California College Vaccine Requirements and Exemptions

California college vaccine requirements apply to every incoming student at the University of California and California State University systems, who must show proof of immunization against measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, pertussis, and meningococcal disease, plus hepatitis B for those 18 and younger, and complete a tuberculosis screening before their first term. California Community Colleges generally require none of this for standard enrollment. Private institutions set their own rules. Miss the deadline at a UC or CSU campus and the registrar places a hold on your account that blocks you from registering for classes.

Which Schools Actually Require Vaccines

The three public higher education systems handle immunizations very differently.

The UC system has the most comprehensive mandate. Every incoming student, including undergraduates, graduate students, and professional students, must document vaccination against four diseases and complete TB screening before the start of their first term. UC classifies these as “Mandatory Programs,” meaning you either comply or obtain an approved exception.¹

CSU, under its revised Executive Order 803, now requires essentially the same vaccines and TB screening as UC. All new CSU students must submit documentation of vaccination or immunity for MMR, varicella, Tdap, and meningococcal conjugate, and complete a TB risk questionnaire. Students 18 and younger must also show proof of hepatitis B vaccination, as required by state law.² Individual CSU campuses may be at different stages of enforcing the full list, so check your campus health services page for what is currently in effect.

California Community Colleges are the outlier. State law exempts anyone 18 or older, and anyone seeking admission to a community college at any age, from the general childhood immunization requirements.³ Most community college students face no vaccine mandate for ordinary enrollment. The exception is students entering health science programs, who face a separate and much longer set of requirements tied to clinical placement.

Private and independent colleges set their own policies. Many match or exceed the public university requirements. Check directly with admissions or health services at the specific school.

The Required Vaccines at UC and CSU

Both systems require proof of vaccination or immunity against the same core diseases, with these specific dose and timing rules:

MMR (measles, mumps, rubella): Two doses, with the first on or after your first birthday, or a positive blood titer showing immunity to all three diseases.⁴
Varicella (chickenpox): Two doses, with the first on or after your first birthday, or a positive titer. A history of having chickenpox as a child does not count. You need documented vaccination or a blood test confirming immunity.⁵
Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis): One dose on or after your 11th birthday, with a Tdap or Td booster every 10 years after that.⁴
Meningococcal Conjugate (MenACWY): One dose on or after age 16. This applies to all students 21 and younger, not only those living in campus housing.²
Hepatitis B: Required by state law for first-time enrollees 18 or younger. Students 19 and older are exempt from the mandate, though both systems strongly recommend it.⁶

Both systems also recommend, without requiring, hepatitis A, hepatitis B for students 19 and older, HPV, annual influenza, meningococcal B, pneumococcal for students with certain chronic conditions, and polio if the childhood series was never completed.²

Tuberculosis Screening

Every incoming UC and CSU student completes a TB risk questionnaire. It is not a test, just a short set of questions about travel history, prior TB exposure, and other risk factors. Answer “yes” to any screening question and you will need either a tuberculin skin test or an interferon-gamma release assay blood test within one year of starting at the university.⁴

Higher-risk categories include travel to or residence in regions such as South and Central America, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, or the Middle East, as well as a prior positive TB test or known exposure to someone with active TB. International students from these regions will almost always need testing. Students with a history of positive TB results typically need a chest X-ray taken within six months of starting at their campus.⁷

COVID-19 and Flu Shots

The UC system reclassified both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccines as “Recommended Programs” effective December 2025. Under this classification, vaccination is voluntary. You can follow public health guidance or decline without submitting any formal paperwork.¹ That is a step down from the previous “Opt-Out” category, which had required a declination form.

One exception matters: UC health care locations such as student health centers, hospitals, and clinics can still require flu vaccination or a formal opt-out for people working or training in those settings.⁸ A public health order could also override the recommended classification.

CSU has no system-wide COVID-19 or flu vaccine mandate. Individual campuses set their own guidance, and it can range from a simple recommendation to a campus-specific requirement for certain groups. Check your campus student health services page for what is current.

Health Science and Clinical Programs

Students entering nursing, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, or other health science programs face a much longer list, whether at a UC, CSU, or community college. Clinical placement sites set their own vaccination standards, and your program cannot place you in a rotation if you do not meet them.

Typical additional requirements include a completed hepatitis B series (three doses, or the two-dose Heplisav-B) with a positive blood titer after the final dose, annual influenza vaccination, annual TB testing or symptom review, and a current physical exam completed within a few months of the program’s start date.⁹ Clinical agencies also commonly require or strongly recommend current COVID-19 vaccination for students in patient care settings.

