehicle safety inspection?
No. Illinois safety-tests trucks, buses, taxis and other commercial-type vehicles, but not ordinary private passenger cars.
Illinois's safety testing law covers second division vehicles (trucks and larger vehicles), tow trucks, medical transport vehicles, driver-education cars, school-related taxis and similar uses. Ordinary cars are 'first division' vehicles and are not on the list. Lighter second division vehicles registered at 10,000 pounds or less are mostly exempt, and salvage vehicles must also be tested.
What the law says
To promote the safety of the general public, every owner of a second division vehicle, medical transport vehicle, tow truck, first division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, motor vehicle used for driver education training, or contract carrier transporting employees in the course of their employment on a highway of this State in a vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers
Sources
- 625 ILCS 5/13-101 Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
- 625 ILCS 5/1-217 (first division vehicles) Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services
- Website
- ilsos.gov
How bordering states compare
- Indiana No safety inspectionNo. Indiana does not require safety inspections of private cars; out-of-state cars get an identity check before titling.
- Iowa No safety inspectionNo. Iowa does not require safety inspections of private passenger cars to register them or on a regular schedule.
- Kentucky No safety inspectionNo. Kentucky does not require safety inspections of private cars; cars brought from other states get a VIN and odometer check.
- Missouri Regular safety inspectionMissouri requires a safety inspection every two years, but most cars under ten years old with under 150,000 miles are exempt.
- Wisconsin No safety inspectionWisconsin does not require safety inspections of private passenger cars; some counties require emissions tests instead.