"I just bought my new car three months ago, and I was asked to listen to the roar of the engine at the inspection station last year?" Lao Chen complained to his mobile phone. On the other side of the screen was his friend who had just been notified of an "annual inspection." Once upon a time, the annual car inspection was like a time-consuming and laborious "final exam" that gave countless car owners a headache. But recently, the new "two cancellations and one permission" rule that has been circulating in the world has made many people say, "It should have been like this a long time ago!" Which tortured old regulations have been "cut", and what conveniences have really fallen into the pockets of car owners?
Annual car inspection is a commonplace but always gets the focus of conversation. For many car owners, it has been closely associated with words such as "queuing", "complicated", and "one size fits all". However, in 2025, a series of new annual inspection policies collectively known as "two cancellations and one permission" have begun to be implemented, and the trend seems to be changing. These adjustments are not simply process optimization. They reflect a profound change in management thinking from "strict management" to "sophisticated management" and "convenience". They also directly touch the vital interests of the majority of car owners.
The first "cancellation": Say goodbye to the embarrassment and controversy of "spraying words in the car"
"I just bought my new car three months ago, and I was asked to listen to the roar of the engine at the inspection station last year?" Lao Chen complained to his mobile phone. On the other side of the screen was his friend who had just been notified of an "annual inspection." Once upon a time, the annual car inspection was like a time-consuming and laborious "final exam" that gave countless car owners a headache. But recently, the new "two cancellations and one permission" rule that has been circulating in the world has made many people say, "It should have been like this a long time ago!" Which tortured old regulations have been "cut", and what conveniences have really fallen into the pockets of car owners?
Annual car inspection is a commonplace but always gets the focus of conversation. For many car owners, it has been closely associated with words such as "queuing", "complicated", and "one size fits all". However, in 2025, a series of new annual inspection policies collectively known as "two cancellations and one permission" have begun to be implemented, and the trend seems to be changing. These adjustments are not simply process optimization. They reflect a profound change in management thinking from "strict management" to "sophisticated management" and "convenience". They also directly touch the vital interests of the majority of car owners.
The first "cancellation": Say goodbye to the embarrassment and controversy of "spraying words in the car"
"It is authorized to carry 7 people, and it is illegal to exceed the number of people" - this yellow lettering that once had to be spray-printed on the doors of family cars with 7 or more seats is finally about to withdraw from the stage of history. This regulation was intended to warn against overloading, but in actual implementation it caused a lot of complaints. When you buy a new car, you first have to spray-paint a line of incongruous words on the beautiful body, which makes many car owners feel "lost". Especially for MPV or high-end seven-seat SUV owners, the psychological shadow is huge.
The deeper problem is that this "one size fits all" approach to warning is of questionable effectiveness. Some netizens joked: "People who really want to overload will care about these words on the door?" The core of traffic safety lies in the driver's awareness of law-abiding and effective dynamic supervision, rather than static signs. The elimination of mandatory inkjet markings actually respects the property rights and aesthetic rights of private cars, and also reduces the additional costs and disputes incurred by car owners due to the removal of inkjet markings. This sends a signal: Management methods are becoming more targeted and humane.
The second “cancellation”: Unbinding the “identity” of the pickup truck
For pickup truck owners, another "tightening curse" has also been removed - the compulsory spraying of total mass, panel height and other marks on the body and the affixing of reflective strips have been cancelled. In the past, no matter whether you were a luxury pickup truck worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or a utility vehicle, you would always have to be affixed with red and white reflective strips, which instantly gave you a "commercial feel" and plummeted in appearance.
This regulation stems from the overall classification of pickup trucks as light trucks for management many years ago. Nowadays, as pickup truck models increasingly become passenger-oriented and high-end, a large number of car owners purchase pickup trucks for life needs such as outings and camping. It is no longer appropriate to continue to follow the appearance requirements of trucks. The elimination of lettering and reflective strips is not only a "liberation of appearance", but also a re-understanding of the attributes of the pickup truck's multi-functional model, clearing a psychological and aesthetic barrier for it to enter more family consumption scenarios.
The key "permission": Make an appointment online to end the "queuing nightmare"
If the first two items are "subtractions", then "allowing car owners to make appointments for annual inspections through online platforms" is a real "addition". In the past, the most criticized aspect of annual inspections was that they were time-consuming and labor-intensive. Car owners often need to get up early to queue up at the testing station. If they are unlucky and hit the peak period, it is common for them to spend a whole day. "Two hours in line, five minutes for testing" was once a helpless self-deprecation of many car owners.
The implementation of the online appointment system is equivalent to the introduction of an "appointment registration" mechanism to the "examination room" of the annual inspection. Car owners can flexibly choose the testing period according to their own time and go there at a "pinch-point", which greatly saves social time costs and alleviates the order pressure and safety risks caused by centralized queuing at testing stations. This is not only an advancement in technology application, but also an improvement in service concepts, making the convenience felt by car owners real.
Under the New Deal: Is it “relaxation” or “precision” management?
While the new regulations won applause, a voice also emerged: Does this count as "letting go"? Will it reduce vehicle safety? In fact, the cancellation of some items that are more formal than content is precisely to focus regulatory resources and car owners' attention on core items that affect safety, such as braking systems, steering systems, light brightness and beams, etc.
Take the removal of reflective strips on pickup trucks as an example. On well-lit urban roads, reflective strips have limited effect; while driving at high speeds, the vehicle's own lighting system is more critical. Refined management means no longer "grasping the eyebrows and beards", but dynamic assessment and adjustment of projects based on scientific data and actual risks. Far from being a relaxation, this is a manifestation of higher requirements and a more scientific regulatory approach.
Car owners’ “hidden benefits”: time, money and mood
The benefits brought by "two cancellations and one permission" can be counted on one's fingers. The time saved is most intuitive: you don’t have to queue, and you save at least half a day for one appointment; you don’t have to deal with printing, and you save a lot of trouble. Money is also saved: removing unwanted inkjet printing and dealing with residual offset printing from reflective strips all require expenses, but now this money is saved.
What's more important is the increase in emotional value. The appearance of the vehicle can be kept intact and beautiful, and the annual inspection process is no longer full of uncertainty and long waits. This "no hassle" experience has greatly improved the owner's satisfaction and recognition of regulations. When management is more warm, the awareness of law-abiding will tend to be higher.
Conclusion
“Two cancellations and one permission” are like a mirror, reflecting the evolution direction of automobile social governance. When "must spray characters" become history and "long queues" can be changed, people will see not only the simplification of procedures. From "how to look" to "how to run", from "cars adapt to regulations" to "regulations serve people and cars", this change itself may be more worth savoring than the half-day saved. What difference will you feel the next time you drive to a testing station?
