Cal. Codes » Vehicle Code / DIVISION 12. EQUIPMENT OF VEHICLES / CHAPTER 5. Other Equipment / ARTICLE 7. Motorcycles
California Codes

Cal. Vehicle Code § 27802 (2026)

Motorcycles

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)The department may adopt reasonable regulations establishing specifications and standards for safety helmets offered for sale, or sold, for use by drivers and passengers of motorcycles and motorized bicycles as it determines are necessary for the safety of those drivers and passengers. The regulations shall include, but are not limited to, the requirements imposed by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 (49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.218) and may include compliance with that federal standard by incorporation of its requirements by reference. Each helmet sold or offered for sale for use by drivers and passengers of motorcycles and motorized bicycles shall be conspicuously labeled in accordance with the federal standard which shall constitute the manufacturer’s certification that the helmet conforms to the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.

(b)No person shall sell, or offer for sale, for use by a driver or passenger of a motorcycle or motorized bicycle any safety helmet which is not of a type meeting requirements established by the department.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2021 · leading case: Buhl v. Hannigan, 2 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1385 (Cal. Ct. App. 1993).
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Buhl v. Hannigan, 2 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1385 (Cal. Ct. App. 1993). “1 Plaintiffs seek to enjoin the state from enforcing California’s Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Law, Vehicle Code section 27802 et seq. 2 (helmet law) during the pendency of their action to have the law declared unconstitutional.”
Easyriders Freedom F.I.G.H.T. v. Hannigan, 92 F.3d 1486 (9th Cir. 1996). · cites it 2× “California Vehicle Code § 27802 provides that the California Department of Transportation may adopt reasonable regulations establishing specifications and standards for safety helmets offered for sale, or sold, for use by drivers and passengers of motorcycles and motorized…”
Lion Farms v. Cal Occupational Saf. & Health etc. CA5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021). “4 4 Of note, California’s Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Law, Vehicle Code section 27802 et seq., has been repeatedly challenged as unconstitutionally vague, and 17.”
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