Inspection stickers get new look
DOT says QR code, vehicle information will add security, protect against fraud
ALBANY — New York is switching to print-on-demand stickers for vehicle inspections. And the new design is ... different.
The new stickers, featuring large black-and-white text and a QR code, will be printed on demand at mechanic shops and dealerships. Their rollout is to add security and prevent fraud, state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Tim O’brien said in an email.
While vehicle inspections and the cost won’t change, the stickers now include vehiclespecific information such as the license plate number and mileage. This, along with a QR code linking back to the inspection record, will make it easier for police to enforce traffic laws and harder for drivers to keep old inspection stickers on recently purchased vehicles, Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola said.
“They’ll have to have that vehicle reinspected,” he said, explaining that, while required by law, it’s harder to track with the older stickers.
The 10-day inspection stickers issued by county motor vehicle departments will not change, O’brien said.
Rather than a hole-punch indicating when the next inspection is due, the new sticker will show that in large type on the sticker. That is meant to be easier for law enforcement to spot overdue inspections, Merola said.
All shops and dealerships are expected to have the new stickers by the end of 2023, but some have been using them since this last fall as part of a pilot initiative, O’brien said. One of these is Latham dealership Keeler Motors. The dealership spent about $2,000 to buy a new computer, printer, sticker paper and bar code scanner, service director Dan Rothstein said.
“When you have the inspection done, it custom prints a vehicle inspection sticker for your car,” he said. “So there’s no way to really forge them.”
Drivers have gotten creative in previous years in crafting fake inspection stickers. Rothstein said a customer once came in with one that appeared to be drawn in crayon. So far, the pilot has been going well, even if some customers have done double-takes. “It just takes some getting used to,” he said.