If you drive or plan to buy an electric car in California, several of the rules changed in late 2025. The federal EV tax credit is gone, the carpool-lane decal program has ended, and state rebates are now concentrated on lower-income buyers. At the same time, California still protects your right to install a home charger, caps what public stations can require of you, and mandates longer battery warranties than federal law.
State Rebates You Can Still Apply For
The broad Clean Vehicle Rebate Project closed to new applications in November 2023. Two income-targeted programs have taken its place, and both generally require you to scrap an older high-polluting vehicle.
Clean Cars 4 All
Clean Cars 4 All provides up to $12,000 toward a new or used EV or plug-in hybrid, plus up to $2,000 for home charging equipment. Your household income has to be at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, and you must scrap a qualifying high-emission vehicle through an authorized dismantler. Once approved, you have 18 months to use the funds.1California Air Resources Board. Clean Cars 4 All – About
The program runs through five regional air districts, including South Coast, San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area, Sacramento, and San Diego, with a separate statewide component for rural, tribal, and underserved communities.1California Air Resources Board. Clean Cars 4 All – About Each district runs its own application, so start on your local air district’s website.
Driving Clean Assistance Program
The Driving Clean Assistance Program offers up to $12,000 toward an EV for income-qualified buyers who scrap a high-emission vehicle, or up to $7,500 for those who don’t. Another $2,000 is available for home charging installation or public charging credits. DCAP is designed to reach communities not served by the regional air district programs and offers low-interest financing where available.
Which Vehicles Qualify
Not every EV is on the list. For some incentive categories, cars must have a base MSRP of $45,000 or less, while SUVs and pickups have a $60,000 cap.2California Air Resources Board. Clean Vehicle Rebate Project – About Confirm your make and model on the CARB eligibility list before signing anything.3California Air Resources Board. New Vehicle Eligibility List for Purchase Incentive Programs
The Federal Tax Credit Is Gone
If you’re shopping in 2026, don’t plan around a federal credit. The Section 30D new clean vehicle credit and the Section 25E used clean vehicle credit both ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.4Internal Revenue Service. Clean Vehicle Tax Credits No federal credit is available regardless of the vehicle’s price, your income, or where it was built.
If you did buy a qualifying vehicle on or before September 30, 2025, you can still claim the credit on your 2025 return filed in 2026. The maximum was $7,500 for new vehicles and up to $4,000 for used (30% of sale price, with a $25,000 sale price cap). Any purchase after that cutoff gets nothing from the federal government, which makes the state programs above matter more than they used to.
Extra Registration Fees for EV Owners
You’ll pay two registration-related charges at the DMV that gas-car owners don’t face in the same way. Both came out of Senate Bill 1 in 2017.
Zero-Emission Vehicle Fee
California Vehicle Code Section 9250.6 adds a road improvement fee to every zero-emission vehicle from model year 2020 or later. The base is $100 per year, adjusted annually by the California Consumer Price Index, so the current amount runs somewhat higher.5California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 9250.6 Because EVs don’t pay gas tax, this fee is how the state pulls EV owners into the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account.
One useful detail: the ZEV fee does not apply when you first register a brand-new EV. It starts at your first annual renewal.5California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 9250.6
Transportation Improvement Fee
The Transportation Improvement Fee applies to all vehicles and is based on market value. EVs tend to carry higher sticker prices, so they land in the upper tiers:
- Under $5,000: $33
- $5,000 to $24,999: $66
- $25,000 to $34,999: $132
- $35,000 to $59,999: $198
- $60,000 and above: $231
These are current CPI-adjusted amounts.6California DMV. Registration Fees Taken together, an EV valued around $45,000 adds roughly $300 or more in annual registration costs beyond standard base fees. Missing the payment triggers late penalties and leaves you exposed to expired-tag citations.
No More Solo HOV Lane Access
The Clean Air Vehicle decal that let EV drivers use carpool lanes alone has ended. The DMV stopped accepting new applications on August 29, 2025, and all existing decals became invalid on September 30, 2025.7California DMV. Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool Lanes No decal color grants solo access anymore.
