“Affirmation of Fleet Wide Compliance” means a document issued to a fleet by the Executive Officer affirming that the vehicles within the given fleet are compliant with the requirements of this HD I/M Regulation.

“Aftermarket part” means a performance or add-on part issued an Executive Order that exempts the part from the prohibitions of California Vehicle Code section 27156.

“Aftermarket parts label” means a product information label that is affixed to an aftermarket part that contains, at a minimum, the product name as exempted, CARB Executive Order number, instruction for proper installation, the manufacturer's name, and manufacturer's address.

“Agricultural vehicle” means a vehicle or truck-tractor trailer combination owned or operated by a farming business and used exclusively in agricultural operations to transport agricultural products to the first point of processing and does not include vehicles that do not directly support farming operations, such as personal use vehicles.

(1) First point of processing refers to the location where harvested crops, bees, fowl, fish, livestock, animals, or their products, such as wool, milk, or eggs, are first altered from their original state, or the first location where unaltered products are packaged and prepared for transportation.

(2) A first point of processing may include packinghouses, slaughterhouses, cotton gins, nut hullers/shellers and processors, dehydrators, lumber mills, feed and grain mills, and biomass facilities. For some crops, the first point of processing may be in the field, such as chipping wood.

(3) A first point of processing is not a location of the product's final use and does not include distribution centers, wholesale and retail sales locations where the first processing of a product does not occur, livestock auction houses, and subsequent locations where processing, canning, or similar activities occur after departing a first point of processing location.

“Alternative compliance verification terminal” means an applicable freight facility that does not, as of January 1, 2022, have automatic methods, including but not limited to Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) or Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR), to identify each vehicle entering the facility.

“Alternative fuel” means natural gas, propane, ethanol, methanol, or other non-diesel or non-gasoline fuel, and includes any of these fuels used in combination with each other. For purposes of this HD I/M Regulation, “alternative fuel” does not mean electricity, hydrogen, or other zero tailpipe emissions fuel or technology.

“Alternative fuel retrofit system” or “retrofit system” is a package of fuel storage and delivery, ignition, emission control, on board diagnostic (OBD), and engine components that are modified, removed, or added during the process of modifying a motor vehicle or engine to operate on an alternative fuel.

“Applicable freight facility” is any of the following facilities within California if one or more heavy-duty vehicles operate within the legal property boundary of the facility:

(1) A seaport facility, as defined in this section; or

(2) An intermodal railyard, as defined in this section.

“Authorized emergency vehicle” means vehicles meeting one of the following requirements:

(1) Authorized emergency vehicles as specified in California Vehicle Code section 165.

(2) A publicly owned authorized emergency vehicle used by an emergency medical technician-paramedic, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 1797.84, only as necessary to ensure the ability to respond to emergencies.

“Broker” means any person that, as a principal or agent, sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out by solicitation, advertisement, or otherwise as selling, providing, or arranging for transportation within California by motor carrier for compensation. A motor carrier, or person who is an employee or bona fide agent of a carrier, is not a broker when it arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of shipments which it is authorized to transport and which it has accepted and legally bound itself to transport.

“Calendar year” means January 1 to December 31 for a given year.

“California registered vehicle” means a vehicle that is required to register with the California DMV to legally operate in California.

“CARB” means the California Air Resources Board.

“Citation” means a notice issued by the CARB alleging a violation of the requirements of this HD I/M Regulation, which requires submission of documentation and payment of a penalty as specified in section 2198.2(b).

“Class I Railroad” has the same meaning as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 20102(1).

“Commercial purposes” means for the purposes of transportation of materials, goods, commodities or persons for compensation, hire, or profit.

“Compliance deadline” refers to the deadline by which a vehicle shall demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this HD I/M Regulation.

(1) “Annual compliance deadline” refers to the deadline once per compliance year for which a qualifying vehicle owner shall verify compliance pursuant to this HD I/M Regulation. The annual deadline is the final day of a vehicle's compliance year.

(2) “Semiannual compliance deadline” refers to the deadline twice per compliance year for which a vehicle owner shall verify compliance pursuant to this HD I/M Regulation. Semiannual deadlines occur on a vehicle's compliance year expiration day in months six and twelve of each compliance year with the deadline in month twelve being the final day of a vehicle's compliance year. If the semiannual compliance deadline would be a higher number than the total number of days in month six or twelve, the semiannual compliance deadline shall be the last day of that month.

