Welcome to San Pablo Smog. We provide Berkeley motorists with full
service smog tests – we are the premier STAR Test Only Smog Station.
For your convenience we are open Monday through Saturday, and can
smog test passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, as well as diesels and
even Recreational Vehicles – yes, RVs need to undergo smog testing as
well.
How does a STAR station differ form a regular smog station? STAR
certified smog station conforms to the high standards established by
the Bureau of Automotive Repairs (BAR). You will encounter two kinds
of STAR smog stations in Berkeley: Test Only station and Test & Repair
station.
The difference between these two is pretty much in the name – STAR
Test Only station can perform STAR tests, but does not do repairs.
STAR Test & Repair stations can do the smog test and perform repairs is
such turn out to be necessary.
At San Pablo Smog we are a STAR Test Only facility, and as such we do
one thing and do it very well – we smog test vehicles. We are totally
objective – we have no monetary incentive to pass or fail your vehicle,
since we do no repairs.

If you reside in Berkeley and your vehicle needs a smog test – give us a
call or simply come and get your vehicle tested. We can do both regular smog test as well as STAR smog tests.

Most vehicles require regular smog tests. Some, though, will get a STAR
test notice. Why would a given car be selected for the STAR smog test?
State of California has a few rules that decide when a car will have to go
to the START test station:
1) Vehicles which have failed a previous smog inspection with very
high emission readings are considered “Gross Polluters”, and will
end up at the START test station.
2) There are vehicles that BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) has
classified (based on its data) as being likely to fail a smog
inspection – they are called High Emitter Profile vehicles.
3) Every year, some number of vehicles is randomly selected to go to
a STAR smog station, even though they do not fit any pollution
profile – purely random selection.

When you do receive a notice to take your vehicle to a STAR smog
station, simply bring it to San Pablo Smog. We are conveniently located
on San Pablo, close to Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. Whether you
are driving from home or from office, we are just a few minutes away
(and we are open until 6pm so you can get a STAR smog check after
work). We are also open on Saturdays for your convenience.