One quick filing
Whole house
Immunizations
The school shot law does not reach a home-based private school.It also skips independent study with no classroom classes.The state health department reads the no classroom rule as covering both.California has several ways to school at home.These lines are for a home-based private school that files its own affidavit.
You do. 1.File your affidavit each year and teach at home.2.You send no shot record or exemption to a school or county office.3.Keep any shot records you have at home.
Source. law.justia.com, codes.findlaw.com, cdph.ca.gov, cde.ca.gov
The law allows each choice below. Read what each one covers.
An exemption is a paper that says a shot rule does not apply to this person.
You do
The paper
The shot record from the doctor's office or the health department.
Unverified. The CAIR-ME portal could not be read. The paper line rests on the state health department's page.
The state says
You do
The paper
Medical exemption issued in CAIR-ME, the California Immunization Registry Medical Exemption website. A doctor signs it. How long it lasts: It lasts until your child starts the next grade span: TK or K to 6th, or 7th to 12th. A temporary one ends sooner, on its end date, and cannot last more than one year. It also ends if it is revoked. It ends at whichever comes first. Open the form
Source. cdph.ca.gov, law.justia.com, cair-me.cdph.ca.gov
You do
Source. law.justia.com, cdph.ca.gov
In Los Angeles, an approved independent study program can make a child eligible; if it has classroom classes, only a medical exemption replaces shots.
Can my child play? See the full guideThe state says. The school shot law covers K to 12 schools and child care, not colleges.A separate law covers the state's two university systems.The University of California and California State University must require a hepatitis B shot of new students 18 or younger.That law takes a letter saying the shot goes against the beliefs of the parent or guardian, or of the student.It also takes a doctor's note saying the shot is not safe.That law does not name community colleges.The University of California requires all new students to follow the state health department's shot advice.
You do. 1.Before a dual enrollment class starts, read that college's student health page.Dual enrollment means a high school student takes a college class.2.Check its shot rule for that term.
Where. The college door in the Academic Planner
Source. cdph.ca.gov, law.justia.com, codes.findlaw.com
The state says. Licensed child care and preschool are covered by the shot law.That includes child care centers, nursery schools and family day care homes.New medical exemptions for child care also go through CAIR-ME, the state's online medical exemption system.
You do. 1.Bring the child's shot record to the daycare or preschool when you enroll.2.Or start a CAIR-ME request with the child's doctor before the first day.
Source. law.justia.com, cdph.ca.gov
The state says. The immunization record for each person, or the written exemption, belongs in the same folder as the rest of the school records.
You do. Keep the record, or the exemption, with everything else the state asks you to keep.
Where. Keep the records
Checked against California's own law on October 20, 2026.
Everywhere in America
Where a shot record actually gets asked for, and where it does not.
Before any shot, what federal law already gives you
This is a summary of public law, not legal advice. Requirements change, so always check your state's own page before you rely on it.