Vehicle Emissions Inspection & Maintenance Rules & Regulations

four types of emissions testing waivers and time extensions:Low Mileage Waiver; Individual Vehicle Waiver; PartsAvailability Time Extension; and Low-Income TimeExtension. The motorist may apply once each testing cyclefor the Low Mileage Waiver, Individual Vehicle Waiver, andParts Availability Time Extension. The motorist may applyevery other testing cycle for the Low-Income TimeExtension.(1) Low Mileage Waiver.(A) Eligibility. A vehicle may be eligible for a Low MileageWaiver provided that it has:(i) failed both its initial emissions inspection andre-test; and(ii) incurred qualified emissions-related repairs, asdefined herein, whose cost is equal to at least$100; and(iii) the vehicle has been driven less than 5,000miles in the previous inspection cycle; and(iv) the vehicle will be reasonably expected to bedriven fewer than 5,000 miles before the next safetyinspection is required.(B) Qualified Emissions-Related Repairs. Qualified emissions-relatedrepairs are those repairs to emissionscontrol components, including diagnosis, parts and labor,which count toward a Low Mileage Waiver. In order to beconsidered qualified emissions-related repairs, therepair(s):(i) must be directly applicable to the cause for theemissions test failure;(ii) must be performed after the initial emissions test orhave been performed within 60 days prior to the initialemissions test;(iii) must not be tampering-related repairs, as definedherein;(iv) must not be covered by any available warrantycoverage unless the warranty remedy has been deniedin writing by the manufacturer or authorized dealer; and(v) must be performed by a Recognized EmissionsRepair Technician of Texas at a Recognized EmissionsRepair Facility of Texas in order to include the labor costand/or diagnostic costs. When repairs are not performedby a Recognized Emissions Repair Technicianof Texas at a Recognized Emissions Repair Facility ofTexas, only the purchase price of parts, applicable tothe emissions test failure, qualify as a repair expenditurefor the Low Mileage Waiver.C) Conditions. The following conditions must be met inorder to receive a Low Mileage Waiver:(i) the vehicle must pass a visual inspection performedby a department representative to insure that the emissionsrepairs being claimed have actually beenperformed;(ii) the diagnosis, parts and labor receipts for the qualifiedemissions-related repairs must be presented to thedepartment and support that the emissions repairsbeing claimed have actually been performed; and(iii) the valid re-test Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) andvalid Vehicle Repair Form (VRF) for the applicant vehiclemust be presented to the department. If labor and/ordiagnostic charges are being claimed towards the lowmileage waiver amount, the VRF shall be completed bya Recognized Emissions Repair Technician of Texas.(2) Low-Income Time Extension. A Low-Income TimeExtension may be granted in accordance with the followingconditions:(A) The applicant must supply to the department proof inwriting that:(i) the vehicle failed the initial emissions inspection test;proof shall be in the form of the original failed VIR;(ii) the vehicle has not been granted a Low-IncomeTime Extension in the previous testing cycle;(iii) the applicant is the owner of the vehicle that is thesubject of the Low-Income Time Extension; and(iv) the applicant receives financial assistance from theTexas Health and Human Services Commission or theDepartment of Aging and Disability Services due toindigence (subject to approval by the director) or theapplicant's adjusted gross income (if the applicant ismarried, the applicant's adjusted gross income is equalto the applicant's adjusted gross income plus theapplicant's spouse's adjusted gross income) is at orbelow the current federal poverty level as published bythe United States Department of Health and HumanServices, Office of the Secretary, in the FederalRegister; proof shall be in the form of a federal incometax return or other documentation authorized by thedirector that the applicant certifies as true and correct.(B) After a vehicle receives an initial Low-Income TimeExtension, the vehicle must pass an emissions test priorto receiving another Low-Income Time Extension.5-16