Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 13, § 228.06 - Application for a Permit for Post-Testing Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads

(a) Except for testing as provided in Sections 227.30 and 227.38 of Article 3.7, an autonomous vehicle shall not be deployed on any public road in California until the manufacturer has submitted and the department has approved an Application for a Permit to Deploy Autonomous Vehicles on Public Streets, form OL 321 (Rev. 7/2020), which is hereby incorporated by reference. Manufacturers may also choose to submit the form via the department's web portal or electronic data transfer.

(1) The manufacturer shall identify in the application the operational design domain in which the subject autonomous vehicles are designed to operate and certify that the vehicles are designed to be incapable of operating in the autonomous mode in areas outside of the disclosed operational design domain.

(2) The manufacturer shall identify any commonly-occurring or restricted conditions, including but not limited to: snow, fog, black ice, wet road surfaces, construction zones, and geo-fencing by location or road type, under which the vehicles are either designed to be incapable of operating or unable to operate reliably in the autonomous mode or state the mechanism for safely disengaging out of autonomous mode in the event of experiencing conditions outside of its operational design domain.

(3) The manufacturer shall describe how the vehicle is designed to react when it is outside of its operational design domain or encounters the commonly-occurring or restricted conditions disclosed on the application. Such reactions can include measures such as notifying and transitioning control to the driver, transitioning to a minimal risk condition, moving the vehicle a safe distance from the travel lanes, or activating systems that will allow the vehicle to continue operation until it has reached a location where it can come to a complete stop.

(4) The manufacturer shall submit the fee of three thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars ($3,275) for the processing of the application.

(5) The manufacturer must provide on the application the number of the Manufacturer's License issued by the department pursuant to Vehicle Code section 11701.

(6) The manufacturer shall certify in the application that the autonomous vehicles are equipped with an autonomous technology data recorder that captures and stores autonomous technology sensor data for all vehicle functions that are controlled by the autonomous technology at least 30 seconds before a collision with another vehicle, person, or other object while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode. The data captured and stored by the autonomous technology data recorder, in a read only format, must be capable of being accessed and retrieved by a commercially available tool.

(7) The manufacturer shall certify that the autonomous vehicles comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571, and the California Vehicle Code, Division 12 (Equipment of Vehicles), or the manufacturer shall provide evidence of an exemption that has been approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(8) The manufacturer shall certify that the autonomous technology meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, if any, for the vehicles' model year, and that the autonomous technology does not make inoperative any Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571, and the California Vehicle Code, Division 12 (Equipment of Vehicles).

(9) The manufacturer shall certify that the autonomous technology is designed to detect and respond to roadway situations in compliance with all provisions of the California Vehicle Code and local regulation applicable to the performance of the dynamic driving task in the vehicle's operational design domain, except when necessary to enhance the safety of the vehicle's occupants and/or other road users.

(A) The manufacturer shall also certify that, when necessary, it will make available updates pertaining to the autonomous technology at least annually or by the effective date of any changes in the California Vehicle Code and local regulation applicable to the operation of motor vehicles to ensure that the autonomous vehicle is in compliance with any changes made to the California Vehicle Code and local regulation applicable to the performance of the dynamic driving task in the vehicle's operational design domain.

(B) The manufacturer shall also certify that it will make available updates pertaining to location and mapping information utilized or referenced by the autonomous technology for the safe operation of the vehicle in the operational design domain on a continual basis consistent with changes to the physical environment captured by the maps sensors, or other information.

(C) The manufacturer shall notify the registered owner of the autonomous vehicle of the availability of the updates pursuant to (A) and (B) above and provide instructions on how to access the updates.

(10) A certification that the autonomous vehicles meet appropriate and applicable current industry standards to help defend against, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks, unauthorized intrusions, or false vehicle control commands.

(11) A certification that the manufacturer has conducted test and validation methods and is satisfied, based on the results of the tests and validations, that the vehicles are safe for deployment on public roads in California.

(b) In addition to the requirements specified in subsection (a), for vehicles that do not require a driver, the manufacturer shall also certify that the vehicle complies with all of the following:

(1) A communication link between the vehicle and the remote operator, if any, to provide information on the vehicle's location and status and allow two-way communication between the remote operator and any passengers, if applicable, should the vehicle experience any failures that would endanger the safety of the vehicle's passengers or other road users while operating without a driver.

(2) The ability to display or transfer vehicle owner or operator information as specified in Vehicle Code section 16025 in the event that the vehicle is involved in a crash, collision, or accident or if there is a need to provide that information to a law enforcement officer for any reason.

