A California state referee ticket for a common exhaust violation runs about $193 to $197 in fines and mandatory assessments, plus a separate $108 fee for the Bureau of Automotive Repair referee inspection. To clear the citation, you take your vehicle to a BAR referee station, pass the inspection, and submit the Certificate of Compliance to the court along with payment of your fine. The larger expense is usually the parts and labor to bring the vehicle back into compliance, which can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the modification.
What a State Referee Ticket Actually Is
A referee ticket is a traffic citation for a vehicle modification that violates the California Vehicle Code, paired with a required inspection at a BAR Smog Check Referee station before the court will consider the matter resolved. Most of these citations fall under three statutes.
Vehicle Code Section 27150 requires every registered combustion-engine vehicle to have a properly maintained muffler and bans exhaust systems fitted with cutouts or bypasses.1California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 27150 – Adequate Muffler Required Section 27151 makes it illegal to modify an exhaust in a way that pushes noise past legal limits; for vehicles under 6,000 pounds other than motorcycles, that threshold is 95 decibels under current SAE testing.2California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 27151 – Modification of Exhaust Systems Section 27156 covers emissions tampering: removing, disconnecting, or altering any required pollution control device, and installing aftermarket parts that change how those controls work.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 27156 – Emission Control Devices That’s the one that catches deleted catalytic converters, removed EGR valves, and non-CARB-approved engine swaps.
Window tint, altered ride height, and lighting modifications can also send you to a referee. Your citation lists the specific code section violated.
What You’ll Pay
The base fine for a standard exhaust violation under Section 27150 or 27151 is only $25. State and county penalty assessments, court fees, and construction surcharges do the rest of the work: a modified exhaust citation totals about $193, and a loud muffler violation about $197.4California State Assembly. AB 390 Analysis – Assembly Committee on Transportation Totals vary a bit by county because local surcharges differ.
The BAR referee inspection is a separate charge, paid to the station at your appointment. For exhaust noise testing tied to Section 27150 or 27151, the commonly reported fee is $108. Fail the initial inspection and you’ll pay again for the re-inspection after repairs.
Compliance is where budgets blow up. Swapping back to a factory muffler might cost a few hundred dollars in parts and labor. Reinstalling a catalytic converter costs more. Certifying a non-compliant engine swap with a CARB-approved kit can run into the thousands.
Section 27156 emissions violations hit harder. If the court finds you willfully tampered with emissions equipment, it must impose the maximum allowable fine with no portion suspended.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 27156 – Emission Control Devices
Not a Fix-It Ticket Anymore
If you’ve heard that an exhaust citation is a $25 fix-it ticket, that’s outdated. Before 2019, officers issued these as correctable citations under Vehicle Code Section 40610, which gave you 30 days to fix the issue and pay a $25 dismissal fee.5Judicial Branch of California. Fix-It Ticket Assembly Bill 1824, signed in 2018, ended that treatment for Sections 27150 and 27151. Since January 1, 2019, these tickets carry immediate mandatory fines with no correction discount.4California State Assembly. AB 390 Analysis – Assembly Committee on Transportation
Other equipment violations, like tint or lighting, can still be correctable under Section 40610, giving you 30 days to fix and show proof.6California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 40610 – Correctable Violations The officer can refuse that option if there’s evidence of fraud, persistent neglect, or an immediate safety hazard.
Booking the BAR Referee Inspection
BAR referee stations sit at community colleges around the state and have the noise, emissions, and visual inspection equipment that regular smog shops don’t. Schedule your appointment by calling 1-800-622-7733 or through asktheref.org.7Bureau of Automotive Repair. On-Board Diagnostic Test Reference The call center will confirm which documents your specific violation requires.
Bring the paperwork the referee program tells you to bring:8Ask the Ref. How to Prepare for Appointments
- The original citation
- Current vehicle registration or DMV renewal notice
- Receipts for any repairs done to bring the vehicle into compliance
- Parts documentation, including CARB Executive Order numbers and any exemption letters
For an exhaust noise ticket, the referee tests your vehicle’s sound output against the applicable decibel limit. For an emissions violation, expect a visual check of pollution control equipment and possibly an OBD or tailpipe test. There’s also a general safety check, so show up with no fluid leaks and properly inflated tires.
Pass, and the referee issues a Certificate of Compliance. Fail, and you’ll make repairs and return for a re-inspection. Your court deadline keeps running the whole time, so start early.
Closing the Case with the Court
Take the Certificate of Compliance to the court handling your citation. Most California courts accept proof by mail, in person, or through an online portal. The certificate proves the vehicle now meets the standard, but it does not erase the fine. You still owe the assessed penalty.
Pay through the court’s website, California’s ePay system, by mail, or at the clerk’s window. If you can’t afford the full amount, the MyCitations program lets you request a reduction, a payment plan, extra time to pay, or community service instead.9Judicial Branch of California. MyCitations – Can’t Afford to Pay Your Ticket You submit the request online with proof of your finances and get the court’s decision by email.10Judicial Branch of California. If You Can’t Afford to Pay Your Traffic Ticket
If You Ignore the Ticket
Ignoring the citation is the expensive path. Missing a court date or payment deadline lets the court add a civil assessment of up to $100 on top of the fine, and each additional failure to comply can trigger another $100.11California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 1214.1 – Civil Assessment The court may issue a bench warrant and refer your balance to the Franchise Tax Board’s Court-Ordered Debt Collection Program, which can pursue you through wage garnishments, tax refund intercepts, and bank levies.
California no longer suspends licenses solely for unpaid fines, an AB 103 change. An open warrant for failure to appear is its own problem and can lead to arrest at a routine traffic stop.
Insurance and Federal Exposure
Exhaust and emissions violations under Sections 27150, 27151, and 27156 don’t add points to your California driving record, so they shouldn’t directly bump your insurance rate the way a speeding ticket would. The citation still shows up on your record, and some insurers look at the record as a whole.
The bigger insurance risk is undisclosed modifications. Most auto policies include material misrepresentation clauses that let the insurer deny a claim if you didn’t disclose modifications when you bought or renewed. If an accident report notes an aftermarket exhaust, the insurer may use that opening to investigate further, and undisclosed modifications discovered during a claim can result in denial or cancellation whether or not they caused the accident. If your vehicle is modified, tell your insurer before you need to file.
Emissions tampering also carries federal exposure. The Clean Air Act prohibits removing or disabling emissions controls on a motor vehicle and separately bans manufacturing, selling, or installing parts designed to bypass them.12U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement Alert – Aftermarket Defeat Devices and Tampering The EPA has made aftermarket defeat devices a national enforcement priority.13U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative – Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices Civil penalties under 42 U.S.C. ยง 7524 reach up to $2,500 per violation for individuals.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 7524 – Civil Penalties Federal enforcement has historically targeted shops and parts sellers more than individual owners, but the prohibition applies to everyone, and “off-road use only” labeling on parts is not a legal shield once they’re on a street-driven vehicle. Federal law also prohibits selling a vehicle with disabled or removed pollution controls, and the EPA has stated you cannot “de-certify” a registered vehicle for off-road use to escape emissions requirements.15U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Exhaust System Repair Guidelines