Laws, Regulations, and Annotations

Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2026

BTLG Table of Contents > Sales and Use Tax Regulations > Article 11 > Regulation 1620.1

Sales And Use Tax Regulations

Title 18. Public Revenues
Division 2. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration — Business Taxes
Chapter 4. Sales and Use Tax

Article 11. Interstate and Foreign Commerce

Regulation 1620.1

Regulation 1620.1. Sales of Certain Vehicles to Non-Residents for Use Out-of-State.

Reference: Sections 6388, 6388.3, 7053 and 7054, Revenue and Taxation Code.

(a) Definitions.

The following terms have the following meanings for purposes of this regulation:

(1) Dealer. "Dealer" means a person that is engaged wholly or in part in the business of selling or leasing vehicles, whether or not such vehicles are owned by the person.

(2) Department. "Department" means the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

(3) Remanufacturer and Remanufactured Vehicles. "Remanufacturer" means a person that is licensed as a remanufacturer as defined in Vehicle Code section 507.8 by the Department of Motor Vehicles or licensed as a remanufacturer by the appropriate governmental agency in another state. "Remanufactured vehicle" has the same meaning as set forth in Vehicle Code section 507.5. A vehicle constructed in another state will qualify as a remanufactured vehicle if it was constructed by a person licensed as a remanufacturer by the appropriate governmental agency in that state and the vehicle meets that state's requirements to be a remanufactured vehicle. A used vehicle as defined in Vehicle Code section 665 does not qualify as a remanufactured vehicle unless the vehicle otherwise qualifies as a remanufactured vehicle pursuant to applicable state laws.

(4) Vehicle. "Vehicle" means a new or remanufactured truck, truck tractor, semitrailer, or trailer with an unladen weight of 6,000 pounds or more; or a new or remanufactured trailer coach, or auxiliary dolly. A vehicle is mobile transportation equipment subject to the provisions of Regulation 1661, Leases of Mobile Transportation Equipment, unless excluded by Regulation 1661.

(b) Application of Tax.

In general, tax applies to the sale or storage, use, or other consumption of vehicles in this state. However, under the Revenue and Taxation Code section 6388 exemption, tax does not apply to the sale or storage, use, or other consumption of a vehicle delivered in this state by the vehicle manufacturer or remanufacturer to a purchaser that is not a resident of California for use out-of-state where the purchaser:

(1) Purchases the vehicle from a dealer located outside this state.

(2) Removes the vehicle from this state within 30 days after the date of delivery.

(3) Provides a properly completed affidavit, which satisfies the requirements of subdivisions (c) and (d), to the manufacturer or remanufacturer that delivered the vehicle that is accepted by such person in good faith. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is presumed that a manufacturer or remanufacturer accepted an affidavit in good faith if the affidavit contains all the elements required by subdivisions (c) and (d) and otherwise appears to be valid on its face.

(4) Provides written evidence of the out-of-state registration of the vehicle (state of registration, license plate number and vehicle identification number (VIN) or serial number) to the manufacturer or remanufacturer that delivered the vehicle.

(1) An affidavit is properly completed if the purchaser signs and dates the affidavit, provides it to the manufacturer or remanufacturer that delivered the vehicle to the purchaser after the vehicle is removed from this state, and it includes:

(A) A description of the vehicle, including year, make and model, VIN or serial number, and unladen weight;

(B) The name, telephone number, and out-of-state address of the purchaser;

(D) The name and address of the manufacturer or remanufacturer that delivered the vehicle to the purchaser;

(E) The date of delivery and date of removal of the vehicle from this state; and

(F) A statement that the purchaser is not a resident of California, the vehicle was purchased from the dealer's specified out-of-state location for use outside this state, and was removed from this state within 30 days after the date of delivery of the vehicle to the purchaser.

(2) A purchaser may use a form provided by the Department for use as an affidavit for the Revenue and Taxation Code section 6388 exemption. A properly completed form provided by the Department for use as an affidavit for the Revenue and Taxation Code section 6388 exemption will satisfy the requirements of subdivisions (c)(1) and (d).

(3) For transactions that include the purchase of more than one vehicle from a dealer's specified out-of-state location, the purchaser need not provide a separate affidavit for each vehicle, but may instead append a list of the vehicles included in the transaction to one affidavit. The list must include a description of each vehicle, as required by subdivision (c)(1)(A), and the date each vehicle was delivered and the date each vehicle was removed from this state. The purchaser must also provide evidence of out-of-state registration for each vehicle, as required by subdivision (b)(4).

