Virginia State Police update state inspection, rejection stickers for 2026
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Vehicles in Virginia that pass safety inspections in 2026 will receive a new blue safety inspection sticker, Virginia State Police officials recently announced.
The sticker went through numerous changes in 2025, including utilizing green for the first time, as part of anti-counterfeiting efforts.
In 2026, the primary change is occurring with rejection stickers for vehicles that fail their inspections. Those sticks now will be white; they previously were pink.
The rejection stickers also will adhere much more securely to a vehicle's windshield and will have to be scraped off once the vehicle passes inspection. Older versions did not adhere as well and usually fell off after the rejection grace period had passed.
Another change for 2026: there will be one sticker for motorcycles and trailers instead of the two separate ones used in years past. The new sticker will be orange, and the year of expiration will appear on it.
Last year, inspection stickers for vehicles were reduced in size and began including a holographic state seal as well as a dogwood tree flower image. Both images are difficult for counterfeiters to effectively copy, according to police.
The sticker also, for the first time, included two QR codes: the larger one directs to the Virginia State Police Safety Division website, while the smaller one is used for administrative purposes. The expiration month appears on a white background, while the expiration year is placed on top of the dogwood image.
Future state inspection stickers that expire in 2028 (red) and 2029 (yellow) will utilize different colors.
