ECARS self-certification mandatory for federal workers Published Aug. 21, 2026 By Ashley Boucher 412th Civil Engineer Group EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- If you’re a military member or an Air Force civilian you likely received an email that guides you to the Air Force’s ECARS website to register your personal vehicle there. Federal workers operating employee-owned vehicles on base must self-certify their vehicles to comply with Air Force policy. Failure to do so may result in administrative actions, up to and including the revocation of base driving privileges. The Employee-Vehicle Certification and Reporting System is a mandatory Air Force-wide vehicle inspection and maintenance program required for compliance with the Clean Air Act in areas where air quality does not meet federal standards. The base is required to show that vehicles operated by military members and federal civilian employees meet applicable emissions requirements. Those who work for defense contractors are not required to register their vehicles in the program. You will receive an automated email notification from noreply-apims@us.af.mil when it is time for you to self-certify. The process takes approximately two minutes. You only need to register one vehicle that you drive on base. ECARS does not collect personally identifiable information. You’ll need the following to register your vehicle. – A common access card – Your vehicle’s make, model, year and fuel type – The expiration date of emissions testing or smog certificate If your vehicle is registered in another state that doesn’t require emissions testing, you’ll need to get a California smog certificate to register your car in ECARS. A California smog certificate is good for two years. Some vehicles are exempt from emissions testing. If your vehicle falls into one of the categories listed below, select "This personal vehicle is exempt from emissions testing (smog check)" when prompted by the system. – Motorcycles – Diesel vehicles – Electric vehicles – Hybrid vehicles – Vehicles older than 1975 – Vehicles 8 years old or newer If you belong to a vanpool, a carpool or are a reservist and do not drive or park a personal vehicle on the installation 60 days or more per year, select “no” when prompted with this question. The website to complete the certification of your vehicle is the ECARS portal, which requires a CAC: https://apims.af.mil/apims/ecars. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the process, please feel free to reach out to the Edwards ECARS workflow at 412CEG.CEVC.ECARS@us.af.mil or call 661-277-9201.