(d) Lessors. The sale of a vehicle to a lessor qualifies for the Revenue and Taxation Code section 6388 exemption provided the sale and subsequent use of the vehicle meets the requirements in subdivision (b). However, a lessor must provide the name and address of the lessee on the affidavit required by subdivision (b)(3) if the documentation provided pursuant to subdivision (b)(4) shows that the vehicle is registered in the lessee's name.

(e) Documentation to be Maintained by Purchasers. Purchasers of vehicles shall maintain records documenting that a vehicle qualifying for the Revenue and Taxation Code section 6388 exemption was removed from this state within 30 days after the date of delivery and was used outside the state. A purchaser must provide the records to the Department upon request.

History—Adopted on July 9, 2003, effective October 16, 2003.

Amendments filed May 14, 2026, and operative July 1, 2026 (Register 2026, No. 22). The amendments replaced "and Trailers for Use in Interstate or Out-of-State Commerce" with "to … Out-of-State" in the regulation’s title; added a period to the title of subdivision (a) and added "The following … regulation:" to the beginning of subdivision (a); deleted old subdivisions (a)(1), (2), (4), (5), (6), and (7), which provided "(1) Permanent Trailer Identification (PTI) Program. A registration program for commercial trailers as defined in Vehicle Code section 5014.1 administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Assessments made pursuant to the PTI program constitute a flat fee and are not based on the weight of a commercial trailer subject to the PTI program. In lieu of annual registration, DMV assesses a service fee every five (5) years. (2) Purchaser’s Agent. For purposes of this regulation, a purchaser’s agent means a person authorized by the purchaser of a trailer to act on the purchaser’s behalf in providing an exemption certificate from the sales or use tax to the seller of the trailer. To establish that a particular person is acting as the purchaser’s agent, the purchaser must: 1) clearly disclose in writing to the seller the purchaser’s intent to use an agent in the transaction, including the name of the purchaser’s agent, and 2) obtain and retain, prior to the use of the agent, written evidence of the agent’s status with the purchaser. An agent may include a registration service company engaged by either the purchaser or dealer who sells trailers. A dealer, manufacturer or remanufacturer may not act as the purchaser’s agent with respect to a trailer that it sells or delivers to a purchaser. (4) Single State Registration System (SSRS). A federally regulated program under which states monitor a motor carrier’s compliance with federal registration and insurance requirements. Motor carriers generally must register with the state in which they have their principal place of business. In California, the program is administered by the DMV and covers only motor carriers of property. Compliance with the SSRS program requires eligible motor carriers to register annually with the DMV, report the number of vehicles operating in other states participating in the SSRS program, and to pay the requisite fees. "Vehicles" for purposes of SSRS registration means only self-propelled units and not trailers. SSRS filings do not identify individual vehicles. (5) Trailer. For purposes of this regulation, trailer means a new or remanufactured trailer or semi-trailer with an unladen weight of 6,000 pounds or more. Any vehicle not designed for carrying persons or property on its own structure, such as an auxiliary dolly, does not qualify as a trailer for purposes of this regulation. Qualified trailers may be manufactured or remanufactured either inside or outside this state. (6) United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Number. A number issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to any motor carrier located in the United States that is engaged in the transportation of property in interstate or foreign commerce. A USDOT number is assigned to a motor carrier and not to the motor carrier’s individual vehicles. (7) United States -- Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Number. A number issued by the Federal Maritime Commission to entities operating as common carriers in U.S. foreign commerce. An FMC number is assigned to an ocean carrier and to the ocean carrier’s individual trailers"; added new subdivisions (a)(1) and (2) and renumbered subdivision (a)(8) as new subdivision (a)(4); replaced "A remanufacturer of vehicles or trailers" with "‘Remanufacturer,’" "who" with "that," and "by the DMV pursuant to" with "as a … defined in" and inserted "by the Department … state" in the first sentence in subdivision (a)(3); replaced "A remanufactured vehicle means a vehicle constructed by a remanufacturer and meeting the criteria of " with "‘Remanufactured vehicle’ … in" in the second sentence in