Leno's Law is officially on the books. On September 16, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1392 at Jay Leno's garage in Burbank, giving California collectors the smog check exemption they have been asking for since the original bill was introduced in early 2025. Starting January 1, 2028, qualifying 1976 to 1980 collector cars will no longer need a biennial smog inspection, and the exemption grows by one model year every year until 2033, when it covers everything built before 1986.
Last year we wrote about SB 712, the first version of Leno's Law, while it sat in the Appropriations Committee. That bill died in August 2025. Senators Dave Cortese and Shannon Grove returned with a narrower version, SB 1392, and it cleared its final floor vote 49 to 4. Here is what changed, and what it means if you own or plan to import a car from that era.
The new law is built around collector use, not just age. A 1976 to 1985 car qualifies if it meets one of two tests: it is insured under a collector car policy, or it is driven fewer than 1,000 miles a year. It also cannot be the owner's primary transportation, according to the bill text summary.
The rollout is staggered. On January 1, 2028, model years 1976 through 1980 become exempt. Each January after that adds one model year, so 1981 cars join in 2029, 1982 in 2030, and so on until 1985 is covered in 2033. Cars from 1975 and earlier keep the exemption they already had.
The original SB 712 would have exempted any car 35 years or older with no mileage or insurance test. The collector-use requirement is the compromise that got the bill signed.
A smog check in California averages about $75, and the number climbs for older cars. Pre-2000 vehicles need the BAR-97 tailpipe test rather than a quick OBD scan, and stations commonly charge close to $100 for them, plus the $8.25 state certificate fee. A collector with five late-1970s cars is spending $500 every two years just to keep them registered.
The test fee is the small part. A carbureted 1979 car that fails needs repairs before a retest. An oxygen sensor runs $150 to $300. A catalytic converter for a 45-year-old car, if one can be sourced at all, starts at $1,000. Owners have been chasing parts that no longer exist so a car driven 500 miles a year can pass a test designed for commuters.
Every 1976 and newer car in California currently needs a smog certificate every two years, at every change of ownership, and at first registration in the state. That means finding a station equipped to test an older car and, if it fails, a repair cycle, a retest, and possibly a trip to a state referee. On a stubborn car that turns into weeks of downtime.
Under SB 1392, a qualifying car skips all of it. That matters most at the point of sale, where buyers have long waited on sellers to produce a passing certificate before the DMV would process the transfer. Once a model year phases in, that step disappears for collector-use cars.
A classic car in a garage is not a daily commuter. California has finally written that distinction into law.
This window has been the awkward middle of the California collector market for years. The cars are collectible and approachably priced, but the smog requirement pushed many buyers toward 1975 and earlier models or out of state entirely. A 1979 Porsche 911 SC, a 1984 Ferrari 308 GTS, a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SL, or a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 becomes a far simpler car to own in California once its model year phases in. We expect more of these cars to come home from other states and from overseas, where plenty of US-market cars were exported over the past two decades.
One note for importers: Leno's Law covers the smog check requirement only. Cars originally built for markets outside the US still have their own California registration rules, and we walk clients through those separately as part of our classic car shipping service.
Jay Leno sponsored both versions of the bill alongside SEMA, testified in Sacramento, and led a classic car rally on the Capitol steps in April 2025. His case has been consistent: a well maintained collector car driven a few hundred miles a year is a rounding error in California's emissions picture.
His own garage at Burbank Airport makes the point. Leno keeps roughly 180 cars and 160 motorcycles, every one of them road-legal and ready to drive. The collection spans a 1909 Stanley Steamer, a 1934 Duesenberg Walker Coupe, one of nine surviving 1963 Chrysler Turbine Cars, a 1994 McLaren F1, and the jet-powered EcoJet he built with General Motors. An in-house team of mechanics keeps it all running, and Leno drives the cars rather than storing them.
The law that carries his name reflects that philosophy. These are cars meant to be driven, and California has made it simpler to keep them on the road.
January 1, 2028. On that date, qualifying collector cars from model years 1976 through 1980 become exempt from California's biennial smog check. One additional model year is added every January until 1985 is covered in 2033.
Cars from model years 1976 to 1985 that are insured under a collector car policy or driven fewer than 1,000 miles a year, and that are not the owner's primary transportation. Each model year becomes eligible on its scheduled date. Cars from 1975 and earlier were already exempt.
SB 712, the original Leno's Law, would have exempted any car 35 years or older on a rolling basis. It died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in August 2025. Senators Cortese and Grove reintroduced a narrower bill, SB 1392, in 2026, and Governor Newsom signed it on September 16, 2026.
The law covers the smog check requirement only. A US-market car returning from overseas follows the same phase-in schedule as any other car of its model year once registered in California. Cars originally built for other markets still have separate California registration requirements, which we review case by case.