As court orders NH inspections to continue, state scrambles to tell drivers what that means

All this month, the expiration of New Hampshire’s vehicle inspection and maintenance program, which the Legislature voted last summer to terminate, was looming as Jan. 31 grew nearer. Then, a federal court hit pause.

A preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court Tuesday declared that the inspection program must continue, at least until another court order determines otherwise — or until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves the state’s revised air pollution management plan. The injunction is the most recent order in a lawsuit brought against the state by Kentucky-based Gordon-Darby, the contractor that currently provides New Hampshire’s emissions testing equipment, in December.

Believing emissions testing would end in the coming weeks, some shops were prepared to wind down inspections, and drivers were prepared to forego their annual visit for the first time. Now, just what will happen on state roads and at inspection stations come February remains unclear.

On Wednesday, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said guidance would be released in the coming days. His office, he said at a meeting of the Executive Council, is working with other state departments to determine how New Hampshire could both comply with the court’s order to extend the program while also honoring the directive from the Legislature to end it.

“In the short term, we have to comply with this court order, but we’ll certainly be evaluating what our litigation options are and what our options are for complying,” he said.

Inspection critics say they will continue to fight

House Republicans criticized the injunction, saying it put a corporation before New Hampshire residents and challenged the authority of the state Legislature. In a statement, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said lawmakers would “not give up” on their work to end inspections and proposed removing law enforcement’s authority to pull over drivers for inspection sticker noncompliance.

In the short term, the state is considering appealing or requesting a modification to the ruling while continuing to seek federal approval for the change, Gov. Kelly Ayotte said Wednesday, speaking to reporters at the State House.

In the meantime, though, she acknowledged the confusion drivers might be experiencing.

“I understand, as well, that people haven’t gotten their cars inspected, and they don’t want to be driving on the roads and feel like they’re being stopped for this, in light of this court ruling,” Ayotte said.

Before the injunction, the New Hampshire Department of Safety issued guidance to drivers about what to expect upon the program’s end, and what their legal obligations would be at that time, such as an FAQ on the Department of Safety’s website. As of Wednesday, the FAQ remained live, stating that no inspection stickers would be issued in New Hampshire after the program ended Jan. 31, 2026.

The injunction has created uncertainty about whether that will remain true.

The future of emissions testing in New Hampshire is complicated by the state’s relationship with Gordon-Darby, which is both the vendor of emissions testing equipment and the plaintiff in the suit seeking to prolong the inspection program.

According to court filings, the New Hampshire Department of Safety told Gordon-Darby in a September letter that, in light of the impending end to vehicle inspections, the state intended to terminate their contract with the company for emissions testing services as of Jan. 31.

Now, whether Gordon-Darby emissions testing equipment will remain usable for tests beyond that date remains unclear.

At the Executive Council meeting Wednesday, Formella did not answer a question about whether the state would continue to contract with Gordon-Darby. Meanwhile, in a statement, Gordon-Darby said it was “prepared to assist the state in complying with the court’s decision.”

A Clean Air Act objection

Last year’s House Bill 2, signed by Ayotte on June 27, established an end this January to New Hampshire’s vehicle inspection and maintenance program, which formerly required an annual safety assessment and emissions test for all vehicles.

Gordon-Darby said in its suit against the state that ending emissions testing would put New Hampshire in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. That’s because, the company argues in court filings, the state has not yet received approval from the federal government to amend the pollution control strategies it lists in the air pollution management plan, also called a State Implementation Plan, the act requires.

New Hampshire has taken steps to file with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remove emissions testing from its plan, arguing that ending the emissions testing program will not cause air quality to worsen in the state. But pending EPA approval for that amendment, discontinuing the program — as was slated to occur on Jan. 31 — would put New Hampshire in violation of federal law, EPA Region One Administrator Mark Sanborn wrote in an April 25, 2025, letter to New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Robert Scott.

EPA review of the proposed plan changes will take time, possibly longer than a year, according to Scott. In a Feb. 10, 2025, letter, he addressed Rep. Thomas Walsh, R-Hooksett, who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee, which was then considering the proposal to end the inspection program. Scott said the intended timeline for the program’s end may be too short to secure EPA approval, putting the state at risk of violating federal law and facing possible sanctions, such as the loss of federal highway dollars.

Timeline aside, it’s not clear whether the EPA will accept the revised plan at all. The department’s assertion that ending the program will not worsen air quality may not hold up in the long term, air quality experts said in November, responding to a draft version of the revision.

Ayotte said she was confident the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would ultimately approve New Hampshire’s revised plan.

“I’m confident we’ll get approval, because we’re not the only state that has gone in this direction,” she said.

Inspection stations prepare to change course

On the ground at state inspection stations, conditions were variable. At Banks Chevrolet in Concord, deliveries of inspection stickers seemed to have halted, said business development representative Bob George.

“We have what we have, and we did not get any more,” he said. Banks Chevrolet is continuing to do inspections despite the lack of sticker deliveries, he said.

Representatives at some other inspection stations said they hadn’t experienced a disruption.

“We were surprised” when the shipment arrived, believing inspections were coming to an end, said Lauren Hamel of Accomplished Auto. A bigger surprise came when she learned about the injunction.

“It sounds like we’re still going to be doing state inspections until this is all figured out,” she said.