If you have your car registered in an area that requires inspections, you generally must to go to the Department of Public Safety or the Division of Vehicle Safety Services to replace a lost or damaged vehicle inspection sticker. For a reduced fee, you can get a new inspection sticker for your vehicle. When you fill out the application for a new sticker, be prepared to provide the year and make of the vehicle, the vehicle license plate number, the odometer reading at the time of the last inspection, and the date which your vehicle was last inspected.

A vehicle inspection sticker is put on a car after it passes a car inspection, which checks for such things as vehicle emissions and the standard safety of the car. In the United States, each state is free to decide for themselves whether they want to require yearly inspections or allow for bi-yearly inspections. Some states insist on inspections in order to renew your vehicle registration, while others do not. In larger cities where the air quality is often low due to excess pollution, the government is required to test cars for emissions under the Clean Air Act of 1990.

Most vehicle inspection stickers are attached to the windshield. This application method is preferred because the stickers are easy to find and easy to read. However, sometimes things happen that cause these stickers to become damaged or to come off completely. For example, you may have washed your car with an abrasive cleaner that removed some of the sticker's adhesive backing. In that case, you would need a replacement inspection sticker.

In many states, however, the DMV is starting to keep track of vehicle inspections electronically. Soon, all cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, trailers, and semis will have their inspections electronically tracked. This will eliminate the need for windshield stickers, which creates one less thing for drivers to worry about as they're planning their trips.