National OBD Clearninghouse
The National OBD Clearinghouse is a website established by the National Center for Automotive Science & Technology which receives funding from the EPA and provides on-board diagnostics (OBD) technical information from automotive manufacturers to help support state inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs across the country.
Some of the main functions of the Clearinghouse include:
- Collecting information from vehicle manufacturers and their service websites
- Offering a member forum where state I/M administrators can discuss current topics with other states and vehicle manufacturer representatives
- Providing updated contact information for state I/M programs
- Posting other relevant EPA and state documents on the website
Apart from state I/M administrators, the OBD Clearinghouse strives to benefit individual inspection facilities and the manufacturers themselves. While not all of the information is available to them, many inspection and repair shops use the website to look up vehicle documents and other information. Vehicle manufacturers benefit from the Clearinghouse by having a resource they can use to address problems and answer questions, while not having to contact each I/M program. Since the National OBD Clearinghouse has been created, communication between state I/M programs, vehicle manufacturers and the EPA has been easier and more effective.