How to Sign Up for the Clean Truck Check Portal (CTC-VIS): Step-by-Step Guide
Before your truck can be Clean Truck Check compliant, you need an account in CARB’s reporting portal, the Clean Truck Check Vehicle Inspection System (CTC-VIS). It’s where you report your vehicles, pay the annual compliance fee, see your testing deadlines and view your test results. This step-by-step guide follows CARB’s official CTC-VIS user guide.
- An email address you can access (it becomes your username)
- For each truck: VIN (exactly as it appears on your DMV registration), license plate and state of registration, and GVWR
- A debit or credit card, or bank details for an eCheck, to pay the annual compliance fee
- Business details and locations if you’re registering as a company
We can set up your CTC-VIS account, report your trucks and test them in the same visit.
Step-by-Step: How to Sign Up for CTC-VIS
Go to the CTC-VIS portal and click “Register”
Open cleantruckcheck.arb.ca.gov and click Register. CARB requires “a valid email address, that you have access to, as your username.”Choose your entity type and enter your details
Pick Individual (owner-operator) or Company/Government. Individuals enter personal details. Companies enter entity information and their operating locations, and can add more locations later from the My Entity page. CARB asks you to make sure all information is accurate and the entity type is correct.Add your vehicles
Go to My Info / My Entity → Vehicles → Actions → Add Vehicle. Enter the VIN exactly as it appears on your DMV registration, along with the plate, state and GVWR. There’s an “Irregular VIN” checkbox for non-standard VINs. Companies can use CARB’s bulk upload template for multiple trucks.Pay the annual compliance fee
Open the fees section, click Add to Cart for each vehicle, and pay by debit card, credit card or eCheck. CARB notes a 2.99% convenience fee on card payments. Card payments take 1–2 business days to process and eChecks up to 7 business days. Your compliance certificate is generated about one business day after payment fully processes.Get tested by a CARB credentialed tester
Your testing deadlines appear in CTC-VIS. A credentialed tester runs the test and submits the results, and you can view them in your account. Tests can be submitted up to 90 days before a deadline.Account
Register with your email and choose Individual or Company.Vehicles + fee
Report each truck, then pay the annual fee per vehicle.Test
Pass your Clean Truck Check before each deadline.The three parts of Clean Truck Check compliance, per CARB’s CTC-VIS user guide and FAQ.
Mobile Clean Truck Check: $110 in Southern California, $85 in Las Vegas. No trip fee, free pre-check.
Common Sign-Up Mistakes to Avoid
- VIN typos: the VIN has to match your DMV registration. A single wrong character can keep a truck from showing as compliant.
- Wrong entity type: fleets should register as a company so they can add locations and use bulk upload.
- Unpaid fees: reporting a vehicle isn’t enough. The annual fee must be paid for the compliance certificate to be issued.
- Waiting until the deadline: card payments take 1–2 business days and eChecks up to 7, so pay and test early.
Out-of-State and Occasional Trips
CARB’s rules cover almost all non-gasoline heavy-duty vehicles over 14,000 lbs GVWR that operate in California, including trucks registered in other states. For a truck that only enters California occasionally, CARB offers a five-consecutive-day pass once per vehicle per calendar year, submitted at least 7 business days before entering the state. See the CARB FAQ for details.
Video Help From CARB
CARB publishes free video tutorials, including account registration and adding a vehicle, on its Clean Truck Check reporting resources page.
Send us a message or call/text. We help owner-operators and fleets get compliant, fast.
Official Sources
- CARB: CTC-VIS portal
- CARB: CTC-VIS Online User Guide
- CARB: Reporting Resources & Instructional Videos
- CARB: Clean Truck Check FAQ
- CARB: Emissions Compliance Testing Requirements
American Trucking Compliance LLC is a private, CARB credentialed Clean Truck Check tester and is not affiliated with CARB or any government agency. Portal steps can change, so always follow the latest instructions on CARB’s website. This article is general information, not legal advice.
