The Bureau of Automotive Repair as part of its mission is constantly on the lookout for what it perceives to be violations of California’s SMOG Check / STAR program. As a SMOG station or SMOG technician, you may not agree with the Bureau, and in fact you may receive what is called in industry parlance an “accusation.”
Now, first and foremost, you are not an attorney! Many of the laws and regulations that govern California’s SMOG industry are arcane to say the least. If you have time, you can read statements by the Bureau of Automotive repair by visiting the Law and Regulations webpage and here view the law resources page and 
guidelines page.
But who has a) that kind of time, and b) the kind of technical expertise necessary to understand, let alone dispute a Bureau of Automotive Repair accusation?
Accusations from the Bureau of Automotive Repair
“To accuse” comes from a 14th century word, Old French ‘acuser,’ meaning “to accuse, indict, reproach, or blame,” and like many words in English, it comes to us from French because after the Normandy conquest of England, many of our educated, legal terms came to us from Latin / French. It’s not surprising this word would be of use by a government agency!
But, really as a busy station owner or technician, who cares? Your problem at a most basic level is that the Bureau of Automotive Repair is threatening to take away your license.
You could try to a) understand all the legal and regulatory issues, and b) combat them, or c) reach out to a professional attorney who understands and deals with them every day.
Think about it this way. When a customer’s 2015 Lexus IS C breaks down, should he a) try to understand how it works, b) fix it himself, or c) hire a professional expert in Lexus repairs? You see the point.
If you’ve received a STAR Invalidation notice, citation, or accusation from the Bureau of Automotive Repair, reach out to us for a free consultation by calling 415-392-2886 or sending us an email.