What this page says about Inspection Station was read from the DC DMV's All DC DMV Locations page, its own page for Inspection Station and the DC DMV's fee, inspection, test and ticket pages on October 22, 2026, and those pages are linked beside each fact.
DC DMV Inspection Station at 1001 Half Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024: the DC DMV's hours for it and its knowledge exam or seasonal tables where it has them, the telephone, how to reach it by Metro, what it handles and what is online, appointments and best times, what to bring and what it costs, and the other DC DMV locations.
In this guide: Address and telephone, Hours at Inspection Station, What Inspection Station handles, Appointments and what you can do online, The notice DMV shows for Inspection Station, Other locations near Inspection Station, Before you go to Inspection Station, Questions about Inspection Station
Address and telephone
DC DMV Inspection Station
1001 Half Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024
Telephone: (202) 737-4404
The DC DMV lists Inspection Station on its All DC DMV Locations page under Inspection Services and gives it a page of its own, read October 22, 2026, with the address, the telephone, the hours table, the Metro and parking notes, the services and the payment options this page carries.
The DC DMV's page map places Inspection Station at 38.8775937716103, -77.01338708805312.
Hours at Inspection Station
| Day | Hours at 1001 Half Street, SW |
|---|---|
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 7:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 8:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Thursday | 7:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Friday | 7:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Saturday | 7:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
The DC DMV publishes the week at DC DMV Inspection Station as Monday closed, Tuesday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, Wednesday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Thursday to Saturday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, Sunday closed.
Inspection Station opens on Saturday, 7:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Inspection Station is closed every Monday on the DC DMV's page, as every DC DMV counter and test office is; only Adjudication Services and the two kiosks open on a Monday.
The DC DMV's note on the hours at Inspection Station: the DC DMV's fall and winter table, which it applies from the first Tuesday of September; its spring and summer table, applied from the first Tuesday of June, is Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 6:00 am to 2:00 pm and Wednesday 7:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The DC DMV's 2026 holiday schedule closes all its facilities, Inspection Station among them, on 12 dates, with the Saturday before every Monday holiday added; the dates are in the table on the location list.
What Inspection Station handles
The DC DMV lists 5 services on its page for DC DMV Inspection Station:
- Non-Commercial Vehicles
- Commercial Vehicles
- Taxicabs and Limos
- Child Car Seat Fittings
- Code Red Days
Inspection Station is the one place the District inspects a vehicle in person: the DC DMV's inspection page sends every vehicle new to the District through Inspection Station before its first registration, repeats the emissions test every two years for a personal vehicle and every year for a commercial, taxi or limousine vehicle with a safety test added, and says the DC DMV requires no safety inspection of a private passenger vehicle. The inspection guide and the new resident guide say when a vehicle is due at Inspection Station.
The services table on the DC DMV's page for Inspection Station covers non-commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles, taxicabs and limousines, child car seat fittings and Code Red days, and its page says the two self-service emissions kiosks at Takoma and Fort Stanton retest a vehicle that Inspection Station has inspected once before.
Appointments and what you can do online
The DC DMV's page for Inspection Station says the station runs first come, first served and that online appointments are not being accepted at this time, so a driver joins the lane at Inspection Station in arrival order; its inspection page says a first inspection of a vehicle new to the District is done at Inspection Station and that the fee is paid with the registration, not at the gate.
The DC DMV's best times for Inspection Station are Thursday or Friday from 8:30 am to 10 am and 1:30 pm to 3 pm, with Tuesday, the days around a holiday, the first hour of the day and 10 am to 1 pm named as the crowded hours at Inspection Station; a vehicle already inspected once at Inspection Station and of model year 2005 or newer can retest at the two self-service kiosks instead.
The notice DMV shows for Inspection Station
The DC DMV's notice for Inspection Station: The inspection station is currently operating on a first-come, first-serve basis; Online appointments are not being accepted at this time.
Other locations near Inspection Station
The DC DMV lists 8 other locations in Washington besides Inspection Station:
- Benning Ridge Service Center, 4525 Benning Road, SE, Washington, DC 20019
- Georgetown Service Center, 3270 M Street NW, Canal Level - Suite C200, Washington, DC 20007
- Rhode Island Service Center, 2350 Washington Place NE, Suite 112N, Washington, DC 20018
- Southwest Service Center, 95 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
- Fort Stanton Self-Service Emissions Inspection Kiosk, 1812 Erie Street SE, Fort Stanton Recreation Center, Washington, DC 20020
- Takoma Self-Service Emissions Inspection Kiosk, 300 Van Buren Street, NW, Washington, DC 20012
- DC DMV Adjudication Services, 955 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Promenade Level - Suite P100, Washington, DC 20024
- Deanwood Road Test and CDL Services Office, 1421 Kenilworth Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20019
By straight line distance from the map point for Inspection Station, the 5 nearest are:
- Southwest Service Center, 95 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20024, about 0 miles
- DC DMV Adjudication Services, 955 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Promenade Level - Suite P100, Washington, DC 20024, about 1 miles
- Fort Stanton Self-Service Emissions Inspection Kiosk, 1812 Erie Street SE, Fort Stanton Recreation Center, Washington, DC 20020, about 2 miles
- Rhode Island Service Center, 2350 Washington Place NE, Suite 112N, Washington, DC 20018, about 3 miles
- Georgetown Service Center, 3270 M Street NW, Canal Level - Suite C200, Washington, DC 20007, about 3 miles
All 10 DC DMV locations, Inspection Station among them, are on the DC DMV location list.
