California Air Resources Board

Please do not send CARB personally identifiable information - such as your address, income, or driver's license number - unless it is requested by CARB staff.

The program has launched in the areas covered by the following air districts: Imperial, Mojave Desert, Eastern Kern, Antelope Valley, Great Basin Unified, Mariposa County, Tuolumne County, Calaveras County, Amador County, El Dorado County, Placer County, Feather River, Northern Sierra, Lassen, Modoc, Siskiyou, Shasta, Tehama, and Butte. It will continue to roll out through the remaining parts of the state through the first quarter of 2025. You can a find a rollout schedule here and information on eligibility requirements here.

Incentive Amounts

The following table summarizes incentive amounts as currently planned for the upcoming Driving Clean Assistance Program (DCAP) launch. Consumers needing an affordable loan will have access to low-interest rate loans, capped at 8% APR. Potential participants should be aware that there is no cost to apply to DCAP.

*Approved participants will have the option to receive either a $2,000 prepaid card to use for public charging or up to $2,000 towards the installation of charging infrastructure in their home.

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible for the program, participants must:

• Have a household income of less than or equal to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level.*
  • Currently, this is $93,600 for a 4-person household. Income will be verified through a variety of documentation and the process will align with other CARB and Air District programs where applicable.
• Households who have not previously participated in any CARB Light-Duty purchase incentives (CVRP, CVAP, regional DCAP, and district CC4A programs).
• Be a resident of California, and
• Apply to the DCAP program before purchasing a vehicle as this incentive is not retroactive.

*As of May 2024, this is $93,600 for a four-person household. This number will be updated annually to align with current Federal Poverty Level values.

How it’s Administered

Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) will administer DCAP on behalf of the California Air Resources Board. For more information, see the Driving Clean Assistance Program website. CHDC will be providing outreach support to local Community-Based organizations, in addition to processing applications and incentives to participants, and educate participants on the adoption of advanced technology vehicles.

Where and When it’s Offered

The Driving Clean Assistance Program will launch in 2024. Visit the Driving Clean Assistance Program website to subscribe to receive updates about the program’s upcoming launch. Potential participants should be aware that there is no cost to apply to the Driving Clean Assistance Program and that CHDC is the sole administrator for DCAP.

Participant Eligibility Criteria

Eligible participants must:

• Be a resident of California,
• Apply for the program before purchasing a vehicle,
• Be a low income-consumer at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (which is currently at $93,600 for a family of four and will be updated annually), and
• Have not previously participated in any CARB light duty vehicle purchase incentive program, including the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, the statewide or regional Financing Assistance Pilots, or the Clean Cars 4 All Program.

Participants are not required to have a vehicle to scrap to be eligible. Also, consumers may only apply for one incentive per household for the lifetime of the program.

Participation Requirements

After a participant is selected from the program, they will be required to:

• Partake in program education that includes financial preparations and information about available clean vehicle technology types,
• Maintain ownership of the newer vehicle in California for a minimum of 30 months,
• Fill out program surveys, and
• Participants who do not have a vehicle to scrap and will not be financing their vehicle will be required to contribute a minimum of $1,000 toward the clean vehicle purchase or lease.

Vehicle Eligibility Criteria

Both retired (scrapped) and replacement vehicles will also have eligibility criteria that have been developed using pre-existing criteria from other CARB light-duty incentive programs.

Retired (scrapped) vehicles:

• Must be a gasoline or diesel-powered light- or medium-duty vehicle under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating,
• Must be able to complete a functionality test,
• Must be a model year 2009 or older, and
• Must have the title issued to the registered owner.

Replacement vehicles:

• Must have been purchased or leased in California through an authorized dealership and
• May be new or used with a maximum purchase price cap of $45,000 which does not include taxes and fees.
  • New vehicles must be on CARB’s list of eligible vehicles.
  • Used vehicles must be eight calendar years or newer with an odometer reading not exceeding 80,000 miles.

For participants in need of an affordable loan, loans administered through DCAP’s lending partners or through a financial institution of the applicant’s choice will have a loan interest rate cap of 8%.

Announcements and Upcoming Activities

Visit Driving Clean Assistance Program to subscribe to receive announcements and updates about upcoming activities.