(3) “Quarterly compliance deadline” refers to the deadline four times per compliance year for which a vehicle owner shall verify compliance pursuant to this HD I/M Regulation. Quarterly deadlines occur on a vehicle's compliance year expiration day in months three, six, nine, and twelve of each compliance year with the deadline in month twelve being the final day of a vehicle's compliance year. If the quarterly compliance deadline would be a higher number than the total number of days in any of the months three, six, nine, or twelve, the quarterly compliance deadline shall be the last day of that month.

“Compliance test” means the applicable test specified in sections 2196.3 and 2196.4 required of a vehicle subject to this HD I/M Regulation.

(1) If the compliance test performance date is different than its date of submission to the electronic reporting system, the Executive Officer shall deem the test performance date as the date of record.

“Compliance year” refers to the annual period for which a vehicle's compliance fee applies. For California-registered vehicles, the start and end date of every compliance year shall align with the day and month of a vehicle's DMV registration expiration date. The month of a compliance year refers to the month measured from the start of the compliance year. Thus, if the compliance year start date is in June, month three of the compliance year is September.

(1) The compliance year for a non-California registered vehicle and vehicles exempt from DMV registration shall be determined based on the vehicle's VIN. The compliance year shall begin and end on the last day of the month specified below based on the last number of a vehicle's VIN, as shown in the table below.

“Consumable chemical fuel” for purposes of this HD I/M Regulation, means any solid, liquid, or gaseous matter, except hydrogen, that releases energy when consumed by an auxiliary power unit.

“Continuously connected remote on-board diagnostic device” or “CC-ROBD device”: See definition for “remote on-board diagnostic device.”

“Data link connector” is a multi-pin diagnostic connection port for vehicles, used to interface a testing device with the control modules of a given vehicle and access on-board diagnostics and live data streams.

“Defective” means a condition in which an emissions control system or an emissions control system component is malfunctioning due to age, wear, design defects, or causes other than tampering.

“Demonstration of Compliance” means the documents specified in section 2198.2(f).

“Designee” means a person authorized by a vehicle or fleet owner to electronically register for an account within the electronic reporting system to update and maintain the account information as necessary.

“Driver” has the same meaning as defined in California Vehicle Code section 305.

“Electronic reporting system” means CARB's online database and reporting system to collect and store all compliance test results and other pertinent regulatory information required as part of this HD I/M Regulation.

“Emission control label” means the label required by the “California Motor Vehicle Emission Control and Smog Index Label Specifications For 1978 Through 2003 Model Year Motorcycles, Light-, Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles,” as incorporated by reference in title 13, CCR section 1965, as last amended on September 5, 2003, and as required by the “California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2004 and Subsequent Model Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines and Vehicles,” as incorporated by reference in title 13, CCR section 1956.8, as last amended on April 18, 2019.

“Emissions control system” means the pollution control components, connections, and associated mechanisms on an engine at the time its engine family is certified, including the emission control label.

“Engine change” means the installation of an engine in a vehicle that is different from the vehicle manufacturer original configuration as certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) or CARB.

“Executive Order (EO)” means a document issued by the Executive Officer verifying that vehicles, engines, add-on components, and other devices meet requirements in CARB regulations or in California statute.

“Five-Day pass” means a once-a-year temporary pass, obtained through the electronic reporting system from the Executive Officer, to operate a vehicle in California for five consecutive calendar days without the Executive Officer deeming the vehicle compliant with the HD I/M Regulation.

“Fleet” means one (1) or more heavy-duty vehicles owned by the same person, agency, business, or other entity.

“Fleet facility” means an area where a vehicle primarily performs shipping or receiving operations, vehicle troubleshooting, repair, testing, or vehicle storage.

“Fraudulent” means any false statement or representation in any application, report, statement, or other document filed, maintained, or used for the purposes of compliance with this HD I/M Regulation.

“Freight contractor” means any person, excluding a broker, who enters into a contract with any party requiring the operation of a heavy-duty vehicle within California. This includes a shipper, receiver, carrier, or governmental agency as defined in this HD I/M Regulation, or any other intermediary party.

“Governmental agency” means any federal, state, or local government, including, public schools, water districts, or any other public entity with taxing authority.

“Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)” is as defined in California Vehicle Code section 350.

“HD I/M compliance certificate” means a certificate issued to a vehicle owner by the Executive Officer, obtained after demonstrating compliance with this HD I/M Regulation, confirming the vehicle can legally operate in California.

“HD I/M Regulation” means sections 2195 through 2199 of this Chapter.

“HD I/M tester” means a person who has a current and valid CARB-issued HD I/M tester credential, as defined in section 2197.1.

“HD I/M tester credential” means the accreditation provided by CARB to an individual trained in accordance with the requirements of section 2197.1 to conduct vehicle compliance testing such as ROBD inspections, smoke opacity inspections, and vehicle emissions control equipment inspections required by this HD I/M Regulation and submit vehicle inspection data to the electronic reporting system based on the results of the inspection.

“Heavy-duty vehicle” means any motor vehicle having a manufacturer's GVWR greater than 14,000 pounds.

“Heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle” means an on-road vehicle with a manufacturer's GVWR greater than 14,000 pounds with a drivetrain that produces zero exhaust emissions of any criteria pollutant (or precursor pollutant) or greenhouse gas under any possible operational modes or conditions.

“Hybrid vehicle” means a vehicle that includes energy storage features (other than a conventional battery system or conventional flywheel) in addition to an internal combustion engine using a consumable chemical fuel.

“In-person field inspection” means any inspection conducted in accordance with the procedures specified in this HD I/M Regulation at an inspection site by a CARB inspector or peace officer.

“Inspection site” means an area including a random roadside location, a weigh station, a fleet facility, or other similar site used for conducting the heavy-duty vehicle test procedure, emissions control system inspection, or both.

“Inspector” means a CARB employee or authorized agent with the duty of enforcing Health and Safety Code section 44152.

“Intermodal railyard” means any transportation facility owned or operated by a Class I Railroad that is primarily dedicated to the business of intermodal rail operations where cargo is transferred to or from a train and any other form of conveyance, such as train to ship, ship to train, train to truck, or truck to train.

“Malfunction indicator light (MIL)” means the light displaying the International Standards Organization (ISO) 2575 engine symbol F01, consistent with subdivision (d) of section 1971.1, title 13, CCR.

“Manufacturer” means any person who manufactures or assembles an engine, vehicle, or piece of equipment for sale in California. It also means the person who is granted certification for a certified engine, vehicle, or equipment.

“Manufacturer original configuration” means an engine configuration in which all parts and components are properly installed and in place, in accordance with the requirements specified in the certification application and the applicable engine family Executive Order.

“Motor carrier” means a registered owner, lessee, licensee, or bailee of any vehicle, who operates or directs the operation of any such vehicle on either a for-hire or not-for-hire basis.

“Motor home” means a single vehicular unit designed for human habitation to provide temporary living quarters for recreational or emergency occupancy and built on, or permanently attached to, a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis, chassis cab, or van, which becomes an integral part of the completed vehicle or a vehicle that exclusively tows a trailer that was originally designed for human habitation for recreational or emergency occupancy.

(1) A converted vehicle shall be considered a motor home if the vehicle has permanently installed at least four of the following facilities: cooking, refrigeration or ice box, self-contained toilet, heating or air conditioning, a portable water supply system including a faucet and sink, a separate 110- to 125-volt electrical power supply or liquid petroleum gas supply.

“New motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, the equitable or legal title to which has never been transferred to an ultimate purchaser in accordance with Health and Safety Code section 39042.

“Non-continuously connected remote on-board diagnostic device” or “NCC-ROBD device”: See definition for “remote on-board diagnostic device.”

“Non-OBD-equipped vehicle” means any vehicle that does not meet the definition of an OBD-equipped vehicle.

“Notice to Submit to Testing (NST)” means a notice requiring demonstration of compliance, as specified in section 2198.2(a).

“On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) system” means any system certified to meet the requirements of any of the following:

(1) Title 13, CCR, section 1968.2;

(2) Title 13, CCR, section 1971.1;

(3) Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), section 86.010-18, as last amended on June 29, 2021; or

(4) Requirements equivalent to (1) through (3) of this definition.

“OBD-equipped vehicle” means a heavy-duty vehicle for the following model years and fuel types equipped with an OBD system:

(1) Model year 2013 and newer diesel engines;

(2) Model year 2013 and newer diesel hybrid engines;

(3) Model year 2018 and newer alternative fuel engines; and

(4) Model year 2018 and newer alternative fuel hybrid engines.

