California Lead Testing Requirements: Schools, Rentals, and Water

California’s lead testing requirements cover four main settings: licensed child care centers built before 2010, K-12 schools that request sampling, rental housing built before 1978, and public drinking water systems. Each setting has its own action level, timeline, and rules about who must act when lead turns up. The state layers these mandates on top of federal rules like the Lead and Copper Rule and the federal lead-based paint disclosure requirements, and it requires state certification for anyone paid to inspect, sample, or abate lead in residential or public buildings.

Child Care Centers Built Before 2010

Health and Safety Code Section 1597.16 requires every licensed child care center in a building constructed before January 1, 2010, to test its drinking water for lead.¹ The first round of testing had to be finished by January 1, 2023. Retesting is required every five years. Samples go to a state-accredited laboratory, and results are reported electronically to the State Water Resources Control Board, which posts them online for public access.

The action level at child care centers is 5 parts per billion. If any fixture exceeds it, the center must shut off that fountain or faucet immediately, provide an alternative source of drinking water, and notify parents and guardians. A center that fails to comply risks temporary license suspension. Grants are available through the SWRCB to cover testing and remediation.²

K-12 Schools

School testing works differently. Since a January 2017 permit amendment issued by the Division of Drinking Water, community water systems must collect and analyze up to five water samples at any K-12 school that requests testing, and must complete sampling within 90 days of the request. The school’s superintendent, charter school governing board, or private school administrator has to initiate that request.³

The community water system covers all costs and works with the school on a sampling plan and results review.⁴ The catch: testing is triggered only if a school asks. Parents who want to know whether their child’s school has been sampled need to contact school administration directly.

Blood Lead Screening for Young Children

California requires blood lead testing for children enrolled in publicly funded programs including Medi-Cal, WIC, and the Child Health and Disability Prevention program. Those children must be tested at both 12 and 24 months of age. If a test was missed, catch-up testing is required up to 72 months old.⁵

For children not in those programs, providers must perform a risk assessment at 12 and 24 months. The assessment asks whether the child lives in or frequently visits a pre-1978 building with peeling or chipped paint or one that has recently been remodeled. A “yes” or “don’t know” answer triggers a blood lead test. The CDC’s current blood lead reference value is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, which replaced the older 5 μg/dL threshold.⁶

An elevated result feeds directly into enforcement. Under the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, the California Department of Public Health has authority over screening protocols and follow-up.⁷ Local health departments can investigate the child’s home and other environments, and that investigation can trigger a mandatory lead hazard assessment of the property.

Rental Housing Built Before 1978

Federal law requires landlords of pre-1978 rentals to disclose known lead-based paint and hazards before a lease is signed, hand tenants the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” share any inspection records, and include a lead warning statement in the lease itself.⁸ California enforces the requirement. Landlords, sellers, or agents who fail to disclose face civil fines up to $10,000 per violation, criminal fines up to $10,000 and up to a year of imprisonment, and treble damages to the tenant.⁹

One important boundary: the disclosure rule does not require landlords to test for lead. It only requires them to share what they already know. Actual testing gets triggered by other events, most commonly when a local health department learns that a child with an elevated blood lead level lives in or regularly visits a pre-1978 property.

Renovation Work in Pre-1978 Housing

The EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule kicks in whenever renovation disturbs painted surfaces in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities. Contractors must be certified and their renovators trained in lead-safe work practices.¹⁰ The RRP Rule does not require lead paint testing beforehand. A firm can either test or simply assume lead is present and follow lead-safe work practices without testing.¹¹ Many contractors take the assumption route to skip the cost and delay of testing.