subdivision (a)(3); replaced "purchased from an out-of-state company" with "constructed in another state," "the out-of-state company is" with "it … person," and "the criteria established by that state for" with "that state’s … be" in the third sentence in subdivision (a)(3); replaced "The sale of a" with "A" and "or trailer alone" with "as … 665," and deleted "sale of a" from after "qualify as a" and "or trailer" from before "otherwise" and "pursuant" in the fourth sentence in subdivision (a)(3); replaced "For purposes of this regulation, the term vehicle" with "‘Vehicle’" at the beginning of and deleted ", manufactured or remanufactured in this state and purchased from an out-of-state dealer for delivery in this state" from the end of the first sentence, and inserted the second sentence in new subdivision (a)(4); replaced "(1) In General. Tax" with "In general, tax" to reformat old subdivision (b)(1) as the first sentence in subdivision (b); deleted "and trailers" from before and "except as provided in subdivisions (b)(2) and (b)(3)" from after "in this state" in the first sentence in subdivision (b); deleted old subdivision (b)(2), which provided "Exempt Sales of Vehicles for Use in Out-of-State or Foreign Commerce"; replaced "(A) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(1)," with "However, … exemption," to reformat old subdivision (b)(2)(A) as the second sentence in subdivision (b); replaced "who" with "that" and deleted "exclusively in" from before and "or foreign commerce" from after "out-of-state" in the second sentence in subdivision (b); renumbered old subdivisions (b)(2)(A)1, 2, 3, and 4, as new subdivisions (b)(1), (2), (3), and (4), respectively; replaced the commas at the end of renumbered subdivisions (b)(1) and (2) with periods; deleted "from and" from after "days" in new subdivision (b)(2); replaced "valid" with "properly completed," inserted ", which … (d)," and replaced a comma with "that delivered the vehicle" and ", stating:" with a period in the first sentence in new subdivision (b)(3); added the second sentence to new subdivision (b)(3) and deleted old subdivisions (b)(2)(A)3a, b, c, d, e, and f, which provided "a. The name and location of the out-of-state dealer from whom the vehicle was purchased, b. The name and location of the in-state manufacturer or remanufacturer that delivered the vehicle to the purchaser and the date of delivery c. That the purchaser is not a resident of California, d. That the vehicle was purchased for use exclusively outside California, e. That the vehicle was removed from this state within 30 days of the delivery date, and f. The date of removal"; inserted "written" before and "the" after "evidence of" in new subdivision (b)(4); replaced "vehicle registration" with "registration of the vehicle," "VIN" with "vehicle identification number (VIN)," and "within 60 days of providing the affidavit to the deliverer" with "that delivered the vehicle" in new subdivision (b)(4); deleted old subdivisions (b)(2)(B) and (C), which provided "(B) Notwithstanding the forgoing provisions, it is rebuttably presumed that a vehicle registered outside California and apportioned for use within this state is not purchased for use exclusively outside this state. (C) An affidavit for the providing of the information set forth in subdivision (b)(2)(A) is set forth in the Appendix to this regulation"; deleted old subdivision (b)(3), which provided "(3) Exempt Sales of Trailers for Use in Interstate, Out-of-state or Foreign Commerce. (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2), tax does not apply to the sale or storage, use, or other consumption of a trailer delivered in this state by the manufacturer, remanufacturer or dealer to a purchaser for use exclusively in interstate, out-of-state, or foreign commerce where all the following criteria are met: 1. The trailer is manufactured or remanufactured outside California and is removed from this state within 30 days from and after the date of delivery; or the trailer is manufactured or remanufactured within California and is removed from the state within 75 days from and after the date of delivery, 2. If the trailer is registered outside the state, the purchaser or purchaser’s agent provides the delivering manufacturer, remanufacturer, or dealer a copy of the current out-of-state license and registration for the trailer showing the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or serial number; or, if the trailer is registered in-state under the PTI program, the purchaser or purchaser’s agent provides the delivering manufacturer, remanufacturer, or dealer a copy of the federal document assigning or confirming the purchaser’s or lessee’s USDOT number, FMC number, or a copy of the current SSRS filing with the DMV. A purchaser or purchaser’s agent may not use an FMC number if the purchaser has a current USDOT number. Evidence of registration outside California must be submitted