California School Vaccine Requirements for K–12

California’s school vaccine requirements apply to every child entering transitional kindergarten through 12th grade in a public or private school, and compliance means documenting ten specific vaccinations before the first day. The only way out is a medical exemption signed by a California-licensed physician. Personal belief and religious exemptions were eliminated in 2016.¹ Children who don’t meet the requirements are turned away at enrollment, or excluded later if they fall behind.

The Ten Required Vaccines

Your child must be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), and Haemophilus influenzae type b.² The same list applies to public schools, private schools, child care centers, and nursery schools.³

Dose counts depend on your child’s age. For a typical kindergarten entry, the minimums are:⁴

DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis): five doses, or four if at least one was given on or after the fourth birthday.
Polio: four doses, or three if one was given on or after the fourth birthday.
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella): two doses, both on or after the first birthday.
Hepatitis B: three doses.
Varicella (chickenpox): two doses.

Older students transferring in at higher grade levels may need fewer doses based on the age-appropriate schedules in state regulations.

The Extra Step at 7th Grade

Advancing to 7th grade adds one shot: a Tdap booster covering tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, given on or after your child’s seventh birthday.² It’s a single dose, typically given at age 11 or older.⁵

Schools also use the 7th-grade transition to recheck varicella, polio, and MMR. A student who entered kindergarten under a medical exemption that only covered the TK/K through 6th grade span will need a new exemption or the missing doses before 7th grade starts. Hepatitis B is one exception: it isn’t required specifically as a condition of advancing to 7th grade, though it remains required for any new school admission.²

Documentation the School Will Accept

You need written proof of every dose. California schools accept any of the following:⁵

The California Immunization Record (CDPH form 286, often called the “Blue Card”) filled out by your pediatrician.
A printout from your child’s doctor or clinic showing each vaccine and the date given.
A printout from the California Immunization Registry (CAIR), which many providers submit to automatically.

Whatever format you bring, it must show the child’s full name, date of birth, the type of each vaccine, and the date of each dose. Expect the school to send incomplete records back for clarification rather than accept them.⁴

Starting School Partway Through a Vaccine Series

A child who has begun the required vaccines but hasn’t finished every dose can be admitted conditionally. This is not a waiver. To qualify, the child must have started every required vaccine and must not currently be due for any additional dose at the time of enrollment.⁶

Schools must review these records at least every 30 days and tell parents what’s still needed.⁶ Miss the deadline for a remaining dose and the law requires the school to bar your child from attending until the catch-up dose is given or a medical exemption is issued.⁷ Schools have no discretion here.

Getting a Medical Exemption

A medical exemption is the only route around the requirements. You need a licensed California MD or DO to examine your child, determine that a specific vaccine poses a medical risk, and submit the exemption through the state’s CAIR-ME system (the California Immunization Registry’s medical exemption database). That electronic form is the only documentation schools can accept.⁸ It must list the physician’s license number, the medical reason for each individual vaccine being exempted, and whether the exemption is permanent or temporary.

Every exemption is tied to a specific grade span. California recognizes three: birth through preschool, TK/K through 6th grade, and 7th through 12th grade.⁹ When your child moves to the next span, the exemption expires and a new one must be issued if the condition still applies. Temporary exemptions can last no longer than one year.⁸

Homeschool and Independent Study

The immunization requirements do not apply to children enrolled in a home-based private school or in an independent study program where the child does not receive classroom-based instruction.² The California Department of Education applies this to both categories.¹⁰

The edges are fuzzy. State law doesn’t define “classroom-based instruction,” and many independent study programs include some in-person activities such as field trips, lab sessions, or electives on a physical campus. Whether an independent study student who occasionally attends in person triggers the vaccination requirement is unsettled. If your child’s program has any in-person component, ask the school directly how it interprets the rule for enrollment.

Homeless and Foster Students

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, schools must immediately enroll a child experiencing homelessness even without immunization records, medical records, proof of residency, or other usual paperwork. The school then has to help the family obtain records and vaccinations rather than keep the child out. “Immediately” means without delay, generally the same day or the next.

Ask the school for its McKinney-Vento liaison. Every district has one, and that person’s job includes connecting families to clinics that provide vaccinations at no cost.

Exclusion During a Disease Outbreak

A medical exemption lets your child attend school under normal conditions, but it does not override public health authority during an outbreak. If the local health officer determines an unvaccinated student may have been exposed to a specific disease, the school must notify the health officer and the child can be excluded for the full incubation period, or for the contagious period if the child actually becomes infected.¹¹ This applies to students with medical exemptions as well.

Paying for the Shots

Private health plans must cover all vaccines recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with no copay, deductible, or other out-of-pocket cost under the Affordable Care Act.¹² Every vaccine on California’s school list falls within those recommendations.

If your child is uninsured, underinsured, on Medi-Cal, or American Indian or Alaska Native, the federal Vaccines for Children program provides all recommended vaccines at no cost through enrolled providers across the state, including community health centers and many pediatrician offices.¹³ Ask your child’s doctor whether they participate, or contact your local health department for a nearby provider.

1
California Legislative Information. Senate Bill 277
2
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 120335
3
California Department of Public Health. California School Immunization Law
4
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 17 6025 – Unconditional Admission
5
California Department of Public Health. Shots Required for TK-12 and 7th Grade
6
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 17 6035 – Conditional Admission
7
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 120375
8
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 120372
9
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 120370
10
California Department of Education. Immunization Requirements – Health Services and School Nursing
11
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 17 6060 – Pupil Not Completely Immunized
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 300gg-13 – Coverage of Preventive Health Services
13
California Department of Public Health. About the VFC Program – California Vaccines for Children