The Overview

If you sell or remanufacture electric vehicle batteries in California, you will soon have to label them with specific information and register with the state. California's Vehicle Traction Batteries law, SB 615, became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 20. ​

Recycling EV batteries is technically challenging: packs contain many cells and are difficult to dismantle, even as recovering their minerals could reduce demand for new mining, according to BBC Future. The labeling requirements take effect July 1, 2028.

What the Law Does

Starting July 1, 2028, battery suppliers must equip every new vehicle traction battery sold in California with a permanent label containing only the information the law specifies; remanufacturers must rebrand and relabel any remanufactured battery. Within 90 days of the law being chaptered, battery suppliers and remanufacturers must register with the California State Air Resources Board and provide it with specified information, updating that registration annually.

Beginning July 1, 2029, battery suppliers must pay the Air Resources Board an annual fee to cover the board's full personnel, administrative, and regulatory costs, set on a tiered schedule based on each supplier's share of in-state vehicle registrations. Fee revenue goes into a new Vehicle Traction Battery Recovery Fund, which can be spent only after lawmakers appropriate the money, to implement and enforce the law or to reimburse specified loans and interest. The Automotive Recyclers Association and two California dismantler groups submitted support letters; ARA vice president Emil Nusbaum called it "a productive first step" toward reducing safety risks and economic uncertainty for automotive recyclers, according to American Recycler.

Legislative Status

Sen. Ben Allen (D) sponsored the bill, with Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) as coauthor. The full Senate passed it 28 to 6 on May 29, 2025. The Assembly passed it 61 to 16 on Aug. 30, 2026, and the Senate concurred in Assembly amendments 29 to 10 the next day. In a September 2026 press release, Allen said the Legislature passed the bill "with strong bipartisan support in order to further prop up California as a global leader in the electric vehicle (EV) battery marketplace."

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