State inspection stations are once again open for monthly vehicle inspections in Massachusetts.  Last Friday the Mass Registry of Motor Vehicles announced that most inspection stations would be open again for business on Saturday.  Adding “Some inspection stations are experiencing more complex technological issues, and Applus will continue to work to resolve these issues so that inspection services can be restored as soon as possible.”  Based on the contract, Applus must compensate inspection station owners for each day that they were not able to operate.

A malware attack on a Wisconsin-based vendor Applus Technologies was reported by the company on Tuesday, March 30th and not only caused Massachusetts to shutdown vehicle inspections but also a number of other states that also utilize Applus Technologies system.

In the statement by the RMV, “The RMV is working in close partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Massachusetts State Police and other stakeholders to mitigate the impacts of the outage.”

The RMV is extending a grace period for specific motor vehicle inspection requirements. The requirements are outlined below and include an extension which now allows vehicle owners with expired March 2021 and April 2021 inspections stickers to have through May 31, 2021 to obtain inspections.  The RMV is working in close partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Massachusetts State Police and other stakeholders to mitigate the impacts of the outage.

The RMV has advised law enforcement that compliance with the safety/emissions inspection requirement has not been possible since March 30, in light of the outage caused by the malware attack against Applus.

  • Motor vehicles with expired inspection stickers from March 2021 (“3” sticker on windshield) and April 2021 (“4” sticker on windshield) are extended until May 31, 2021, to obtain an inspection.
  •  Newly purchased vehicles registered on or after Tuesday, March 23, 2021, should be granted until April 30, 2021, to obtain an inspection. Newly purchased vehicles must typically be inspected within seven (7) days of registration.
  • Customers who recently had an inspection rejection and are in the 60-day free retest window will be afforded one extra day for each day Applus’s system remains unavailable but should plan to facilitate their inspection as soon as possible once the system is restored and stations are online.

For more information on the recent state vehicle inspection issue click this link.

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