We’re pleased to announce that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has issued an Executive Order certifying the Motive Vehicle Gateway under the Clean Truck Check program. This milestone reflects extensive field testing, data validation, and collaboration with CARB. 

With this announcement, Motive is now certified as a reporting provider for organizations that need to meet California’s inspection requirements, helping them operate more safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

Why the Clean Truck Check matters

California’s Clean Truck Check (CTC) program is designed to reduce the health and environmental impacts of heavy-duty vehicle emissions. The program requires vehicles weighing over 14,000 pounds, using diesel or alternative fuel, and operating in California to comply. This applies to commercial fleets, government vehicles, transit buses, and owner-operators, even if the vehicle is registered outside of California. With testing intervals increasing, compliance can quickly become a heavy administrative burden and potential profitability drain.

Compliance depends on more than a single inspection. Organizations need to manage recurring testing requirements, vehicle readiness, emissions-related faults, and the administrative work that comes with reporting. Missing a deadline or failing an inspection can lead to fines and DMV registration blocks.

Instead of treating CARB compliance as a stressful, manual event, Motive now organizations turn emissions testing into an automated background process. Our system can now natively capture, format, and securely transmit required On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) emissions data directly to CARB without requiring third-party testing hardware.

The OBD data captured by the Vehicle Gateway helps teams:

  • Monitor emissions-related vehicle components.
  • Identify current emissions-related faults.
  • Confirm that a vehicle is ready for testing.
  • Collect the information needed for compliance reporting.

CARB also requires periodic compliance tests on eligible vehicles to be performed with certified OBD test devices such as the Motive Vehicle Gateway. This makes certification an important part of your  long-term compliance process.

What Motive’s certification means for customers

Motive’s certification gives customers confidence that their compliance workflows are supported by devices designed to capture and report the data required by CARB. Rather than treating compliance as a one-time event, organizations can build it into the workflows they already use to manage vehicles, drivers, maintenance, and operations.

Motive Vehicle Gateway captures OBD data and brings it together with telematics information, including vehicle location, performance, maintenance needs, and compliance status. With that information in one platform, teams can spend less time piecing together data from disconnected systems and more time taking action. 

Managing both OBD and telematics data in one platform provides great benefits for Motive customers:

  • Reduced testing disruption: Motive’s remote emissions-testing capabilities can reduce the need for in-person inspections and help keep eligible vehicles in service. Testing still requires the vehicle to be stationary while the check runs.
  • Proactive issue resolution: Because Motive continuously monitors engine health, your maintenance team gets real-time alerts for emissions-related fault codes. You can fix these issues before a vehicle fails a compliance test or gets flagged by CARB’s roadside emissions monitors.
  • Guaranteed pptime: Failing to comply with the CTC program results in steep fines and immediate DMV registration blocks, effectively grounding non-compliant trucks. Motive’s automated reporting ensures you remain audit-ready and legally operational in California with minimal manual effort.

A milestone in connected compliance

Motive has long helped organizations manage complex compliance requirements through automated workflows, reporting, and connected vehicle data. The CARB Clean Truck Check certification extends that work to an important environmental and operational priority in California.

With this new certification, Fleet Managers get the benefits of clearer information, fewer manual steps, and more confidence that compliance requirements are addressed before they become business disruptions.

We’re proud to reach this milestone and to help California organizations move toward cleaner, safer, and more efficient operations. 

Motive’s CARB-certified automated reporting is supported for J1939-compatible vehicles equipped with the Motive Vehicle Gateway paired with a Green 9-pin connector which supports the high-speed data networks necessary to pull and securely transmit the complex OBD emissions data that CARB demands. 

Learn more about Motive’s fleet compliance solutions or contact us to see how Motive can support your operation.