For CA guys: some basic questions about registration and smog laws

[dwadia]

I'm in the middle of moving to CA... not sure exactly when it will be "finished." I already bought a used car there around Feb. and i remember it's due to have the registration renewed and smog done this month. I'm at home in NJ and got the registration renewal form in the mail here, but it didn't say anything about smog. So... what do i do? I don't want to have fines or legal penalties (like registration suspension or ???) but idk how CA laws work and what is required of me right now. Do i have someone go get the car smogged for me or wait till i get there and start driving it again (maybe a couple months)? If i have someone take it to get smogged, how do i get that "registered" with the DMV that the smog has been done?

This situation should be easy to deal with, i just don't know what to do so i'd appreciate the advice.

[BustedS13]

regional section

we don't give a fuck about this shit

signed,
the rest of the world

[Lees_Garage]

If the car was smogged when you purchased it in Feb you probably will not have to smog it until next year. So, if the car was smogged sometime earlier this year, and the registration renewal does not state anything about smog, just mail in the renewal with a check for the amount due and you should get your tags.

[RiversideS13]

the car already had smog right before (within 90 days) transfer it under your name in Feb...so your smog will due 2 years later.

[dwadia]

i got it smogged right after i bought it before registering it in my name (i know the seller was supposed to do it... but he didn't). but DMV still told me when i registered the car that i'd need to get it smogged again in August. the way they explained it, this is the 2-yr smog. the other one was to initially transfer the car, but it "doesn't count" toward the 2-yr smog test. does this sound right? :-/

[Lees_Garage]

Half of the time DMV does not have a clue of what they are talking about. If your paperwork doesn't mention a smog, it's not needed.

[TougeLove]

the smog places in CA report directly to the DMV and it stays on file. regardless of who registers it, the DMV still has the smog cert. on file.

hot tip: if you don't receive your registration stickers in the mail it means something is wrong, in your case, smog. the DMV and police still have record of you paying the registration so you won't inccur penalties but you will get pulled over and if the cop is nice, he'll just give you a warning.

[dwadia]

cool, looks like i just need to pay registration... my paperwork doesn't mention needing smog. and i believe it about the DMV not always knowing what they're talking about - one woman said i couldn't register the car to a NJ address. i went to another guy and he said no problem (and there was no problem). thanks guys.