Personal passenger vehicles in the province will have to be inspected every two years instead of one under changes to the Motor Vehicle Act coming into effect Jan. 1.

New Brunswick has been one of the only provinces to require yearly inspections.

The new inspection regime applies to "personal passenger vehicles, family motor coaches, antique vehicles, light commercial vehicles and farm trucks with an unladen curb mass of 3,000 kilograms or less," according to the provincial government.

The cost of an inspection will rise to $45 from $35.

New cars brought to dealers from manufacturing plants won't have to be inspected for three years from the date of their arrival.

After New Brunswick switches to inspections every two years, Prince Edward Island will be the only province requiring yearly motor vehicle inspections.

But even a two-year inspection cycle would be considered excessive in some parts of the country.

In Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador inspections are only required when a vehicle changes owners.

In several others, including Alberta and Quebec, no inspection is required, unless that vehicle has been imported from another province.

This is the second significant change in six months related to what New Brunswickers have to show on their cars. Six months ago, the government stopped requiring front licence plates on vehicles, despite a call from law enforcement to keep them.