“Officer” means a uniformed member of the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

“Opacity” means the percentage of light obstructed from passage through an exhaust smoke plume.

“Outstanding enforcement action” means any unresolved civil, administrative, or criminal violation for which a notice was issued to a vehicle or a fleet owner for non-compliance with any in-use heavy duty vehicle requirements established by CARB.

“Owner” of a vehicle means the person or persons registered as the owner or lessee of a vehicle by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or its equivalent in another state, province, or country; vehicle ownership is based on the vehicle registration document or the vehicle title, except as specified below:

(1) For vehicles that are owned by the federal government and not registered in any state or local jurisdiction, the owner shall be the department, agency, branch, or other entity of the United States, including the United States Postal Service, to which the vehicles in the fleet are assigned or which has responsibility for maintenance of the vehicles.

(2) For vehicles that are rented or leased from a business that is regularly engaged in the trade or business of renting or leasing motor vehicles without drivers, the owner shall be presumed to be the rental or leasing entity for purposes of compliance if:

(A) The rental or lease agreement for the vehicle is for a period of less than one year; or

(B) The rental or lease agreement for the vehicle is for a period of one year or longer, unless the terms of the rental or lease agreement or other equally reliable evidence identifies the party responsible for compliance with the HD I/M Regulation to be the renting operator or lessee of the vehicle.

(3) For the purpose of enforcement, if the rented or leased vehicle is inspected and cited for non-compliance with the HD I/M Regulation and neither the operator of the vehicle nor the rental or leasing entity can produce evidence of the party responsible for compliance, the owner shall be presumed to be both the rental or leasing entity and the renting operator or lessee of the vehicle.

(4) A financing company or a person that only provides financing to a third party in the form of “finance leases,” as defined in California Uniform Commercial Code section 10103(a)(7), is not considered to own the vehicles that are financed.

“Peace officer” means any law enforcement agencies' authorized representative as defined in California Penal Code, title 3, chapter 4.5, sections 830 et seq.

“Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, Limited Liability Company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

“Provisional HD I/M compliance certificate” refers to a HD I/M compliance certificate issued to a vehicle owner that indicates that the applicable vehicle may be operated through the vehicle's next compliance deadline without demonstrating full compliance with the requirements of the HD I/M Regulation.

“Receiver” means a person or an entity that enters into a contractual agreement with a shipper, broker, or intermediary party to receive shipped goods, cargo, or commodities for the purpose of processing, packaging, retail sale or wholesale. This does not include the receipt of any goods by the final end-user or consumer.

“Referee” means an individual or entity authorized by CARB to provide independent evaluations of vehicles, and services to accommodate vehicles with inspection incompatibilities or compliance issues.

“Remote on-board diagnostic device” or “ROBD device” means an OBD data collection and submission system certified to meet the California Standards for Heavy-Duty Remote On-board Diagnostics Devices, adopted August 22, 2022 and hereby incorporated by reference.

(1) “Certified continuously connected remote OBD (CC-ROBD) device” means a ROBD device, which may be hard-wired into the vehicle wire harness or plugged into the vehicle and functions automatically without human interaction to perform the compliance test.

(2) “Certified non-continuously connected remote OBD (NCC-ROBD) device” means a plug-in ROBD device that requires human interaction to perform the compliance testing.

“Removal from service” means the towing and storage of a vehicle under California Vehicle Code section 27159 and under the auspices of the California Highway Patrol.

“Rental or leasing company” means a business that rents or leases vehicles.

“Renter” means a person who rents or operates vehicles, engines, or equipment units not owned by that person.

“Repair facility” means any place where heavy-duty vehicles are repaired, rebuilt, reconditioned, or in any way maintained for the public at a fee, and fleet maintenance facilities.

“Roadside emissions monitoring device” means a CARB-authorized system for remotely measuring exhaust emissions, downloading OBD data, or collecting other information for identifying vehicles passing through the system.

“SAE J1667” means SAE Recommended Practice SAE J1667 “Snap-Acceleration Smoke Test Procedure for Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered Vehicles,” as issued February 1996 (“1996-02”), which is incorporated herein by reference.

