Cal. VEH § 25803
This is the official text of Cal. VEH § 25803, part of California’s Vehicle Code — governs traffic laws, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) All vehicles not otherwise required to be equipped with headlamps, rear lights, or reflectors by this chapter shall, if operated on a highway during darkness, be equipped with a lamp exhibiting a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the vehicle. In addition, all of these vehicles operated alone or as the first vehicle in a combination of vehicles, shall be equipped with at least one lighted lamp exhibiting a white light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the front of the vehicle.
(b) A vehicle shall also be equipped with an amber reflector on the front near the left side and a red reflector on the rear near the left side. The reflectors shall be mounted on the vehicle not lower than 16 inches nor higher than 60 inches above the ground and so designed and maintained as to be visible during darkness from all distances within 500 feet from the vehicle when directly in front of a motor vehicle displaying lawful lighted headlamps undimmed.
(c) In addition, if a vehicle described in subdivision (a) or the load thereon has a total outside width in excess of 100 inches there shall be displayed during darkness at the left outer extremity at least one amber light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of 500 feet to the front, sides, and rear. At all other times there shall be displayed at the left outer extremity a solid red or fluorescent orange flag or cloth not less than 18 inches square.
(b) A vehicle shall also be equipped with an amber reflector on the front near the left side and a red reflector on the rear near the left side. The reflectors shall be mounted on the vehicle not lower than 16 inches nor higher than 60 inches above the ground and so designed and maintained as to be visible during darkness from all distances within 500 feet from the vehicle when directly in front of a motor vehicle displaying lawful lighted headlamps undimmed.
(c) In addition, if a vehicle described in subdivision (a) or the load thereon has a total outside width in excess of 100 inches there shall be displayed during darkness at the left outer extremity at least one amber light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of 500 feet to the front, sides, and rear. At all other times there shall be displayed at the left outer extremity a solid red or fluorescent orange flag or cloth not less than 18 inches square.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.