Va. Code » Title 46.2. Motor Vehicles » Subtitle III. Operation » Chapter 10. Motor Vehicle and Equipment Safety » Article 21. Safety Inspections
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1163 (2026)

Official inspection stations; safety inspection approval stickers; actions of Superintendent subject to the Administrative Process Act

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The Superintendent may designate, furnish instructions to, and supervise official inspection stations for the inspection of motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers and for adjusting and correcting equipment enumerated in this chapter in such a manner as to conform to specifications hereinbefore set forth. The Superintendent shall adopt and furnish to such official inspection stations regulations governing the making of inspections required by this chapter. The Superintendent may at any time, after five days' written notice, revoke the designation of any official inspection station designated by him.

If no defects are discovered or when the equipment has been corrected in accordance with this title, the official inspection station shall issue to the operator or owner of the vehicle, on forms furnished by the Department of State Police, a duplicate of which is retained by such station, a certificate showing the date of correction, registration number of the vehicle, and the official designation of such station. On or before December 1, 2010, any information an official inspection station is required to provide to the Department of State Police shall be accepted by the Department in electronic form. There also shall be placed on the windshield of the vehicle at a place to be designated by the Superintendent an approval sticker furnished by the Department of State Police. If any vehicle is not equipped with a windshield, the approval sticker shall be placed on the vehicle in a location designated by the Superintendent. If the vehicle is a motorcycle, the approval sticker may, at the discretion of the motorcycle owner, be placed on a plate securely fastened to the motorcycle for the purpose of displaying the sticker or affixed to the motorcycle. The Superintendent shall designate the location on which such plate shall be fastened or such sticker shall be affixed to the motorcycle. This sticker shall be displayed on the windshield of such vehicle or at such other designated place upon the vehicle at all times when it is operated or parked on the highways in the Commonwealth and until such time as a new inspection period shall be designated and a new inspection sticker issued. Common carriers, operating under certificate from the State Corporation Commission or the Department of Motor Vehicles, who desire to do so may use with the approval of the Superintendent private inspection stations for the inspection and correction of their equipment.

The Superintendent shall provide motor vehicle safety inspection information upon the written request of an individual or corporate entity or such entity's agent. Any information provided shall not include personal information. The Superintendent may make a reasonable charge for furnishing information under this section but no fee shall be charged to any official of the Commonwealth, including court and police officials; officials of counties, cities, or towns; local government self-insurance pools; or the court, police, or licensing officials of other states or of the federal government, provided that the information requested is for official use and such officials do not charge the Commonwealth a fee for the provision of the same or substantially similar information. Vehicle information, including all descriptive vehicle data, submitted to or received from the Department of State Police related to such a request shall not be considered a public record for the purposes of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). The fees received by the Superintendent pursuant to this section shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department of State Police's motor vehicle safety inspection program.

Actions of the Superintendent relating to official inspection stations shall be governed by the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).

Code 1950, § 46-318; 1954, c. 57; 1956, c. 381; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-318; 1989, c. 727; 1996, c. 573; 2003, c. 138; 2006, c. 620; 2007, cc. 75, 137; 2009, c. 241; 2017, cc. 322, 332; 2018, c. 333.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases, 2004–2017 · leading case: Moore v. Commonwealth, 640 S.E.2d 531 (Va. Ct. App. 2007).
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Moore v. Commonwealth, 640 S.E.2d 531 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 4× “[4] Code § 46.2-1163. Failure to comply with the annual inspection requirement constitutes a traffic infraction.”
Loren Anthony Mason, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 767 S.E.2d 726 (Va. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “We note that there is little distinction between the size of the parking pass, which when hanging would be covered in part by the rearview mirror itself, and the size of various opaque stickers and other objects that various government agencies require or authorize to be…”
Loren Anthony Mason, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 760 S.E.2d 831 (Va. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 4× “We note that there is little distinction between the size of the parking pass, which when hanging would be covered in part by the rearview mirror itself, and the size of various opaque stickers and other objects that various government agencies require or authorize to be…”
James Henry Fisher v. Commonwealth, 592 S.E.2d 377 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “Code § 46.2-1163 provides that vehicles operated on the highways of the Commonwealth must display a valid inspection sticker.”
Eberth v. Cnty. of Prince William, 637 S.E.2d 338 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 4× “2 In a related provision, Code § 46.2-1163 provides that a valid inspection sticker “shall be displayed on the windshield of such vehicle .”
Jerry Lee Gibbs v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1115161 (Va. Ct. App. June 6, 2017). · cites it 2× “, Code § 46.2-1163 (not specifying how a vehicle inspection sticker must be “placed on the windshield”); Code § 46.”
James Henry Fisher v. Commonwealth, No. 0553034 (Va. Ct. App. Feb. 10, 2004). · cites it 2× “Appellant admitted that he removed the car’s rejection sticker and that he continued to drive the 5 Code § 46.2-1163 provides that vehicles operated on the highways of the Commonwealth must display a valid inspection sticker.”
Eric Lee Campbell v. Commonwealth, No. 2252052 (Va. Ct. App. Feb. 13, 2007). · cites it 2× “2-1157 (requiring vehicle safety inspections); and Code § 46.2-1163 (requiring display of safety inspection approval stickers).”
Loren Anthony Mason, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1542132 (Va. Ct. App. Sept. 9, 2014). · cites it 2× “We note that there is little distinction between the size of the parking pass, which when hanging would be covered in part by the rearview mirror itself, and the size of various opaque stickers and other objects that various government agencies require or authorize to be…”
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