“Seaport facility” means any non-military independent marine terminal or any seaport where the seaport functions as a marine or seaport terminal.

(1) “Independent marine terminal” means a marine terminal that operates independently from a seaport or seaport authority.

(2) “Seaport” means the property where marine or seaport terminals are typically located for the loading and unloading of water-borne commerce onto and from ocean-going vessels. For purposes of this HD I/M Regulation, seaport does not include seaport property that is not related to or primarily used to engage in water-borne commerce.

(3) “Marine or seaport terminals” means wharves, bulkheads, quays, piers, docks and other berthing locations and adjacent storage or adjacent areas and structures associated with the primary movement of cargo or materials from vessel to shore or shore to vessel including structures which are devoted to receiving, handling, holding, consolidating, loading, or delivery of waterborne shipments or passengers, including areas devoted to the maintenance of the terminal or equipment. For the purposes of this HD I/M Regulation, the term includes production or manufacturing areas, warehouses, storage facilities, and private or public businesses or entities located on or surrounded by seaport property.

(4) “Seaport property” means publicly or privately owned property where a seaport is located. It is the property that includes the physical boundaries, either contiguous or non-contiguous, of the seaport and may include other properties owned by the seaport. For the purposes of this HD I/M Regulation, seaport property includes privately owned property located within a publicly or privately owned seaport property's boundaries.

“Shipper” means the person, party, or entity who usually owns or supplies the commodities transported by a carrier, or that has possession of freight prior to its transportation. This may include packing plants, storage facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers.

“Smoke meter” means a detection device used to measure the opacity of smoke in percent opacity.

“Smoke test” or “smoke opacity test” means a test of a vehicle's emissions for smoke opacity level conducted using the procedures specified in SAE J1667 Recommended Practice: Snap Acceleration Smoke Test Procedure for Heavy-Duty Powered Vehicles.

“Tampered” means missing, modified, disconnected, or improperly installed, or, as it applies to emission control labels, permanently obscured in accordance with Vehicle Code section 27156 and Health and Safety Code section 43008.6.

“Temporary operating permit” means a permit issued by the DMV, in accordance with California Vehicle Code section 4156.5, which allows a motorist to operate a vehicle for a limited time when all registration fees have been paid, but license plates or registration stickers have not been issued.

“Test procedures” means the methods or actions required to complete the tests specified in this HD I/M Regulation, for the purposes of compliance verification.

“Tier 1, 2, or Tier 3 engine” means an off-road compression-ignition engine certified to the applicable emission standards in CCR, title 13, section 2423(b)(1)(A) or section 2423(b)(2)(A).

“Tier 4 engine” means an off-road compression-ignition engine certified to the interim or final Tier 4 emission standards in CCR, title 13, section 2423(b)(1)(B) or section 2423(b)(2)(B).

“Ultimate purchaser” means, with respect to any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine, the first person who in good faith purchases a new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine for purposes other than resale, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 39055.5.

“Unresolved citation” means a citation issued for violating the requirements of this HD I/M Regulation for which acceptable demonstration of compliance has not been provided or, if required, payment of all required penalties has not been received.

“Vehicle identification number (VIN)” means an alpha numeric code which has been permanently assigned by the manufacturer to a vehicle. The VIN is unique to each vehicle and may contain information deemed necessary by governing agencies. If a manufacturer cannot obtain a federal VIN from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for their vehicles, an alternative VIN approved by CARB may be used. Unless otherwise noted, the VIN and alternative VIN will follow formats specified in the Code of Federal Regulations 49, Chapter V, Parts 565, 566, and 571, on October 1, 2021, which are incorporated herein by reference.

“Vendor” means any person who manufactures or applies for certification for a ROBD device. It also means the person to whom CARB grants certification for a certified ROBD device.

“Verified diesel emissions control strategy (VDECS)” means a diesel emission control strategy or system that has received approval from the Executive Officer according to the “Verification Procedure for In-Use Strategies to Control Emissions from Diesel Engines” in title 13, CCR, commencing with section 2700. Level 2 VDECS means the strategy or system reduces engine diesel particulate matter emissions by 50 to 84 percent. Level 3 VDECS means the strategy reduces engine particulate matter emissions by 85 percent or greater, or reduces engine emissions to less than or equal to 0.01 grams diesel particulate matter per brake horsepower-hour.