Reform Delaware’s OBD-II Emissions Testing to Protect Working Families

Delaware’s current DMV emissions process automatically fails vehicles whenever an emissions-related diagnostic code is active or when readiness monitors have not reset — even if the car is running clean, safe, and reliable. These failures often occur after common situations like battery replacement, recent repairs, or normal computer resets, and not because the vehicle is actually polluting.

This system creates unnecessary financial pressure on Delaware’s families, middle-class households, working-class residents, and lower-income drivers, many of whom depend on a single vehicle to get to work, transport children, and manage daily life. When a harmless or borderline emissions code forces a fail, people are pushed into repairs that may not meaningfully improve air quality but can cost hundreds of dollars they cannot easily spare.

Many states provide reasonable alternatives — such as allowing additional monitors to be “not ready,” offering a tailpipe test as a backup option, or granting exceptions for low-impact issues. Delaware does not, and the result is a testing system that prioritizes strict regulation over practical outcomes.

We, the undersigned, call on Delaware’s lawmakers and DMV leadership to update and modernize the OBD-II emissions process so that it targets real pollution, not computer technicalities — and no longer places unnecessary burdens on the families who rely on their vehicles every day.