You now follow the same occupancy rules as every other driver on standard HOV lanes. On HOT lanes, any solo driver can pay the toll to use the lane.8California Highway Patrol. HOV and HOT Lane Information If commute-time access to the carpool lane was part of why you bought an EV, that benefit is no longer on the table.
Installing a Charger at Home
California law protects your ability to put a charger in your parking space, whether you rent, own a condo in an HOA, or own a single-family home.
If You Rent
Under California Civil Code Section 1947.6, a landlord must approve a tenant’s written request to install an EV charger at an assigned parking space, as long as the request follows the landlord’s standard process for property modifications.9California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.6 You pay for the equipment, installation, maintenance, and electricity.
The law doesn’t apply if the property already has chargers at 10% or more of parking spaces, has fewer than five parking spaces, or doesn’t include parking in the lease. You also have to carry personal liability insurance tied to the charger, capped at no more than 10 times annual rent. A certified, code-compliant unit can waive the insurance requirement entirely.9California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.6
If You Live in an HOA
California Civil Code Section 4745 voids any HOA rule that effectively blocks or unreasonably restricts installing a charger in your unit or designated parking space.10California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 4745 You still go through architectural review and must maintain liability insurance for the charger, providing the HOA a certificate within 14 days of approval.11California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4745 – Electric Vehicle Charging Stations The statute doesn’t set a minimum coverage amount, so check whether your HOA has adopted one.
Permits and Costs
Local governments have to move quickly on EV charger permits. For residential installations of 1 to 25 stations, the jurisdiction must review your application for completeness within 5 business days and issue a final approval or denial within 20 business days. Review is limited to health and safety, no separate planning permit should be required, and the city or county can issue only one deficiency notice if your application is incomplete.12California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Plug-in Readiness Frequently Asked Questions
Installation has to be done by a licensed electrical contractor familiar with high-voltage wiring. The California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) sets the baseline technical requirements, including pre-wiring standards for new construction.13California Department of General Services. Building Standards Commission – CALGreen Expect $400 to $2,500 in labor for a 240-volt home charging circuit, depending on how far the panel is from your parking space, and roughly $50 to $500 in municipal permit fees.
What to Expect at a Public Charger
Under the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act, a public station can’t require you to subscribe or hold a membership to charge. Any driver can pay for a session without downloading an app or creating an account.14California Air Resources Board. Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Standards Regulation Background and FAQs
CARB’s equipment rules go further. Public chargers must take payment through chip-enabled credit card readers and contactless (NFC) readers, and they have to post a toll-free phone number for processing payments. DC fast chargers have had to meet these standards since January 2022, Level 2 chargers since July 2023, and all older stations must comply by July 2033.14California Air Resources Board. Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Standards Regulation Background and FAQs A station that demands you download an app with no alternative payment method is likely out of compliance.
Battery Warranty Protection
California requires more battery coverage than federal law does. For 2026 and later model year zero-emission vehicles, manufacturers must warrant the battery pack to hold at least 70% of its original capacity for 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.15California Air Resources Board. California Vehicle and Emissions Warranty Periods The warranty transfers with the vehicle, so a used-EV buyer gets the same protection. If your battery drops below the threshold within the coverage window, the manufacturer has to repair or replace it at no cost to you.
Insurance Costs Run Higher
Budget for 20% to 50% more on auto insurance compared to an equivalent gas model. Battery packs and specialized components are expensive to repair, lightweight body materials cost more to replace, and certified EV shops are still limited. Shopping across insurers matters more than it does with a conventional car, because carriers price EV-specific risk very differently from one another. Some insurers do offer discounts for advanced driver-assistance systems, which come standard on many EVs.
What the 2035 Rule Does and Doesn’t Do
California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation requires 100% of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission or qualifying plug-in hybrids by model year 2035, with interim steps of 35% in 2026 and 68% in 2030.16Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 13, 1962.4 – Zero-Emission Vehicle Requirements for 2026 and Subsequent Model Year Passenger Cars and Light-Duty Trucks The rule applies to what dealerships can sell new. You can still own, drive, and resell a gasoline-powered car in California indefinitely. The legal and political status of California’s authority to enforce this standard remains contested at the federal level, so the schedule could shift.