Everything you need to know about California’s new HOV stickers

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If you’re more than a little confused by California’s rules allowing clean cars into the much-prized diamond lanes, join the club. The state DMV and the California Air Resources Board haven’t done a great job of clarifying HOV matters, either, though they’re getting better.

Things will come to a head in the new year with a new set of stickers for green cars (plug-in hybrids and battery electrics), and it’s causing some anxiety for state motorists. So here’s some clarification, in plain English.

Starting January 1, 2019, California will issue its new stickers, using an as-yet undetermined evaluation system and sticker color. At that time, all of the existing stickers—white, green, and red—will become inoperative, according to Karen Caesar, spokeswoman for CARB.

John Swanton, a CARB air pollution specialist, said that the new program should be revealed in October or November. CARB has said that “the vehicle eligibility requirements for the new decal mirror those used for the current white and green decal programs.”

Even though the green and white stickers originally applied to different types of low-emission cars, Swanton says the colors have been used interchangeably as California has wound down its current program.

“People fixate on the color, but it makes no difference now,” Swanton said.

By the way, if you have a yellow sticker on a Prius or other hybrid vehicle, it’s been meaningless since July 1, 2011. Hybrids don’t qualify anymore, and using a diamond lane with an expired sticker (or similar HOV abuse) subjects motorists to a $375 fine, plus court costs.

People have also bootlegged the stickers, but that leads to a big fine, too. A poster on Reddit speculated about using a fake sticker and was told to forget it: “Highway Patrol absolutely does stop and check these, and the penalty is similar to using fake vehicle registration stickers; basically, you get a big hefty ticket, your car gets impounded, and you have to pay both the ticket, court fees and all the tow fees to get your nice new car back.”