Before you go to Inspection Station
Before the lane at Inspection Station the DC DMV's inspection page says which vehicles never come: brand new passenger vehicles with a certificate of origin get a four year sticker at registration, motorcycles and motorized bicycles are not inspected, and diesel and fully electric passenger vehicles collect a non-expiring sticker at Inspection Station instead of a test; everything else passes Inspection Station before its first District registration and every two years after, one year for a commercial, taxi or limousine vehicle. The inspection guide says what the test at Inspection Station covers.
What a visit to Inspection Station costs is collected with the registration under the DC DMV's inspection fee page: $35 for the two year private vehicle inspection, $10 for the four year new vehicle sticker, $70 a year for a taxi, $35 a year for a commercial vehicle, a $20 late fee for every 30 days past expiry up to $480, two free retests within 20 days of a failure at Inspection Station and $35 for a third, and $10 for a replacement sticker; the DC fee guide lists them beside the other charges.
The DC DMV's page for Inspection Station says vehicles smoking excessively are turned away, pets stay home, the mileage is recorded to the nearest thousand rounded down, and a sticker peeled from a replaced windshield reads VOID, so the vehicle returns to Inspection Station for a replacement sticker; Inspection Station takes no cash, only a money order, check, card or digital wallet, with a 2.5 percent charge on cards.
Questions about Inspection Station
Where is DC DMV Inspection Station?
The DC DMV lists Inspection Station at 1001 Half Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024.
What are the hours at Inspection Station?
The DC DMV publishes the Inspection Station hours as Monday closed, Tuesday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, Wednesday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Thursday to Saturday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, Sunday closed.
Is Inspection Station open on Saturday?
Yes, Inspection Station opens 7:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday.
What is the telephone number for Inspection Station?
The DC DMV gives (202) 737-4404.
What can you do at Inspection Station?
The DC DMV lists 5 services for Inspection Station, the first being non-commercial vehicles.
What kind of office is Inspection Station?
The DC DMV lists Inspection Station as a DC DMV inspection station.
Are there other locations in Washington besides Inspection Station?
Yes, 8 more in Washington besides Inspection Station: Benning Ridge Service Center, Georgetown Service Center, Rhode Island Service Center, Southwest Service Center, Fort Stanton Self-Service Emissions Inspection Kiosk and Takoma Self-Service Emissions Inspection Kiosk.
How do you reach Inspection Station by Metro?
The DC DMV names Waterfront and Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro Stations on its page for Inspection Station, and marks Inspection Station as Metro bus accessible.
Is there parking at Inspection Station?
The DC DMV's page for Inspection Station says: Limited On-Site Parking - No Fee.
How can you pay at Inspection Station?
The DC DMV's page for Inspection Station says: NO CASH Money Order Check Contactless and Digital Wallet Payments Credit / Debit Cards The inspection fee is not paid at time of inspection, but it is paid at time of vehicle registration.
When is Inspection Station least busy?
The DC DMV's page for Inspection Station says: The best times to visit the inspection station are Thursday or Friday from 8:30 am to 10 am and 1:30 pm to 3 pm; Customers are advised Tuesday and the days before and after a holiday are especially busy; Other busy hours to avoid are the first hour of opening and during lunch times 10 am to 1 pm.
Do the hours at Inspection Station change with the season?
Yes. The DC DMV publishes a spring and summer table for Inspection Station from the first Tuesday of June, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 6:00 am to 2:00 pm and Wednesday 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, and a fall and winter table from the first Tuesday of September, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and Wednesday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
More Washington DC DMV pages
Other offices and the rules behind them: all 10 Washington DC DMV offices and the Washington DC DMV guide.
What to bring and what it costs before you go: renewing a Washington DC license, the documents a Washington DC REAL ID takes, registering a vehicle in Washington DC and titling a vehicle in Washington DC.
The courts, sheriffs and recorders of Washington DC are indexed separately on the Washington DC public records page.