A. The owner or operator of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer registered in Virginia and operated or parked on a highway within the Commonwealth shall submit his vehicle to an inspection of its mechanism and equipment by an official inspection station, designated for that purpose, in accordance with § 46.2-1158. No owner or operator shall fail to submit a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer operated or parked on the highways in the Commonwealth to such inspection or fail or refuse to correct or have corrected in accordance with the requirements of this title any mechanical defects found by such inspection to exist.
B. The provisions of this section requiring safety inspections of motor vehicles shall also apply to vehicles used for firefighting; inspections of firefighting vehicles shall be conducted pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Superintendent of State Police, taking into consideration the special purpose of such vehicles and the conditions under which they operate.
C. Each day during which such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is operated or parked on any highway in the Commonwealth after failure to comply with this law shall constitute a separate offense.
D. Except as otherwise provided, autocycles shall be inspected as motorcycles under this article.
E. No law-enforcement officer shall stop a motor vehicle due to an expired vehicle inspection sticker until the first day of the fourth month after the original expiration date. No evidence discovered or obtained as the result of a stop in violation of this subsection, including evidence discovered or obtained with the operator's consent, shall be admissible in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding.
Code 1950, § 46-317; 1950, p. 691; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-315; 1962, c. 246; 1978, cc. 275, 605; 1982, c. 646; 1989, c. 727; 1991, cc. 107, 717; 1993, c. 134; 1995, c. 670; 1997, c. 283; 2004, cc. 267, 796; 2007, cc. 75, 137; 2009, cc. 115, 514, 756; 2011, c. 283; 2014, cc. 53, 256; 2020, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 45, 51.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
13
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1998–2025 · leading case:
Reel v. Commonwealth, 522 S.E.2d 881 (Va. Ct. App. 2000).
Reel v. Commonwealth, 522 S.E.2d 881 (Va. Ct. App. 2000).
· cites it 14× “See Code §§ 46.2-1157, 46.2-1158. The Code further provides as follows: No owner or operator shall fail to submit a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer operated on the highways in this Commonwealth to such inspection or fail or refuse to correct or have corrected in…”
Moore v. Commonwealth, 640 S.E.2d 531 (Va. Ct. App. 2007).
· cites it 8× “See Code §§ 46.2-1157, 46.2-1158. If no mechanical or equipment defects are discovered, the official inspection station must place an approval sticker on the windshield of the vehicle.”
Moore v. Com., 668 S.E.2d 150 (Va. 2008).
· cites it 2× “Violations of Article 21 of Chapter 10, Subtitle III of the Motor Vehicle Code (Code §§ 46.2-1157 to 1175.1, "Safety Inspections") are made Class 3 misdemeanors, for a first offense, by Code § 46.”
Eberth v. Cnty. of Prince William, 637 S.E.2d 338 (Va. Ct. App. 2006).
· cites it 12× “Statutory Scheme According to Code § 46.2-1157, “[n]o owner or operator shall fail to submit a motor vehicle .”
James Henry Fisher v. Commonwealth, 592 S.E.2d 377 (Va. Ct. App. 2004).
· cites it 2× “In Reel we noted that Code § 46.2-1157 requires that: “No owner or operator shall fail to submit a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer operated on the highways in this Commonwealth to such inspection or fail or refuse to correct or have corrected in accordance with the…”
Commonwealth v. Ronald Lewis Scott Snyder (Va. Ct. App. 2007).
· cites it 4× “-4- We find there is a marked difference between the “approval” requirement and “inspection” of vehicles pursuant to Code § 46.2-1157. As part of its highway safety program, Virginia requires motor vehicles registered in the Commonwealth to be inspected annually for mechanical…”
Commonwealth v. Vernon, 47 Va. Cir. 321 (Charlottesville Cir. Ct. 1998).
· cites it 4× “Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1157 (1997). Consequently, the statute permits the owner to drive directly to an official inspection station.”
James Henry Fisher v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2004).
· cites it 2× “In Reel we noted that Code § 46.2-1157 requires that: “No owner or operator shall fail to submit a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer operated on the highways in this Commonwealth to such inspection or fail or refuse to correct or have corrected in accordance with the…”
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1157(A): 1 case
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1157(C): 1 case
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1157(E): 1 case
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