CEQA statutory exemptions: the main ones, and how they differ from the 33 classes
A CEQA statutory exemption is one the Legislature wrote into the Public Resources Code, mostly in §21080(b) and the numbered sections after it. Unlike the 33 categorical classes, it applies even if the project could have significant effects, and the §15300.2 exceptions don't apply. The project only has to meet the conditions in that statute.
Statutory vs categorical exemptions
| Statutory | Categorical (Classes 1–33) | |
|---|---|---|
| Written by | The Legislature, in the Public Resources Code | The Secretary for Natural Resources, in the Guidelines, on a finding that each class has no significant effect (PRC §21084(a)) |
| Where | PRC §21080(b) and later sections; many restated in Guidelines Article 18 (§§15260–15285) and Article 12.5 (§§15191–15196) | Guidelines §§15301–15333 |
| Project may have a significant effect | Still exempt if the statute's own conditions are met | Can lose it to a §15300.2 exception: location, cumulative impact, unusual circumstances, scenic highway, hazardous waste site, historical resource |
| Built-in limits | Only the section's own carve-outs; several 2025 sections exclude "natural and protected lands" (PRC §21067.5) | The class conditions, §15300.2, PRC §21084(c)–(e), and §21084(f) for data centers from 2027 |
| Scope | Full, partial, or timing only (§15260) | Full |
| Changed by | A statute | Amending the Guidelines |
| Notice of Exemption | Optional, unless the section requires one (e.g., §21080.66(f)) | Optional (§15062(a)) |
Courts take statutory exemptions at their word. In Napa Valley Wine Train, Inc. v. Public Utilities Com. (1990) 50 Cal.3d 370, the Supreme Court applied the exemption for passenger service on existing rail rights-of-way to new service on the Napa Valley line and refused to limit it to harmless projects: "It is precisely to avoid that burden for an entire class of projects that the Legislature has enacted the exemption." Only the Legislature could undo that, and it did: PRC §21080.04 makes CEQA apply to that one rail project.
Both kinds share the 35-day clock. A suit claiming an agency wrongly found a project exempt under §21080(b) must be filed within 35 days after the Notice of Exemption is filed, or 180 days after approval if none was filed (PRC §21167(d)). Categorical classes count through §21080(b)(9).
The main statutory exemptions
| Exemption | Statute | Guidelines | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministerial approvals | §21080(b)(1) | §15268 | Fixed standards, no judgment |
| Emergency repairs to service facilities | §21080(b)(2) | §15269(b) | Needed to maintain service |
| Disaster repair or replacement | §21080(b)(3) | §15269(a) | Governor-proclaimed state of emergency |
| Actions to prevent or mitigate an emergency | §21080(b)(4) | §15269(c) | Specific actions |
| Projects the agency rejects | §21080(b)(5) | §15270 | None |
| Rates, tolls, fares, charges | §21080(b)(8) | §15273 | Listed purposes; written findings |
| Passenger service on rail, highway or HOV rights-of-way in use | §21080(b)(10)–(11) | §15275 | Existing rights-of-way |
| Feasibility and planning studies | §§21102, 21150 | §15262 | Not binding plans; environmental factors still considered |
| Agricultural employee, affordable and infill housing | §21159.21 and following | §§15191–15196 | Infill: up to 100 units, 4 acres, half a mile from a major transit stop (§15195) |
| Transit, bike and pedestrian projects | §21080.25 | None | Until January 1, 2040 (SB 71, 2025) |
| Affordable housing projects | §21080.40 | None | Until January 1, 2033; 2037 under AB 1732 |
| Housing development projects (AB 130) | §21080.66 | None | Up to 20 acres; NOE required (checklist) |
| Housing-element rezonings | §21080.085 | None | No distribution centers, oil and gas, or natural and protected lands |
| New farmworker housing, publicly funded | §21080.45 | None | No end date |
| Day care outside residential areas; clinics under 50,000 sq ft; food banks and advanced manufacturing on industrial-only sites | §21080.69 | None | Not on natural and protected lands |
| High-speed rail maintenance facilities and stations | §21080.70 | None | Covered by a prior EIR; its mitigation applies |
| Prescribed fire and fuel reduction | §21080.49 | None | One type: up to 50 contiguous acres within half a mile of a 30-home subdivision |
What 2025 added
Two budget bills signed June 30, 2025 took effect that day. AB 130 (Ch. 22) added §21080.66 for housing development projects. SB 131 (Ch. 24) added the rezoning, farmworker housing, water system (§21080.48), wildfire (§21080.49), climate adaptation plan (§21080.55), park and trail (§21080.57), §21080.69 and high-speed rail exemptions, amended the water system (§21080.47) and broadband (§21080.51) ones, and defined "natural and protected lands." SB 158 (Ch. 650, in effect since October 11, 2025) renumbered farmworker housing to §21080.45, cut §21080.66's builder's remedy limit from five acres to four, and made its Notice of Exemption mandatory. The Guidelines were not amended in 2025.
