NYVIP: Issuing Emission Waivers

 

During a review of station records as part of our routine audits, we have noted that some stations are not complying with current regulations when issuing waivers.

 

Part 79, section 79.25 of the Commissioner’s Regulation pertains to the issuance of emission waivers, and requires that:

 

§         In order for a vehicle to qualify for a waiver it must pass a Safety Inspection, Gas Cap check, and Emission Control Device check.

§         The vehicle must have been previously inspected and failed.  NYVIP will not offer a waiver on an initial inspection.

§         The cost of all emission related repairs must meet or exceed the $450 waiver limit. (replacing missing emission devices, safety items and warranty repairs are excluded)

§         Repairs must address the cause of the emission failure, be recorded accurately in NYVIP, and accurate supporting repair documents (part and/or repair invoices) must be maintained by the facility granting the waiver.

§         The waiver form as printed by the NYVIP unit must be properly signed by the motorist and the certified inspector and maintained by the facility. 

§         All waiver forms and supporting documents are subject to review by an Automotive Facilities Inspector.

 

 

Stations that issue waivers inappropriately, and/or create fraudulent documents and/or fail to properly maintain waiver records, will subject their license to charges potentially resulting in revocation, suspension, and/or the payment of civil penalties.

 

Stations that fail to issue a justifiable waiver when requested by the consumer will be in violation of the Commissioner’s regulations, and could be subject to enforcement actions. 

 

The Department has received several questions on this procedure, and offer the following frequently asked questions to assist in clarifying the procedures:

 

Q: A customer brought in receipts from another repair facility—do I have to offer them a waiver?

 

A: If the customer meets all of the requirements as stated above, yes, you must offer the waiver.

 

Q:  If I offer a waiver, am I responsible for the repairs?

 

A:  If your shop did the repairs, then yes, you are responsible for them as per Part 82, Repair Shop Regulations. The repairs completed by your shop must be listed on the customer’s invoice, have some direct relationship to the diagnostic trouble code reported during the initial inspection, and can include parts costs, diagnostic time and labor time.  Waivers should not generally be issued for readiness monitor failures; unless it can be shown, through written documentation attached to the receipt, that a defective part caused the monitors not to run.

 

If your facility did not do the repairs, make sure the facility number of the repair shop that did the repairs is the one listed on the NYVIP system—do not enter your facility number. As the station that issued the waiver, you do have the responsibility for confirming that the invoice is valid, dated after the initial inspection and confirm that if parts were stated as replaced, that to the degree possible, confirm that the repairs were done prior to issuing the waiver.

 

Repair information is stored in the NYVIP system, therefore repair costs must only be entered once.  The same repair costs must not be entered on subsequent inspections. Do not use invoices that are improper e.g. contains no facility number, facility name and address, etc.

 

Q: What if the consumer purchased the parts themselves and installed them?

 

A: The station must then enter only the parts listed on the parts store invoice.  If the consumer did the repairs themselves, then they cannot include their labor or diagnosis costs.

 

Q: What do we do if the cost of repairs exceeds the waiver amount and the customer cannot afford to replace the part that caused the failure in the first place?

 

A: : There is no provision for not doing any repair due to the cost exceeding $450.  If the only needed emission repair will cost $1000, the vehicle will  need to be repaired to qualify for a waiver or pass the inspection.  If the vehicle needs two emission repairs, one for $500 and the other for $1000, the $500 repair only may be made and the vehicle will qualify for the waiver.  The purpose of the waiver is to assist people who may not be able to afford the entire repair make some incremental improvement to their vehicle so that we can all breathe cleaner air. It’s intent is not to be able to issue consumers a sticker to get around the system. Repairs made must have a verifiable relationship to the code that was reported during the inspection. While we recognize that there is not always a direct relationship between the two (DTCs only list the system that reported the problem—it is not a diagnosis), replacing a functioning catalytic converter for a cylinder misfire code would not be considered “valid”.

 

Q: What are DMV’s expectations for maintaining waiver records?

 

A: Records for any emission waiver issued by the NYVIP in the past 2 years  must be located on site, the waiver form must have both the signature of the certified inspector and the consumer, and have all receipts (invoices, store receipts, etc.) entered into the NYVIP by the station attached to the form, as well as any documentation related to diagnostic procedures followed (e.g. notes on what was done during diagnosis, copy of Technical Service Bulletins followed, etc.)

 

Q: Do dealer vehicles qualify for a waiver?

 

A: NO. Dealer vehicles must be properly inspected prior to sale.  However NYVIP does at this time allow the issuance of an emission waiver to an unregistered vehicle.  A vehicle sold by a dealer with a waived emission inspection is not properly certified and that dealer will be in violation.