Titer requirements for clinical students are stricter than for general enrollment. A general undergraduate can submit two MMR doses as proof; a medical or pharmacy student may need titer results confirming actual immunity, with additional doses and retesting if the titer is negative.⁵ Students with a history of a positive TB skin test must provide a negative chest X-ray within one year of program entry and keep an annual TB symptom review on file every year after.⁹

What to Do If You Don’t Have Your Vaccination Records

Plenty of students arrive at college without childhood records. You have options short of getting revaccinated from scratch.

For MMR and varicella, a blood titer measuring your antibody levels can prove immunity. A positive result satisfies the requirement with no further shots. Both UC and CSU accept positive titers in place of vaccination records for these two.⁵ Note that for varicella, neither system accepts a parent or doctor’s statement that you had chickenpox as a child. You need documented doses or a positive titer.

The California Department of Public Health also recognizes some age-based evidence of immunity. For MMR, anyone born before 1957 is generally presumed immune. For varicella, anyone born in the United States before 1980 qualifies, as does anyone whose physician certifies a history of chickenpox or shingles.¹⁰

If you were vaccinated in California as a child, your records may be in the California Immunization Registry. You can download your immunization record through the Digital Vaccine Record portal at myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov.¹¹ Not everything is in the system, especially records from before electronic registries became standard or from out of state, but it is worth checking before you book new appointments.

Exemptions

Both UC and CSU recognize two kinds of exemptions from mandatory vaccines: medical and religious. Personal belief exemptions are not available.

Medical Exemptions

You need a written statement from a licensed physician (MD or DO), nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. The statement must identify which specific vaccines are being exempted, explain the physical condition or medical circumstance that makes vaccination unsafe for you, and indicate whether the exemption is permanent or temporary with an expiration date.¹² UC limits medical exemptions to conditions recognized by the CDC or the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.¹³

Religious Exemptions

Both systems allow students to request an exemption based on a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. The UC form asks you to identify the specific religious belief and list which vaccines you are requesting an exception for.¹⁴ If the exemption is approved, you may still be required to comply with non-pharmaceutical measures such as masking or testing, and you could be temporarily excluded from campus during a disease outbreak.

No Personal Belief Exemption

Neither system accepts personal belief exemptions for its mandatory vaccines. California’s SB 277, effective in 2016, eliminated personal belief exemptions for K-12 immunization requirements, and the universities have followed suit in their own policies. If your objection is not medical or religious, there is no exemption pathway.

Deadlines and What Happens If You Miss Them

Specific deadlines vary by campus, but the pattern is the same across both systems. Documentation is due before the start of your first term, with late fees and then enrollment holds following in the weeks after. Under the UC system-wide policy, any student who has not provided proof of compliance by the registration period for their second term will not be allowed to register until they do.¹

The mechanism is simple. Student health services collects and evaluates your documentation and reports compliance to the registrar. If you are not in compliance, the registrar places a hold on your account.¹⁵ That hold blocks you from adding or dropping classes, switching sections, and changing grading options.¹⁶ Only the office that placed the hold, typically student health services, can remove it.

Beyond the hold, continued noncompliance can bring further consequences. The UC vaccination policy states that it “may result in educational consequences up to and including disciplinary sanctions.”¹ If you cannot register, you eventually lose your enrollment status. Submit documents well before the deadline, because campus health centers can take weeks to process immunization records during peak periods.

1
University of California. Policy on Vaccination Programs – With Interim Revisions
2
California State University. EO 803 Revised – Immunization Requirements and Recommendations
3
California.Public” Law. California Health and Safety Code 120360
4
University of California Office of the President. UC Immunization Requirements and Recommendations
5
Student Health Center (UC Irvine). Immunization Requirements
6
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 120390
7
UCLA Immunization Requirement. UCLA Immunization Requirements
8
UCnet. Updates to Policy Covering Flu and COVID-19 Vaccinations
9
Santa Rosa Junior College. Health and Safety Requirements – Associate Degree in Nursing
10
California Department of Public Health. Immunization Recommendations and Screening Requirements for College Students
11
California Department of Public Health. CAIR Updates
12
University of California. University of California Immunization Exemption Policy
13
University of California, Santa Barbara Student Health Service. Exemption Requests for Required Immunizations
14
University of California Office of the President. University of California Religious Exception Request Form
15
University of California, Riverside. Immunization Requirements
16
Office of the University Registrar. Registration Holds