MA Vehicle Inspection Shutdown To Last Up To 1 More Week

MASSACHUSETTS — State vehicle inspections could be delayed up to another full week in Massachusetts as the vendor that runs the system works to recover from a recent malware attack.

There have been no inspections possible this month after Applus Technologies, the company that runs the state system, was hit with an attack that forced a system shutdown. The Registry of Motor Vehicles said on Saturday it could be April 17 before inspection stations are brought back online.

The RMV said Applus was in phase 2 of its "Restoration and System Testing" as part of a three-phase system to restart inspections. Phase 3 will include testing the 1,800 individual vehicle safety and inspection emissions stations to verify they are secure and operational.

"We are encouraged by the very good progress our teams have been making," the RMV said. "However, at this time, stations should not expect to perform inspections until potentially Saturday, April 17.

"Applus and the RMV are working together to ensure that every aspect is ready for a safe and secure return to program testing. We know the stations, inspectors and vehicle owners rely on our technology and we are committed to focusing all of our combined efforts on resolving this issue."

Because of the inspection outage, the state said it is putting a grace period for all vehicle inspections that expired on March 31. Owners will have until April 30 to obtain a new inspection sticker.

Due to an ongoing system outage with our vendor Applus Technologies, inspection stations will be unable to inspect vehicles until potentially Saturday, April 17. Please visit https://t.co/urZJtt812J and https://t.co/gWy9D74lgY for updates. pic.twitter.com/jG9vXs2clN
— Massachusetts RMV (@MassRMV) April 10, 2021

New vehicles purchased on or after March 23 will also have until April 30 to get a sticker — beyond the typical seven-day grace period for new purchases.

Customers with a failed inspection sticker in the 60-day retest window from February or March will have one extra day to be retested for every day the system is unavailable, but they are advised to try to arrange for a re-test as soon as possible after the system comes back online.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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