California Reformulated Gasoline
This page last reviewed January 16, 2012
As part of an overall program to reduce emissions from motor vehicles, the Air Resources Board implemented the first phase of California Reformulated Gasoline requirements in January, 1992.
CaRFG1 modified the requirements for Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) content, required additives in gasoline, and decreased allowable lead content. For more information or to view the regulation, please visit our CaRFG1 web page. |
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CaRFG2 was introduced into the marketplace on March 1, 1996. By lowering previously regulated components (Reid vapor pressure and sulfur content), requiring the use of oxygenates year-round, and regulating additional components (benzene, total aromatics, olefins, and distillation temperatures T50 and T90), gasoline emissions were decreased to their lowest levels to date. In addition to reducing smog-forming emissions, the use of reformulated gasoline also reduced carcinogenic toxic air contaminants by more than a third. For more information or to view the regulation, please visit our CaRFG2 web page. |
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CaRFG3 regulations were approved in May, 2003 by the Office of Administrative Law. Changes to the regulations included the proposed removal of MTBE without any reduction in the emissions benefits of the existing program. Other changes included refinery limits and cap limits for every regulated property as well as changes to the RVP season. A list of the effective transitional dates for CaRFG3 can be viewed at Phase 3 CaRFG Limits. For more information or to view the regulation, please visit our CaRFG3 web page. |
Fuels Specifications and Test Methods
As a supplement to the regulation, tables which list the regulated properties and test limits of CaRFG, motor ethanol, and diesel fuel are available at:
| Gasoline
Specifications and Test Methods |
These brief summaries are not legal documents and are not intended to be used in lieu of the regulation, but as an aide to understanding the specifications and limits of the fuels' regulated properties.
Background Material
A 2003 Assessment
of the Impacts of CaRFG (pdf 804K) has indicated that the
benefits of
the program have been equivalent to the removal of 3.5 million vehicles
from California's roads. More detailed
information about CaRFG regulations, the study of gasoline price and
supply, and listings of meetings and activities,
is available at the ARB's California
Gasoline Program
web page.
Contact Us
For more information regarding the enforcement of CaRFG regulations, please email Dickman Lum or telephone (916) 327-1520. For more information regarding other Enforcement Programs, please visit our Enforcement Program Contacts web page.
