Shopping and consumer rights
33 upcoming changes, soonest first.
December 2026 1
Prison and jail phone and video providers must file a year of cost data with the FCC
Companies providing phone and video calls to incarcerated people must report a year of costs and operations on new FCC forms, to support FCC rate setting. The filing deadline holds only if the Office of Management and Budget has finished its paperwork review by then.
January 2027 26
Adults crossing the border on foot or by car may bring 6 liters of alcohol every 31 days
Adults entering the country on foot or in a private vehicle may bring up to 6 liters of alcohol into California for personal use every 31 days. Before, the cap was the federal duty-free amount and applied to pedestrians and to California residents driving back.
Big companies must disclose chatbots and offer a human customer service agent
Businesses with over $500 million in revenue may not pass off service chatbots as human and must let customers ask for a person during business hours, then try to connect within 15 minutes or set a callback. Hospitals, credit bureaus and some utilities are exempt.
California bans toys for children with built-in AI companion chatbots
No one may make, sell or offer to retailers a toy for children under 16 that includes a companion chatbot, an AI that holds human-like conversations and keeps up a relationship over time. Violators face the same civil lawsuits as chatbot operators.
Cannabis edibles and drinks must list the Poison Help number on the label
Edible cannabis and cannabis drink labels must list the national Poison Help line number. Later, multi-serving cannabis drinks need a multiple servings notice and serving lines on clear containers, stores must offer a free measuring device, and single-serve marketing is banned.
Cannabis shops must show lab certificates on request; state can test products off the shelf
Cannabis retailers must give customers a product's lab certificate of analysis on request and let the state take products from store shelves for testing. The state may put testing labs through performance tests and may order retests.
Charging veterans for help with Veterans Affairs claims is banned except as federal law allows
No one may charge for preparing or pursuing a veteran's federal Veterans Affairs benefits claim unless federal law allows it, and fees above what accredited attorneys or agents may charge are unlawful. Businesses cannot demand veterans' federal system logins.
Charity fundraising platforms can no longer rely on IRS lists to check a charity's standing
Online giving platforms may rely on Franchise Tax Board and Attorney General lists, but not IRS lists, to confirm a charity's good standing. They must say what happens to money a charity can't receive. Checkout asks of $10 or less can use a disclosure link.
Commercial scales and meters must be readable by both the customer and the operator
The ban on placing a scale or measuring device where its readings can't be read under ordinary circumstances now covers devices used for any commercial purpose, not only retail, and requires that both the customer and the operator can read it.
Consumers can make businesses delete personal data collected about them from others
California's privacy law now lets people ask a business to delete personal information it collected about them from any source, not only from them. Online-only businesses must also offer a web form or portal for privacy requests, besides an email address.
Courts must find Prop 65 settlements serve the public before approving them
Before approving a private Proposition 65 settlement, a judge must find the attorney fees reasonable and appropriate and the deal in the public interest with a public benefit. If the Attorney General objects to fees, the court can approve the rest and set fees later.
Data brokers must process California deletion requests every 30 days, not 45
Registered data brokers must check the state's one-stop deletion system and act on requests at least every 30 days instead of every 45. Later, state and local officials can sue data brokers that ignore deletion requests from elected officials and judges.
Four more musk chemicals are banned from cosmetics, and musk ketone gets limits
Musk ambrette, musk tibetene, musk moskene and musk xylene join the list of ingredients banned from cosmetics sold in California. Musk ketone is capped by product type, from 1.4 percent in fine fragrance to none in oral products.
Music and podcast streaming ads can't be louder than the content they run with
The ban on streaming ads that play louder than the content around them now covers music and podcast streaming services, not only video streaming. The law also states that user-generated video services count.
Mutual water companies can't bill shareholders' tenants and must give notice of big rate hikes
Mutual water companies may not bill most tenants of their shareholders for water. Companies running public water systems must post a written plan and give 45 days' notice before a public meeting on any assessment or water rate increase over 20%.
Nitrous oxide added to age-check rule, and online gift cards barred for guns, vapes and tobacco
Sellers of nitrous oxide must check buyers' age, and online sellers may not take gift cards or store credit for guns, ammunition, tobacco or vapes. Fines become a flat $7,500 per violation, not up to $7,500, and up to $250,000 for large businesses.
No sales of diet pills or weight-loss and muscle supplements to minors
Sellers may not sell or give over-the-counter diet pills or weight-loss or muscle-building supplements to anyone under 18 without a prescription. Stores must ask for ID when unsure of a buyer's age, online sellers must verify age, and fines run up to $500 per violation.
