Car wash coverage for the customer's car.

California car washes register every year

Under Labor Code 2054, every employer in the business must register with the Labor Commissioner annually. Section 2051 defines the work broadly: washing, cleaning, drying, polishing, detailing, servicing or other cosmetic care of vehicles, but not motor vehicle repair. An employer is a business that engages any other individual to do that work, whether the worker is paid in wages or tips. The law carves out:

• Charitable, youth, service, veteran or sports groups that wash cars on an intermittent basis to raise funds.
• Licensed vehicle dealers and car rental agencies washing cars ancillary to selling, leasing or servicing vehicles, plus new car dealers and automotive repair dealers primarily in sales or repair.
• A self-service or automated car wash whose employees are there for cashiering or maintenance only. If your staff prep, dry or detail cars, read that exemption closely before relying on it.

DIR's document list asks for a workers' comp certificate naming the legal entity, every fictitious business name and each location's address, with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Licensing and Registration Unit as certificate holder. It also asks for formation documents, employer ID numbers and proof of local licensing or regulatory compliance, and the regulations add IRS Form 8821, a tax information authorization. Submit renewals at least 90 days before the registration expires. Post the current registration where employees can read it (section 2057) and keep payroll, hours and tip records for three years (section 2052). I can have the comp certificate issued to DLSE before you file; see workers' comp insurance.

Where your wash water goes

The rules below are local or advisory, so check with your local sewer agency. Labor Commissioner registration asks for proof of local regulatory compliance, and DIR's own example is that a wash in the South County Regional Wastewater Authority's area needs an industrial waste discharge permit certificate. Published examples:

• State Water Board-hosted guidance. A model best management practices appendix for vehicle service facilities, written to help cities, says that if washing is central to your business the most desirable option is to treat and recycle the wash water. It recommends a bermed wash pad that discharges to the sanitary sewer only after adequate treatment and the treatment plant's approval, notes acid-based wheel cleaners may be prohibited or need extra treatment, and says soapy wash water cannot go to a storm drain. It is guidance, not a state permit.
• Santa Cruz County. County Public Works says all commercial car wash wastewater must be collected, treated and discharged to the sanitary sewer. Its Environmental Compliance staff require at least a 1,500-gallon clarifier, larger depending on the number of cars washed, pumped out completely at least once a year.
• San Diego. The city's Industrial Wastewater Control Program, which issues discharge permits and inspects businesses in its Metropolitan Sewerage System service area, lists car washes among the local industries it regulates, citing Municipal Code 64.0400-64.0411 and 64.0500-64.0520.

Outside California, discharge rules vary by state and city. Keep your discharge permit and clarifier pump-out records with your registration file.

Official sources

• DIR Labor Commissioner: Car Washing and Polishing
• DIR: Car Wash Registration Document Requirements
• California Labor Code 2050-2066, car washing and polishing (section 2055 shown)
• 8 CCR 13694: Car Wash Worker Restitution Fund claims (DIR)
• DIR notice to applicants: Labor Code 2066 successor liability
• State Water Board: Appendix 4W, BMPs for Vehicle Service Facilities
• Santa Cruz County Public Works: Environmental Compliance
• City of San Diego: Industrial User Discharges
• IRMI: Garagekeepers Coverage (CA 99 37)
• IRMI: Care, Custody, or Control