Abstract: A vehicle emissions inspection commences when a vehicle owner connects an OBD scanning device to the OBDII system of the vehicle. Once the OBD scanning device is connected, it interrogates the vehicle to solicit the necessary information and data from the OBDII system of the vehicle. After the necessary information and data has been collected from the vehicle's OBDII system, it is encoded and encrypted into a alphanumeric character string displayed on the OBD scanning device. This alphanumeric character string is then reported to a central data storage location for evaluation and determination as to whether the inspection was valid and whether the vehicle passed or failed its inspection.

Abstract: A decentralized method and system for vehicle emissions testing uses the OBD unit of the vehicle to be tested and includes a remote data storage location in communication with a plurality of decentralized inspection stations or test locations. Each inspection location is designed to allow for “self-service” inspection through a kiosk that includes all of the hardware and software necessary to carry out the testing process and to communicate test data and information to the remote storage location.