The smog station which inspects your vehicle electronically sends the smog check results to the DMV. Even though the transmission is in real-time, it usually take the DMV 24 hours to propagate the information and post the smog check results to your vehicle's registration record. For this reason, it's best to wait a day after your smog test to complete the renewal online. If your hitting the registration deadline and need fees posted ASAP, using a service like
NeedTags.com is great. They will send fees to the DMV regardless of your smog check status; helping avoid late fees, and then soon as your smog check is results are posted, they'll finish up the renewal and send you your new registration.
