Auto repair regulatory changes.

DEEP folded the Vehicle Maintenance Wastewater general permit into the Miscellaneous Industrial User (MIU) general permit, effective October 31, 2020; the old permit expired January 23, 2021. Repair shops, body shops and dealers registered under the old permit had until April 29, 2021 to file an MIU notification with their local POTW authority.

BAR lists an approved amendment to section 3340.17.1 concerning decertification of equipment manufacturers, adopted and effective September 3, 2026.

HB 648 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 83), effective July 15, 2026, rewrote KRS 190.046 for Class 7 and heavier vehicles. Dealers get parts at acquisition cost plus a 30% margin, reimbursement of technician training, diagnostic hardware/software and special-tool costs, and actual labor hours unless proven unreasonable by clear and convincing evidence. Component manufacturers are also bound, and claims cannot be required sooner than 90 days after service. Promotion claims also get a 90-day window.

Vermont DMV issued a July 10, 2026 update to the Periodic Inspection Manual. The revision changed or clarified criteria and procedures across tires, brakes, steering, suspension, electrical systems, windows, windshields, wipers, exterior body evaluation and other inspection areas.

Michigan's Secretary of State says Public Act 59 of 2025 increased each state mechanic test fee to $18 effective July 1, 2026. Exams paid for before July 1 were honored.

Public Chapter 661 took effect July 1, 2026 and allows a garagekeeper to preserve and enforce a lien in certain repair-storage situations without express written storage authorization when the garagekeeper makes a good-faith attempt to obtain repair consent and provides the required delivery notice to the vehicle owner.

California BAR's approved regulation changed reporting deadlines for automotive repair dealer business information. BAR's current guidance says business address changes must be reported within 14 days and other listed business-license changes within 30 days.

BAR updated its biometric-device regulations and says updated Smog Check and Vehicle Safety Systems Inspection manuals must be followed beginning July 1, 2026.

Under AQCC Regulation 25 Section I.P, beginning May 1, 2026 automotive coatings above the Table 4 VOC limits (e.g., primer and clearcoat 250 g/L, color coat 420 g/L) may not be manufactured, sold or distributed in Colorado, and covered automotive coating facilities in the regulated ozone areas must use Table 4-compliant coatings or 90%-efficient controls.

HB 757 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 161, sec. 18), effective April 14, 2026, extended the $2 fee on each new motor vehicle, trailer and semitrailer tire sold in Kentucky from its July 1, 2026 sunset to July 1, 2034.

New Jersey P.L. 2025, c.140 took effect April 1, 2026. The law expands franchisor-paid repair reimbursement to include diagnostic work and recall/service-plan work, revises retail labor-rate, labor-time and parts-markup calculations, adds protections around chargebacks and part-price manipulation, addresses electric-propulsion-battery returns, and creates compensation for certain used vehicles held under stop-sale or do-not-drive recall notices when parts are unavailable.

A 2025 state law (HB 2) scheduled the end of New Hampshire's required annual safety and OBD inspection for January 31, 2026. A federal court briefly ordered the program to continue, but after the Executive Council declined to extend the NHOST vendor contract, the state suspended the program. From February 13, 2026 inspection stations can no longer issue state stickers and vehicles need no annual inspection. The First Circuit later stayed the injunction, and EPA proposed approving the repeal on August 11, 2026.

The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 (Chapter 604) created a $5.00 per-tire fee on the first sale of a new tire in Maryland, starting January 1, 2026, and raised the tire recycling fee from $0.80 to $1.00 per tire. Both apply to tire dealers' first sales of new tires, including tires on new or used vehicles sold, and are filed by the 21st of the following month.

Washington Department of Revenue says that beginning January 1, 2026, sellers must collect a $5 fee on each new vehicle tire sold, up from $1. The amount a seller may retain increased to $0.25 per tire; the remainder is reported and paid to the state.

PennDOT increased the E-Safety program management fee from $0.03 to $0.08 per transaction effective January 1, 2026.

Connecticut DMV says that effective January 1, 2026, Section 14-15e requires all individuals listed on a dealer or repairer license application to be subject to a background check.

Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 50 amended ORS 650.158 and 650.161 effective January 1, 2026. The changes address diagnostic and repair compensation, retail labor and parts rate submissions, manufacturer response timelines, corrected claim resubmissions and recall-repair compensation.