California Enacts Narrower PFAS Pesticide Disclosure Law After Dropping Proposed Bans

California enacted Assembly Bill 1603 on 27 September 2026 as Chapter 531. The law adds PFAS pesticide information duties for the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). It does not impose a PFAS pesticide ban or warning-label requirement.

Database And Product-List Deadlines

The law defines PFAS as fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. A PFAS pesticide ingredient is intentionally added as an active, adjuvant or inert ingredient. These provisions establish no concentration threshold or de minimis exception within that definition.

DPR must identify PFAS pesticide ingredients in its pesticide-use reporting database by 1 January 2028 or when the database containing 2026 data is posted, whichever occurs first, and annually thereafter. PFAS must become a category of interest, with relevant use trends included in the annual report and other relevant reporting documents.

Separately, DPR must publish a list of all registered pesticides containing PFAS pesticide ingredients by 1 January 2028 and submit it to each county agricultural commissioner. After the initial publication, the department must update the list and submit it to commissioners within 60 calendar days of registering another covered pesticide.

What The Enacted Law Requires

The specified database, reporting and listing duties fall on DPR. These provisions do not create a direct new ingredient-reporting duty for pesticide registrants.

The final text contains no 2030 or 2035 phase-out, PFAS warning label or designation of covered pesticides as restricted materials. Its operative requirements concern information about intentionally added ingredients, rather than a prohibition on pesticide manufacture, sale or use.