Learn more about the history of autonomous vehicles in California, including the development of driverless testing programs and deployment regulations.
December 16, 2015 – The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) released the draft deployment regulations for review. Two public workshops were held to allow interested parties to provide input on the draft regulations.
September 30, 2016 – DMV released the revised draft deployment regulations and held a public workshop on the draft regulations on October 19, 2016, at the State Capitol.
March 10, 2017 – The proposed regulations to establish a path for the testing and deployment of fully autonomous vehicles in California were published and began the 45-day public comment period. DMV held a public hearing in Sacramento to gather input on the proposed regulations on April 25, 2017.
October 11, 2017 – DMV published revised regulations that cover driverless testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles. The release commenced a 15-day public comment period that ended on October 25, 2017.
November 30, 2017 – DMV released revised regulations for a second 15-day public comment period that ended on December 15, 2017.
January 11, 2018 – DMV submitted the final regulatory package, which covers driverless testing and deployment, to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for approval.
February 26, 2018 – The OAL approved the driverless testing regulations. On March 2, 2018, DMV posted a public notice of that approval on its website and began approving applications 30 days after the notice on April 2, 2018.
December 16, 2019 – The Office of Administrative Law approved the regulations allowing autonomous delivery vehicles weighing >10,001 lbs.
August 30, 2024 – The DMV released draft regulations for public comment period that ended on October 14, 2024.
April 25, 2025 – The DMV released revised regulations for a 45-day public comment period that ended on May 9, 2025.
June 10, 2025 – The DMV held a Public Hearing in San Francisco, CA for revised regulations.
December 3, 2025 – The DMV released revised regulations for a 15-day public comment period that ended on December 18, 2025.
January 21, 2026 – The DMV released revised regulations for a second 15-day public comment period that ended on February 5, 2026.
April 28, 2026 – The Office of Administrative Law approved the regulations allowing for Autonomous heavy-duty commercial motor vehicle operations in California.
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Autonomous Vehicles
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