to the dealer, manufacturer, or remanufacturer no later than 60 days after the timely providing of an affidavit described in subdivision (b)(3)(A)3. Evidence of a USDOT number, FMC number, or SSRS filing must be submitted with the affidavit, 3. The purchaser or purchaser’s agent provides a valid affidavit to the manufacturer, remanufacturer, or dealer, that is accepted by such person in good faith, stating: a. The name and location of the dealer from whom the trailer was purchased, b. The name and location of the California dealer, manufacturer or remanufacturer that delivered the trailer to the purchaser and the date of delivery, c. That the vehicle was purchased for use exclusively outside the state, or exclusively in interstate or foreign commerce, or both, d. That the vehicle was removed from the state within the appropriate time periods provided for in subdivision (b)(3)(A)(1), and e. The date of removal. (B) An affidavit for the providing of the information set forth in subdivision (b)(3) to the deliverer is set forth in the Appendix to this regulation"; reformatted the first sentence in subdivision (c) as new subdivision (c)(1) and the second and third sentences in subdivision (c) as new subdivision (c)(3), added new subdivision (c)(2), and deleted the fourth sentence from subdivision (c), which provided "For purposes of this regulation it is presumed that the person who delivers a vehicle or trailer to the purchaser accepted the affidavit in good faith in the absence of evidence to the contrary"; replaced "valid where a" with "properly … if the" and "the" with "this," deleted "or, in the case of a claimed section 6388.5 exemption, a purchaser or purchaser’s agent, provides all information required by subdivisions (b)(2) or (b)(3)," from before "signs," "and" from before "provides," "or to the manufacturer, remanufacturer, or dealer that delivered the trailer to the purchaser within 30 days" from before "after," and "or trailer" from before "is removed," and inserted the text after "state" in new subdivision (c)(1), including new subdivisions (c)(1)(A) through (F); replaced "or trailer" with "from a … location," "file" with "provide," and "identifying each one by a VIN or serial number" with "to one affidavit" and deleted "or trailer" from after "each vehicle" and "or trailers" from after "the vehicles" in the first sentence in new subdivision (c)(3); replaced "The purchaser must, however, report" with "The list … subdivision (c)(1)(A), and" and "the" with "this," deleted "or trailer" from before "was delivered," and inserted "vehicle" before "was removed" in the second sentence in new subdivision (c)(3); replaced ", and" with ". The purchaser must also" in the second sentence in new subdivision (c)(3) to create a new third sentence; replaced "current out-of-state license and registration or USDOT number, FMC number, or SSRS filing applicable to each vehicle or trailer" with "evidence … vehicle" and "subdivisions (b)(2) and (b)(3)" with "subdivision (b)(4)" in the new third sentence in new subdivision (c)(3); deleted "or trailer" from after "a vehicle," "exemptions from sales and use tax provided by" from before "Revenue," and "or trailer as leased tangible personal property" from before "meets," and replaced ""sections" with "section," "and 6388.5" with "exemption," "appropriate criteria detailed" with "requirements," and "subdivisions (b)(2) and (b)(3)" with "subdivision (b)" in the first sentence in subdivision (d); replaced "In addition to the information required in these subdivisions" with "However" and "and, when applicable, documentation showing that the vehicle or trailer was registered outside the state on behalf of the lessor or lessee" with "required … lessee’s name" in the second sentence in subdivision (d); deleted the third sentence in subdivision (d), which provided "If a leased trailer is registered under the PTI program, the lessor must provide the lessee’s USDOT number, FMC number, or current SSRS filing"; deleted "internal" from before "records" and "exclusively" from before "outside," and replaced "taken out of California" with "removed from this state" and "the time mandated by statute" with "30 days … delivery" in the first sentence in subdivision (e); deleted the second sentence in subdivision (e), which provided "Purchasers of trailers shall maintain internal records documenting that a trailer qualifying for the Revenue and Taxation Code section 6388.5 exemption was taken out of California within the time mandated by statute and was used exclusively in out-of-state, foreign or interstate commerce"; replaced "supporting documentation" with "records" and "Board" with "Department" in the last sentence in subdivision (e); inserted "Sections … Code;" and replaced "Section 7051" with "Sections 20 and 7051" in the authority note; replaced "6388.5 and 6421" with "7053 and 7054" in the reference note; and deleted the appendix with the affidavit.