Public Drinking Water Systems

The State Water Resources Control Board oversees California’s public water systems under the federal Lead and Copper Rule. Systems must monitor lead and copper at consumers’ taps. The current lead action level is 0.015 milligrams per liter, or 15 parts per billion. When the 90th percentile of tap samples exceeds that level, the system must install corrosion control treatment and run public education.¹²

An exceedance also triggers a Tier 1 public notification within 24 hours, plus consultation with the Division of Drinking Water and a report to the U.S. EPA.¹³

Service Line Inventories

Every community and non-transient non-community water system had to compile an inventory of its service line materials by October 16, 2024. Systems that found lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement, or unknown service lines must notify affected customers within 30 days of completing the inventory and every year afterward.¹³

The federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, with a compliance date of November 1, 2027, will lower the lead action level from 15 ppb to 10 ppb and require all lead service lines to be replaced by 2037. The SWRCB runs a funding program to help California water systems meet those requirements.¹⁴

Dust-Lead Clearance Levels After Abatement

As of January 12, 2026, the EPA lowered the dust-lead action levels that apply after abatement in pre-1978 homes and child-occupied facilities:¹⁵

Floors: 5 μg/ft² (previously 10 μg/ft²)
Interior window sills: 40 μg/ft² (previously 100 μg/ft²)
Window troughs: 100 μg/ft² (previously 400 μg/ft²)

Dust samples collected from floors and window surfaces after abatement must fall below these thresholds before the property can be cleared for reoccupancy. Abatement completed under the older standards may not pass if retested against the 2026 numbers.

Who Can Legally Perform Lead Work in California

California law requires state certification for anyone paid to do lead-related work in residential or public buildings. The California Department of Public Health runs the Lead-Related Construction certification program through its Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch.¹⁶ Five certification types exist:¹⁷

Inspector/Assessor, the only professional authorized to evaluate where lead hazards exist in buildings.
Sampling Technician, who collects samples under an Inspector/Assessor’s direction.
Project Monitor, who oversees lead-related construction and tests for contamination.
Supervisor, who directs lead-related construction and enforces safe work practices.
Worker, who performs the construction under a certified Supervisor.

The Inspector/Assessor certification has the steepest requirements, including a 40-hour training course with interactive instruction and hands-on work, a state exam, and a mix of education and experience.¹⁸ Before hiring anyone to inspect, sample, or abate lead in a California home or facility, confirm they hold the appropriate certification.

What Has to Happen After a Positive Result

Response obligations depend on where the lead was found. A child care center must shut off every affected fixture, provide alternative drinking water, and notify parents.¹ A public water system with a 90th percentile exceedance must issue Tier 1 notice within 24 hours, consult with the Division of Drinking Water, and report to the U.S. EPA.¹³

For buildings, abatement designed to eliminate hazards for 20 years or more must be performed by a certified Lead Supervisor or Lead Worker, with a certified Supervisor on site during preparation and post-abatement cleanup.¹⁹ The professionals who evaluated the hazard cannot also perform the abatement on the same building.²⁰

Once abatement is done, a clearance inspection is legally required, and only a certified Lead Inspector/Assessor or a certified Project Monitor can perform it. Clearance samples must fall below the 2026 dust-lead thresholds before anyone moves back in.¹⁵

1
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 1597.16
2
State Water Resources Control Board. Childcare Center Lead Sampling Program
3
State Water Resources Control Board. Lead Sampling of Drinking Water in California Schools
4
State Water Resources Control Board. Frequently Asked Questions by Public Water Systems About Lead Testing of Drinking Water in California Schools
5
California Department of Public Health. Standard of Care on Screening for Childhood Lead Poisoning
6
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientific Publications
7
California Department of Public Health. CA Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Statutes and Regulations
8
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule – Section 1018 of Title X
9
California Department of Public Health. Real Estate Disclosure and Notification
10
US EPA. What Does the Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule Require?
11
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Is Lead Paint Testing Required Under the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule?
12
State Water Resources Control Board. Lead and Copper Rule Sampling Guidance for Small Water Systems
13
California State Water Resources Control Board. Lead and Copper Rule for Drinking Water
14
State Water Resources Control Board. Lead Service Line Replacement Funding Program
15
Federal Register. Reconsideration of the Dust-Lead Hazard Standards and Dust-Lead Post-Abatement Clearance Levels
16
California Department of Public Health. Lead Related Construction
17
California Department of Public Health. Lead-Related Construction Certification Application Forms and Instructions
18
California Department of Public Health. Title 17 – Lead-Related Construction Regulations
19
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 17 36100 – Requirements for Abatement for Public and Residential Buildings
20
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 17 36000 – Requirements for Lead Hazard Evaluation for Public and Residential Buildings