California has adopted new rules that give law enforcement agencies a formal way to act when autonomous vehicles violate traffic laws. The regulations, announced by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, create a process for issuing a “Notice of AV Noncompliance” to manufacturers when a driverless vehicle commits a moving violation.
The measure addresses a gap in traffic enforcement. Conventional citations are written for human drivers, while fully autonomous vehicles may operate without anyone behind the wheel. Under the new framework, violations by an autonomous vehicle can be reported to the DMV, which can review the incident and decide whether corrective action or restrictions on the manufacturer’s permit are needed.
The rules are part of a wider update to California’s autonomous vehicle regulations. They cover light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles and introduce new requirements for safety, emergency response, remote operations and data reporting. The DMV said the regulations were approved on 28 April 2026 after a public comment and review process.
A key element is the new enforcement route for moving violations. Police officers will be able to issue notices to autonomous vehicle manufacturers when an AV commits a violation while operating under autonomous control. The DMV can then investigate and impose measures if required. These can include targeted operational restrictions, such as limits on fleet size, operating area, speed or weather conditions.
The framework also sets new rules for interactions with emergency services. Autonomous vehicle companies must maintain updated first-responder interaction plans and provide two-way communication links with a 30-second response requirement. Local emergency officials will also be able to issue electronic geofencing directives, creating temporary restricted or “do not enter” zones during incidents. Vehicles already inside such a zone must leave within two minutes, and other vehicles in the fleet may not enter while the restriction is active.
The regulations also open the California market to larger autonomous vehicles. Manufacturers may now apply for permits to test and deploy heavy-duty autonomous vehicle technology on public roads. This removes the previous prohibition on autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, creating a regulatory route for autonomous freight operations. Heavy-duty AVs must still comply with state and federal commercial vehicle rules, including requirements around weigh stations.
Before commercial deployment, manufacturers must progress through a staged permitting process. This starts with testing using a safety driver, followed by driverless testing, before a company can apply for commercial deployment. The DMV says manufacturers must complete 50,000 miles of testing for light-duty vehicles and 500,000 miles for heavy-duty vehicles at each phase, supported by a structured safety case covering vehicle hardware, software and operations.