(3) Any vehicle that is not equipped with manual controls for completing the dynamic driving task, such as a steering wheel, brake pedal, and accelerator pedal, complies with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or the manufacturer provides evidence of an exemption that has been approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(c) The manufacturer shall submit with the application all of the following:

(1) For vehicles to be sold or leased to persons other than the manufacturer, a consumer or end user education plan, which covers the operational design domain of the vehicle, which also includes the following:

(A) The identification of any and all restrictions of the autonomous technology in the autonomous vehicles and an explanation of the educational materials that will be provided to end users of the autonomous vehicles produced by the manufacturer.

(B) A copy of the sections of the vehicle owner's manual, or an equivalent vehicle operator instruction guide or pamphlet that provides information on the following:

(i) The mechanism to engage and disengage the autonomous technology showing that the mechanism is easily accessible to the vehicle operator.

(ii) The visual indicator inside the vehicle's cabin to indicate when the autonomous technology is engaged.

(iii) The operator and manufacturer's responsibilities with respect to the operation of the autonomous vehicles.

(C) An explanation how end users will receive education after purchasing a previously-owned vehicle.

(D) The internet web site address where copies of the end user education plan may be accessed shall be provided at no cost to law enforcement and emergency response agencies in the vicinity of the operational design domain of the vehicles and shall be provided to the California Highway Patrol at the E-mail address provided in section 227.38 (e)(3) of Article 3.7.

(2) A description of how a vehicle that meets the Society of Automotive Engineers' definition of a level 4 or level 5 vehicle, or for vehicles that meet the Society of Automotive Engineers' definition of a level 3 vehicle and the driver does not or is unable to take manual control of the vehicle, will safely come to a complete stop when there is an autonomous technology failure that would endanger the safety of the vehicle's occupants or other road users, including but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) To the extent practicable, moving the vehicle a safe distance from the travel lanes.

(B) Activation of systems that will allow the vehicle to continue operation until the vehicle has reached a location where it can come to a complete stop.

(3) A copy of a law enforcement interaction plan that meets all of the requirements specified in Section 227.38 (e) of Article 3.7.

(4) A copy of the written disclosure required by Section 228.24.

(5) A certification that the subject autonomous vehicle satisfies each requirement of Vehicle Code section 38750, subsection (c)(1).

(6) A certification that the manufacturer has complied with its responsibility to register with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and that it is aware of its responsibilities to comply with federal motor vehicle safety requirements.

(7) A summary of the manufacturer's autonomous technology testing in the operational design domain in which the subject autonomous vehicles are designed to operate. The summary shall describe all locations where the vehicle has been tested and shall include:

(A) The total number of vehicle test miles driven on public roads, on test tracks, or other private roads in autonomous mode.

(B) A description of the testing methods used to validate the performance of the subject autonomous vehicles.

(C) The number of collisions originating from the operation of the autonomous test vehicles in autonomous mode on public roads that resulted in damage of property to any one person in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or bodily injury or death, and a full description of the cause of each collision and measures taken to remediate the cause of each collision where applicable.

(d) Manufacturers that have publicly disclosed an assessment demonstrating their approaches to achieving safety shall provide the department with a copy of that assessment.

(e) The requirements identified in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section shall be submitted as follows:

(1) Documents shall be submitted on business letterhead and clearly identify the party completing the plan or report.

(2) Each plan or report shall contain at least a two-page summary including the contents and conclusion of the plan or report. Charts, graphs or other visual or audio materials may be included as attachments to the summary.

(3) Each page shall be sequentially numbered, and contain the name of the party completing the plan or report, and shall name or identify the subject autonomous vehicles covered by the technology in the plan or report.

(4) Each plan or report shall be signed and dated under penalty of perjury, by the party completing the plan or report, certifying the correctness of its contents.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 13, § 228.06

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1651 and 38750, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 322, 11701 and 38750, Vehicle Code; and Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1651 and 38750, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 322, 11701 and 38750, Vehicle Code; and Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571.

1. New section filed 2-26-2018; operative 4/1/2018 (Register 2018, No. 9).
2. Change without regulatory effect amending form OL 321, Application for a Permit to Deploy Autonomous Vehicles on Public Streets (incorporated by reference) and amending subsections (a), (c)(1)(D) and (c)(3) filed 4-15-2021 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2021, No. 16).
3. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a) filed 3-19-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 12).