Mobile mechanic insurance for the driveway job.

California's mobile repair rules since October 2025

The Bureau of Automotive Repair's updated mobile and referral regulations took effect October 1, 2025. They apply to a mobile automotive repair dealer (ARD) that does not run a registered shop within 50 miles of where the repair is done (16 CCR 3351.7.1).

• Registration first. Under 16 CCR 3351.7.3(a), it is unlawful to engage in the business of mobile automotive repair without a currently valid ARD registration. Subsection (b), which the 2025 amendments left in place, requires a unique registration number for each motor vehicle used to perform mobile repair.
• A real records address. A mobile ARD application must give a physical address where records are kept and available for BAR inspection.
• The 50-mile line for shops. An existing ARD doing mobile repairs more than 50 miles from its registered place of business needs a separate ARD registration.
• Where the job happened. The final invoice must show the street address, city and zip code where the repairs were performed. With no physical address, describe the location, for example the street and nearest cross-street, a landmark or mile-marker, or a freeway on-ramp or off-ramp.
• The sign goes with the paperwork. Every customer gets a copy of the official automotive repair dealer sign along with their copy of the work order.

Estimates, work orders and invoices otherwise follow the same Article 7 rules a fixed shop follows. I cover those on the garage liability page. The job-location line is also the record you'll want if a customer later says your work damaged their car.

Oil on the driveway, water in the storm drain

Fluid rules for curbside work come from your city, so check its code before you take a job at the curb. The City of San Diego's automotive fluids fact sheet (February 2016) shows what a city can require:

• Discharging motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, degreasers or solvents into the storm drain system is illegal under San Diego Municipal Code section 43.0304, and the city says penalties can be assessed per day, per incident.
• Making vehicle repairs in the street is illegal except in an emergency (SDMC 86.0137(b)).
• Before you start, find the nearest storm drain and protect it. Put drip pans, drop cloths or absorbent mats down first, and use a funnel when you change fluids.
• Collect used fluids in sealable containers, label them clearly, and store them in a secured, covered spot away from water.
• Clean spills right away with dry methods such as rags, a vacuum or absorbent, and sweep the absorbent into a sealable container. Keep a spill kit sized for the largest spill you could have. The storm drain system is not connected to the sewer, so whatever goes in flows untreated to creeks, bays and the ocean.

Take a photo of your pans and mats in place at the start of each job. If a customer later blames you for a stained driveway or a city notice, that photo and your invoice are what you'll hand the carrier with a general liability claim.

Hauling used oil back from the job

Driveway oil changes send used oil home in your van. In California, Health and Safety Code section 25250.11 lets you carry it without a hazardous waste manifest when all of these are true:

• You generated the used oil yourself.
• No single container holds more than 55 gallons, and no single shipment is more than 55 gallons.
• You take it to a used oil collection location of the kind the statute exempts from hazardous waste facility permits.
• Before you carry more than 20 gallons, or any oil in a container over 5 gallons, you contact that location and confirm it will accept the oil. A location can also set smaller limits of its own.

Outside California, start with the federal rule, 40 CFR 279.24. A generator may haul up to 55 gallons at any time, without an EPA ID number, in a vehicle owned by the generator or an employee. The oil must go to a used oil collection center that a state, county or city government has authorized or recognized to manage used oil, or to an aggregation point the generator owns or operates.

Tell me what you carry and how much. Your commercial auto application should describe the van as it's actually loaded. A container that tips in a fender-bender raises different questions than a spill in a driveway, so get both answered before binding.

Official sources

• Bureau of Automotive Repair, Mobile repair, referral services, and online advertising regulations (Oct. 23, 2025 presentation)
• Bureau of Automotive Repair, Proposed regulatory language: Mobile and Referral ARDs (16 CCR 3351-3351.7.3, 3371.1-3371.2)
• Bureau of Automotive Repair, Initial Statement of Reasons: Mobile and Referral ARDs
• Bureau of Automotive Repair, Final Statement of Reasons: Mobile and Referral ARDs
• City of San Diego, Automotive Fluids Storm Water Regulations fact sheet (Feb. 2016)
• 40 CFR 82.34, Prohibitions and required practices (Cornell LII)
• 40 CFR 82.42, Certification, recordkeeping and public notification requirements (Cornell LII)
• U.S. EPA, Section 609 of the Clean Air Act: Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning (fact sheet EPA 430-F-13-004)
• California Health and Safety Code § 25250.11 (california.public.law)
• 40 CFR 279.24, Off-site shipments of used oil (Cornell LII)