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New California environmental law puts thousands of truck registrations on hold

Starting this month, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will only register vehicles that comply with emissions regulations.

Image: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

Of the tens of thousands of notices issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for trucks with expiring registrations this month, around 4,000 informed owners their vehicles were noncompliant with state air quality regulations and therefore could not be registered.

The registration holds stem from a law that took effect January 2020 requiring trucks to comply with the Truck & Bus Rule, the state’s key regulation governing diesel emissions, or be subject to DMV restrictions.

The rule’s phased-in requirements mandated heavy-duty commercial vehicles meet particulate matter filter requirements beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Older heavier trucks had to be replaced starting Jan. 1, 2015.

All told, about 420,000 heavy-duty trucks are registered with the California DMV. Of those, about 80,000 are not compliant with current Truck & Bus Rule requirements, according to Bruce Tuter, manager of compliance assistance and outreach for the California Air Resources Board (CARB).


As a result, thousands of new DMV registration holds are expected in February and each of the remaining months of 2020 as additional truck registrations expire. 

The DMV will continue compliance verification through 2023, when, because of the phased-in requirements, all trucks registered in California must be outfitted with a 2010 engine or the equivalent. Another 100,000 trucks will be impacted between 2021 and 2023, Tuter said.

Largely because of the new law, CARB  is seeing “a huge spike” in the number of calls to the agency’s diesel help line, according to Tuter.

As of Jan. 22, around 17,000 people had called the help line during the month of January, and thousands more had emailed. The average number of calls per month is around 5,000.


The DMV rule is part of California’s aggressive push on environmental regulations targeting transportation-related diesel emissions. California air quality ranks among the worst in the nation, largely driven by pollution from cars and trucks.

18 Comments

  1. Larry rawlins

    If trucks outside will stop bringing freight to calif. Sooner or later Californians will rebel at high prices. With all the trucking business across America filing bankrupticy their will be plenty of noncompliant trucks available but non will come to California. It’s time for a trucker strike in california. People are migrating outside of Calif. Time for voters to take back calif.

  2. CA trucker

    We have had time to adjust to this law since 2008. It wasn’t easy. The remaining non compliant trucks have been undercutting those of us who paid the price for too long.

    Clean up or get out.

    1. Mikie

      That is such bull shit, if the CHP and Ca would inforce the speak English rule, and the license rules,and Ins rules the illegals would not be undercutting the rates,deregulation also had a big hand in that, what you people should have done was tell mary nickle and her ilk to kiss your ass, but noooo, the companys figured that if the complied that the little guy would be forced out of business, he is but the companys paid dearly for this garbage they call a truck.

    2. MrBigR504

      You ain’t said sh-t my friend! Me and my 1996 W900L 3406e 550hp Cat are doing just fine without California! Good luck with breathing all of that good wholesome DEF residue and the $165.00 to $195.00 labor cost to get that sh-t repaired on your new trucks!

  3. BeagleMom

    oh hahahahaha…..that could make the freight rate go up!!!! and along with it, the price of stuff will go up too!!!
    once again, california has cut the nose off it’s face AGAIN!!!!!!!
    so glad we live nowhere near, and besides…..EVERYTHING that comes out of california can be made/grown elsewhere……bye bye cali!!!

    1. Charles

      I drove for 44 years and I agree with you 100%. I’m a California native and stopped driving about 6 years ago due to California regulations. Calif will be running short in the markets and the stores here in the next few years I believe due to these stupid rules.

    2. J4#

      Why not just tell them to shove it! Out pricing everything. Tell Newsom he needs to go drive the freight and freight liners himself to be sure to figure out how he’s gonna get the freight to where is spose to go! Tired of all this BS of money grabbing from the hardworking person trying to make a living. Ever department in California is croupt!

  4. Noble1 aka Highway Star - Guiding Light

    Quote:

    “all trucks registered in California must be outfitted with a 2010 engine or the equivalent”

    That’s one way to FORCE you to use an ELD . No more pre 2000 engines !

    In my humble opinion ………..

    1. Bmburds

      No it has to be a def engine, but if course thier polititions have money invested in the def system, js, follow the money on these laws, my 2001 is eld capable but no def so i can not go to cali js

    1. Mike

      I agree , make California pick up goods in Nevada and Oregon then have those states charge for it . Put the blame on California politicians

      1. MrBigR504

        Open the doors and put it in reverse and mash on it and stomp on the brakes and let their sh-t slide out at the state line! And i want same day pay too… LMAO. Man these people suck!

Comments are closed.

Linda Baker, Senior Environment and Technology Reporter

Linda Baker is a FreightWaves senior reporter based in Portland, Oregon. Her beat includes autonomous vehicles, the startup scene, clean trucking, and emissions regulations. Please send tips and story ideas to [email protected].