California's Air Cleaner Regulation (AB 2276)

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In accordance with California Assembly Bill 2276 (2006, Pavley), CARB adopted an air cleaner regulation to limit the amount of ozone produced from indoor air cleaning devices, with the goal to protect public health.  All indoor air cleaners sold in, or shipped to, California must meet certain ozone emission and electrical safety standards.

The regulation went into effect in 2008 and over 9,000 air cleaners from more than 800 different manufacturers have been certified by CARB for electrical safety and ozone emissions, which can be no greater than 0.05 parts per million (= 50 parts per billion (ppb)). 

Manufacturers and distributors of air cleaning devices are responsible for becoming familiar with the regulation and meeting its requirements. CARB has active enforcement of the regulation.

Latest Amendments to the Air Cleaner Regulation (Effective October 1, 2020)

The regulation was recently amended, with several significant changes. These changes include:

  • The immediate elimination of the ozone test requirement for portable air cleaners that use UVGI lamp(s), with or without mechanical filtration, as long as they meet other requirements that are outlined in sections 94801(a)(38) and 94804(b) of the regulation.
  • The exemption of electronic in-duct air cleaning devices from the regulation has also been eliminated. Electronic in-duct air cleaners must be tested for ozone emissions and be CARB certified prior to sale to California residents or businesses. There is a 24-month phase-in period for meeting this new requirement, which will end on October 1, 2022.
  • CARB is not certifying mechanical in-duct air cleaning devices that use only HEPA filtration.
  • The text required on package labels of certified air cleaners has also been changed and should now read: "Meets California ozone emissions limits: CARB certified" The label must still meet the same size requirements. 
    CARB Certified Air Cleaner Label
    Label required on device packaging of certified air cleaners.
  • There are also changes to the industrial use exemptions, including the added requirement that ozone-producing air cleaning devices can only be used when no people are present. 
  • There are also changes made to the advisory that is required to be placed on an uncertified ozone-producing air cleaner, and additional information to be included in owners, operations, and installation manuals for the device.
  • The notification requirement has been eliminated for manufacturers of certified air cleaners, although manufacturers of uncertified ozone-producing air cleaning devices are still required to carry-out the notification requirement as described in section 94807 of the regulation.  

Full details on the most recent rulemaking: Air Cleaner Regulation 2019: Proposed Amendments to the Regulation for Limiting Ozone Emissions from Indoor Air Cleaning Devices

How to Stay Updated

CARB encourages those interested in this regulation to subscribe to the Air Cleaner Regulation topic, in order to receive email notification of all notices given and actions taken related to the implementation of this regulation. If you have further questions, contact aircleaners@arb.ca.gov.