California requires only one category of business to install an Automated External Defibrillator: health studios. Every other business, church, HOA, school, or nonprofit is free to decide whether to acquire one. But the moment any organization does acquire an AED, California’s AED requirements kick in under Health and Safety Code Section 1797.196, and they cover registration with local EMS, maintenance, inspection, training, and record-keeping. Skip those steps and you lose the civil liability protections the law is designed to give you.
Who Must Have an AED in California
Health and Safety Code Section 104113 is the only statute that creates an actual mandate. It requires every health studio, meaning gyms, fitness centers, and similar exercise facilities, to acquire an AED, maintain it, and train staff to use it.1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 104113
Section 1797.196 is often misread as a general mandate. It is not. It sets the rules that apply to anyone who acquires an AED, whether they were required to by Section 104113 or chose to voluntarily.2California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 1797.196 Once you own the device, the rules apply to you the same way they apply to a mandated gym.
Public schools are not required to have an AED. The Education Code allows them to solicit non-state funds to acquire and maintain one, but the decision is theirs.3California Legislative Information. California Education Code 49417 Districts that do adopt a program fall under Section 1797.196 just like anyone else.
What the Law Requires Once You Acquire an AED
Section 1797.196 imposes a specific checklist on any acquirer of an AED in California:2California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 1797.196
- Notify your local Emergency Medical Services agency of the existence, location, and type of AED you acquired.
- Comply with all regulations governing placement.
- Maintain and test the AED according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Test the device at least twice a year and after every use.
- Inspect every AED on the premises at least every 90 days for operability, indicator lights, visible defects, or signs of tampering.
- Keep written records of all maintenance and testing.
The EMS notification step is the one organizations most commonly overlook, and it is the one most tightly connected to the liability shield. Without it, the protection Section 1714.21 offers to the organization may not apply.
If You Own the Building
Building owners have obligations on top of whatever the AED’s acquirer owes. At least once a year, the owner must notify tenants of the location of AED units and provide contact information for anyone interested in voluntary AED or CPR training. The owner must also offer an annual demonstration of the AED to at least one person associated with the building.2California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 1797.196
If You Operate a Health Studio
Health studios carry the heaviest load because Section 104113 sits on top of Section 1797.196. A studio must acquire the device, maintain it, and train its personnel to use it.1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 104113 Training is not optional guidance. The statute treats it as a condition for the liability protections it extends to employees, directors, and owners.
Maintenance, Inspection, and Records
The 90-day inspection cycle means physically checking every AED on your premises roughly four times a year for blinking indicator lights, visible damage, and anything that suggests the device may not work. The separate biannual testing requirement is deeper, involving a functional check per the manufacturer’s instructions. If the manufacturer’s manual specifies more frequent checks, that schedule becomes your legal obligation too, because the statute requires you to follow whichever timeline the manufacturer sets.4California Emergency Medical Services Authority. Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
Batteries and Pads
AED batteries and electrode pads are consumable. Batteries typically last two to five years depending on the device, and pads generally need replacement every two years. Both carry printed expiration dates. Pads must also be replaced after every use, even if no shock was delivered. An AED with expired pads or a dead battery does not count as compliance.
What Your Records Should Show
Section 1797.196 requires you to keep written records of maintenance and testing.2California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 1797.196 A useful log captures the date of each inspection, who performed it, the device’s status, any issues found, and the corrective steps taken. Those records do two jobs: they show compliance if you are audited, and they support your liability protections if the device is ever used in an emergency.
Placement and ADA Cabinet Rules
The statute requires compliance with applicable placement regulations but does not itself set a specific response-time standard. American Heart Association best practice recommends placement that allows retrieval within three to five minutes, and many programs plan around that benchmark. The legal requirement is that the AED be accessible during emergencies and that placement follow any applicable local or state rules.
Wall-mounted cabinets have to satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act rules for protruding objects. If the bottom edge of the cabinet sits between 27 and 80 inches above the floor, the cabinet cannot stick out more than 4 inches into a walkway, corridor, or aisle.5U.S. Access Board. Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards – Chapter 3: Protruding Objects Cabinets mounted at or below 27 inches can protrude further because they fall within cane-detection range. A fully recessed cabinet avoids the protrusion issue entirely.
Liability Protections and How to Keep Them
California Civil Code Section 1714.21 protects anyone who uses an AED in good faith and without compensation during a medical emergency from civil liability for harm resulting from that emergency care.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1714.21 The protection also reaches anyone who provided CPR or AED training to the person who rendered care.
Organizations that acquire AEDs get their own layer of protection, with strings attached. An entity that acquires an AED is shielded from civil damages arising from emergency use of the device only if it has complied with Section 1797.196(b): maintaining the device, testing on schedule, notifying local EMS, keeping records, and providing training.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1714.21 Miss a step and the shield may not hold. Physicians and other health care professionals involved in selecting or installing the AED are covered under the same statute.
Federal law adds a second layer. Under 42 U.S.C. Section 238q, anyone who uses or attempts to use an AED on someone experiencing a perceived medical emergency is immune from civil liability for resulting harm, and the acquirer of the device is also immune, provided it notified local emergency responders of the AED’s placement, maintained and tested the device, and trained the employee or agent who used it.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 238q – Liability Regarding Emergency Use of Automated External Defibrillators Federal immunity does not apply to willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless disregard for the victim’s safety.
What Happens If You Don’t Comply
California has no single statewide AED inspector. The consequences of non-compliance show up in two places. The first and most immediate is the loss of the civil liability protections in Section 1714.21, which are conditioned on compliance with Section 1797.196(b).6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1714.21 If someone is harmed during an emergency and your AED was non-functional, unregistered, or poorly maintained, the shield disappears and the organization is exposed to a lawsuit.
The second is enforcement through licensing frameworks. Facilities that operate under state licensing, such as residential care facilities and certain health care settings, can face per-day fines when AED deficiencies surface in broader regulatory inspections. Health studios that fall out of compliance with Section 104113 lose the specific liability protections the statute grants their employees, directors, and owners.1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 104113
What an AED Program Costs
A new AED typically runs $1,400 to $2,000, with ongoing costs for battery and pad replacement every few years. Professional inspection services that handle 90-day checks and compliance documentation generally cost $65 to $75 per year, though the number varies by provider and by how many units you have.
Fire departments and EMS organizations may be eligible for FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants, which can fund AED purchases as part of emergency response equipment.8FEMA. Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program For businesses, AEDs purchased for use at the facility generally qualify for the Section 179 federal deduction, which lets a business immediately expense qualifying equipment in the year it is placed in service, subject to the annual deduction limit and other eligibility rules.