Approved Applicants

You've been approved - now what? You are not yet approved for a repair.

Clean Air Auto Repair (CAAR) – Repair Process for Approved Applicants

If your application is approved, you will receive a confirmation email notifying you of your vehicles eligibility. This email will include instructions on how to schedule an appointment with an approved CAAR repair facility for evaluation and potential repairs.

Step 1: Vehicle Evaluation

Schedule an Appointment with one of the approved CAAR repair shops listed in your approval email. Be sure to let them know that you have been Approved by the Regional Air Quality Council for a evaluation for your vehicle emission issues.
The repair shop will:

Evaluate your vehicle
Diagnose emission-related issues
Recommend eligible repairs

Step 2: Estimate & Approval

The approved repair facility will:

Prepare a written estimate
Submit the estimate directly to the CAAR team at caar@raqc.org

The CAAR team will review the estimate and notify the shop whether the repairs are approved or denied.

Step 3: Complete Repairs

If repairs are approved:

The repair shop will complete the authorized emission-related repairs
Repairs should only proceed after approval has been issued
Vehicle owners are responsible for any repairs not approved

Step 4: Post-Repair Testing (Optional but Recommended)

Path A – With Emissions Confirmation
Shops may take the repaired vehicle to an Emissions Technical Center or Air Care Colorado station for a confirmation emissions test. This helps ensure the vehicle is performing better and provides peace of mind that it will pass emissions testing. Time required to take the vehicle to testing may be billed to CAAR.

Path B – Without Final Test
The shop may return the repaired vehicle to the customer without completing a final emissions confirmation test.However we do recommend shop work with ETC to get a passing test.

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