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Cal. VEH § 26103

This is the official text of Cal. VEH § 26103, 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) The department may adopt and enforce regulations establishing standards and specifications for safety belts, safety glazing material, safety helmets, sirens, tire traction devices, bunk stakes, and synthetic binders. The standards and specifications may include installation and aiming requirements.

(b) Notwithstanding rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department shall adopt regulations for lighting devices permitted by this code and incorporate by reference the applicable standards published by SAE International for these devices and a corresponding publication date. Notwithstanding the specified publication date, a person may sell or use upon a vehicle a device meeting the requirements of a revised standard.

(c) A federal motor vehicle safety standard adopted pursuant to Chapter 301 (commencing with Section 30101) of Part A of Subtitle VI of Title 49 of the United States Code that covers the same aspect of performance of a device shall prevail over provisions of this code or regulations adopted pursuant to this code. Lamps, devices, and equipment certified by the manufacturer to meet applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards as original equipment on new vehicles and the identical replacements for those items need not be certified to the department.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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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.