The California Code of Regulations (CCR) is a compilation of the regulations or rules that have been adopted by state regulatory agencies. A regulation is effective after it is adopted by a state regulatory agency, and is signed into law by the Governor. It differs from a statute in that a statute is passed into law by the state legislature. Both statutes and regulations have the authority of law behind them, meaning that penalties may given for violating them. The California Code of Regulations is published by the state at their website, and can be viewed for free (with the exception of Title 24, discussed below). The CCR consists of twenty-eight titles. They are:
Title 01: General Provisions
Title 02: Administration
Title 03: Food and Agriculture
Title 04: Business Regulations
Title 05: Education
Title 06: Not in Use
Title 07: Harbors and Navigation
Title 08: Industrial Relations
Title 09: Rehabilitative and Developmental Services
Title 10: Investment
Title 11: Law
Title 12: Military and Veterans Affairs
Title 13: Motor Vehicles
Title 14: Natural Resources
Title 15: Crime Prevention and Corrections
Title 16: Professional and Vocational Regulations
Title 17: Public Health
Title 18: Public Revenues
Title 19: Public Safety
Title 20: Public Utilities and Energy
Title 21: Public Works
Title 22: Social Security
Title 23: Waters
Title 24: Building Standards Code
Title 25: Housing and Community Development
Title 26: Toxics
Title 27: Environmental Protection
Title 28: Managed Health Care
Title 24, the Building Standards Code, contains copyrighted materials, and as a result the state has licensed the publishing rights. That means that it is not free at the state website, and it is not available on legal research websites such as Westlaw and Lexis Nexis at this time. For more information on Title 24, you can contact the California Building Standards Commission at their website. They maintain a list of publishers who are authorized to sell or distribute this title.
If you are interested in viewing the California Code of Regulations in print, it is available at the County Clerk’s Office of the county in which you reside. It can also be found at a public law library, which should be available in any large metropolitan area. If none of these is available, you can check with the state for a list of state depository libraries. There are over one-hundred of these libraries in the State of California, and they all have a copy of the CCR.
If your organization is interested in purchasing a copy of the California Code of Regulations, the publisher is Thomson-West/ Barclays. It is a loose-leaf publication, which means that it is filed in binders. Updated pages are mailed to you, and you must remove the old pages and file the new ones so your collection reflects current law. Title 24 can be purchased in print from BNI Bookstore.