The end of the inspection sticker (AKA Brake Tag) is near! 

Louisiana drivers are all too familiar with the inspection sticker ritual: noticing your sticker has expired two months ago, making an ATM run for cash, gathering your documents, carving out some time, and then waiting for a sunny day to drive to your local inspection sticker shop for a fresh sticker.

Soon, that annual tradition will be coming to an end, sort of.

While the program served an important purpose of ensuring drivers properly maintained their vehicles, modern vehicles come equipped with a multitude of sensors to quickly inform drivers of potential safety hazards.  This change also comes on the heels of several states moving away from inspection sticker programs, including Texas, which ended its program last year. 

Replacing our “beloved” inspection sticker will be a new QR Code sticker that is included with your registration renewal. 

The new sticker will allow police officers to quickly scan to access registration and VIN information. Future versions could potentially include insurance information as well.

In addition to being a time-saver, the new sticker will also save a little money. QR Code stickers will cost $6 compared to the previous $10 annual fee.

Before you begin driving for joy, there are a few important catches. 

New Orleans, Kenner, and Westwego may continue to enforce their own inspection sticker requirements. Officials from those cities will await the bill’s final passage before deciding how to proceed. 

Several parishes will continue emissions testing because of federal environmental rules. 

This includes: 

• East Baton Rouge

• West Baton Rouge

• Livingston

• Iberville

• Ascension

Commercial vehicles, school buses, and certain farm vehicles will continue to be subject to inspection requirements.

If you’re driving with an expired sticker, you still have one more trip to make for old times' sake.

Drivers are still required to maintain a valid sticker through 2026. The new QR Code sticker will take effect on January 1, 2027.

The inspection sticker may be going away, but traffic laws are not. Police officers will still ticket drivers for vehicle hazards such as broken taillights, illegal window tint, expired registration, and other safety violations.