The 2026 session
- SB 1008 (Ch. 151, urgency, in effect since August 27, 2026): new §21080.14 for closing a railroad grade crossing the Public Utilities Commission finds is a threat to public safety; not for high-speed rail; notice required.
- AB 1699 (Ch. 761, urgency, in effect since September 29, 2026): new §21080.49.1 for CAL FIRE actions assisting prescribed fire or cultural burning projects that don't otherwise need CEQA review.
- SB 299 (Ch. 413), from January 1, 2027: new §21080.68 for day care centers in residential areas, except within 3,200 feet of an active oil or gas extraction or refining facility or on natural and protected lands.
- AB 1732 (Ch. 792), from January 1, 2027: §21080.40 runs to January 1, 2037 and adds public university and public college housing.
- SB 887 (Ch. 439), from January 1, 2027: no categorical exemption for data centers (new §21084(f)); CEQA applies to data center entitlements notwithstanding any other law, so they stop being ministerial (new §21080.08); and the advanced manufacturing exemption in §21080.69 excludes data centers.
- Vetoed: SB 954 (September 18, 2026), which would have narrowed the advanced manufacturing exemption and added family day care homes.
Missing by one condition
For housing only, PRC §21080.1(b) softens a near miss. If a housing development project fails a statutory exemption, or Class 1–5, 12, 15, 20, 27, 30 or 32, by a single condition, review covers only the effects of that condition, and an EIR needs no alternatives or growth-inducing analysis. It does not apply with two or more failed conditions, to projects not similar in kind, to distribution centers or oil and gas infrastructure, on natural and protected lands, or to builder's remedy projects over four acres.
Documenting one
The Notice of Exemption cites the statute and gives a brief statement of reasons (§15062(a)(3)–(4)); how to fill in and file it. Some sections add steps: written findings for rates (§21080(b)(8)), a mandatory notice for §21080.66 and §21080.14.
ePlan's CEQA exemption finder is free to read and drafts a Notice of Exemption whose exempt-status field covers ministerial, emergency, categorical and statutory exemptions; the Word file is $49 with 30 days of revisions, or Pro at $99 a month. Its work-type list names ministerial permits and emergency repairs; any other statutory exemption goes under "Something else," so the section number and the facts meeting each condition come from you or the agency.
Sources
- Public Resources Code §21080, §21084, §21080.1 and §21167 (text mirrored from leginfo.legislature.ca.gov; read November 13, 2026)
- Public Resources Code §21080.085, §21080.25, §21080.49, §21080.66, §21080.69 and §21080.70 (read November 13, 2026)
- AEP, 2026 CEQA Statute and Guidelines: §21080.45, Guidelines Articles 12.5 and 18, and the tables of 2025 changes (read November 13, 2026)
- CEQA Guidelines §15260, §15300.2 and §15062 (14 CCR; read November 13, 2026)
- Napa Valley Wine Train, Inc. v. Public Utilities Com. (1990) 50 Cal.3d 370 and PRC §21080.04 (read November 13, 2026)
- Bill texts and status, Digital Democracy: AB 130, SB 131, SB 158, SB 1008, AB 1699, SB 299, AB 1732, SB 887, SB 954 (read November 13, 2026)
- ePlan pricing and CEQA exemption finder page (read November 13, 2026)
About this guide
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