Notaries may charge up to $20 per signature, with higher caps on other services
Maximum notary fees go up: $20 per signature for an acknowledgment, $20 for an oath, $20 to certify a power of attorney copy, and $35 plus $12 and $12 for a deposition. Vote by mail and veterans' benefit notarizations stay free.
Resale sites can't sell tee times at public golf courses without the course's OK
Third-party booking sites may not list or sell tee times at golf courses owned by cities, counties or special districts without a written deal with the operator. A golfer may resell at cost only if the course doesn't clearly post its cancellation policy.
Reselling restaurant reservations for more than their cost is banned
No one may sell or transfer a restaurant reservation, or help someone do it, for more than they paid for it unless the restaurant agrees in writing. Prosecutors can seek penalties up to $1,000 per violation, and people harmed can sue.
Small municipal utility districts may offer prepaid electric service
Municipal utility districts with under 100,000 customers may offer homes an opt-in prepaid electricity option, with low-balance alerts 10 days and 24 hours before shutoff and the right to return to standard billing. Prepay customers get no delinquency notice, and customers may choose electronic notices.
Stores can keep selling old gift cards printed with the lower cash-back limit
Sellers can keep selling gift certificates printed before the $15 cash-redemption rule with an outdated lower threshold, if they post a notice at each register that cards under $15 can be cashed out and keep records of the print date.
Sunscreen can be labeled reef safe only if it has no chemical UV filters
Sunscreen sold in California cannot be advertised or labeled "reef safe," "ocean friendly" or with similar claims unless it contains no chemical UV filters, such as oxybenzone, avobenzone or octinoxate. A violation is a misdemeanor.
Ticket sellers may not sell tickets they don't have, and owe double if they fail
Sellers may not list or sell tickets they do not hold or have under contract, and resale marketplaces must work to stop such sales. A seller that breaks the rules and fails to deliver owes twice the price plus nonrefundable costs.
Tobacco retailers can no longer sell nitrous oxide in their stores
Stores licensed to sell tobacco may not sell nitrous oxide at retail locations. Grocery stores and general stores with a grocery section are exempt, but convenience stores are not. Cities and counties may set stricter limits that leave medical, food and industrial uses alone.
Utilities that put barred costs on customer accounts face penalties up to triple the amount
If the Public Utilities Commission finds an electric, gas, water or sewer company booked a cost barred from customer bills or already recovered, it must disallow it and fine an equal amount, or triple for repeat cases, unless the utility found and fixed it itself.
Vapes disguised as candy or school supplies, or with built-in games, are banned
Vape products may not be sold or marketed looking like food, school supplies or clothing to hide them from adults, or with built-in video games. Fines reach $50,000 per violation for distributors. Schools can also send confiscated vapes for hazardous waste disposal more easily.
July 2027 2
New license lets utilities sell home warranty contracts and bill for them
A new Department of Insurance license for home warranty sales agents lets utilities acting for those agents sell the contracts and add fees to utility bills, listed separately as a third party's product. Buyers can return an unclaimed contract within 30 days.
Stores must round cash totals to the nearest 5 cents
When a customer pays fully in cash, merchants must round the total to the nearest 5 cents: totals ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents go down, 3, 4, 8 or 9 go up. Card payments are not rounded; taxes use the unrounded price.
January 2028 3
Cannabis packaging and ads can't use cartoons or other designs that appeal to under-21s
"Attractive to children" for cannabis packaging, labels and ads now means designed or likely to appeal to people under 21, such as cartoons, unicorns, candy images or bubble lettering. Edible and vape labels can't show cartoon fruit.
Money transmission companies must use two-factor login checks for user accounts
Companies licensed under California's Money Transmission Act can't let users log in without two-factor, multifactor or equally secure authentication, a way to reverify identity, and a way for users to report errors or suspected fraud on the same platform.
Paper receipts may no longer contain added BPA, then any added bisphenols
Making, selling or offering paper receipts with intentionally added bisphenol A is banned, and the ban later widens to all bisphenols. Makers must switch to the least toxic option, not a listed cancer-causing chemical, and fines run up to $5,000, then $10,000.
January 2029 1
Diaper makers must list every intentionally added ingredient online and on packages
Makers of children's diapers must post a web page listing all intentionally added ingredients by weight, with each one's name, CAS number and purpose, and print the list and web address on the package. Noncompliant diapers can't be sold; penalties reach $10,000 for repeat violations.