California Plastic Straw Ban: Rules, Exceptions, Penalties

California’s plastic straw ban is not an outright prohibition. Under state law, food businesses may still stock and give out plastic straws, but they cannot provide one unless the customer asks. The same upon-request rule applies to single-use utensils, chopsticks, stirrers, splash sticks, and condiment packets.¹

The current rule comes from Assembly Bill 1276, which took effect June 1, 2022. It replaced an earlier, narrower 2018 law (AB 1884) that applied only to full-service restaurants. Any guidance you see referencing only full-service dining is out of date.¹

What the Upon-Request Rule Requires

Do not put straws, utensils, or condiment packets in front of a customer, in a to-go bag, or in a delivery order unless the customer has asked for them. That is the whole rule, stated plainly.

Bundled accessories also violate the law. A shrink-wrapped packet containing a fork, knife, napkin, and straw forces a customer who only wanted a fork to take everything else, which the statute prohibits.¹

The law does not require you to switch away from plastic. It only requires that plastic straws (and the other listed items) not go out unrequested. Offering paper or compostable alternatives when a customer does ask is a choice, not a mandate.

Who Has to Follow It

AB 1276 applies to any “food facility” as defined by California’s Health and Safety Code. The term is broad on purpose. It covers restaurants of all types, fast-food chains, coffee shops, food trucks, catering operations, bars, bakeries, and essentially any business whose primary purpose is preparing or serving food to the public.¹

Third-party delivery apps are covered too. Restaurants using a delivery platform must configure the menu so customers can select which accessories and condiments they want, and only the selected items may be sent. If the customer picks nothing, you send nothing.¹

Exceptions

Some facilities are entirely exempt from the upon-request requirement:

Correctional institutions, including jails and prisons
Licensed health care facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and facilities operated by health care service plans
Licensed residential care facilities
Public and private school cafeterias¹

Two other settings get a narrower adjustment. Drive-through restaurants, and food facilities located entirely inside a public-use airport, may proactively ask a customer whether they want a straw or utensil when it is needed to eat the food or prevent spills. The business can raise the question first, but it still cannot drop the items in automatically.¹

Customers With Disabilities

Neither AB 1276 nor the earlier AB 1884 contains a specific disability exemption in the statute text. The upon-request structure handles the issue on its own: anyone can ask for a straw and must be given one. The law does not restrict who may request, and it does not prohibit stocking plastic straws. For a customer who needs a plastic straw for medical reasons, the practical difference is that they need to ask.

Pre-Packaged Beverages

The statute targets accessories “provided” by a food facility alongside ready-to-eat food. A juice box that arrives with a straw already attached from the manufacturer is a finished packaged product rather than a separately provided accessory. Neither statute contains an explicit exemption for pre-packaged drinks, and the rule is written around the point of service where a business hands accessories to a customer.

Penalties and Enforcement

The penalty structure is intentionally mild. The first two violations get a written notice. A third or subsequent violation is punishable by $25 per day, capped at $300 per year.¹²

Enforcement is handled locally. Each city or county was required to designate an enforcement agency by June 1, 2022, and practice varies. Some jurisdictions inspect actively; others work from complaints.¹

What’s Coming Next

The straw rule sits inside a larger plastic reduction program. SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, signed in 2022, requires producers to ensure all single-use packaging and plastic food service ware is recyclable or compostable by 2032, and it shifts responsibility toward manufacturers rather than individual restaurants.³

One SB 54 consequence has already landed for food businesses: expanded polystyrene (EPS) food service ware, including foam takeout containers and cups, can no longer be sold in California after producers failed to meet a 25% recycling rate threshold by January 1, 2025.³

For operators, the direction of travel is clear. The requirements around disposable foodware are tightening rather than loosening, and the straw upon-request rule is the baseline every food facility in California is already expected to meet.

1
California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 1276 – Single-Use Foodware Accessories and Standard Condiments
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42270-42271 – Single-Use Plastic Straws
3
CalRecycle. SB 54 Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act