Are Gas Lawn Mowers Illegal in California to Buy or Use?

Gas lawn mowers are not illegal to own or use in California, but new ones can no longer be sold in the state. Since model year 2024, California has prohibited retailers from selling newly manufactured gas-powered lawn mowers and most other small-engine yard tools. If you already own a gas mower, you can keep using it under state law. Some cities have gone further and restrict actual use of gas equipment, so local rules matter as much as the statewide sales ban.

What Changed in 2024

The statewide restriction comes from Assembly Bill 1346, signed by Governor Newsom on October 9, 2021. The law directed the California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations eliminating exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines by January 1, 2024, or as soon as CARB determined feasible.¹ CARB approved the implementing rules in December 2021.

The rule isn’t written as a ban on gas mowers. It sets the emission standard for new engines at zero, which in practice means only battery-electric or other zero-emission models can be manufactured for sale in California. Phase one, effective with model year 2024, covers lawn mowers, leaf blowers, string trimmers, edgers, and chainsaws. Both residential and commercial-grade equipment are covered, so professional landscapers face the same purchasing restrictions as homeowners.²

Buying a Gas Mower Today

Walk into a Home Depot or Lowe’s anywhere in California and you’ll find electric mowers on the shelves, not gas ones. Retailers, whether brick-and-mortar or online, are prohibited from selling new gas-powered lawn mowers to California customers.²

Used mowers are a different story. The regulations target newly manufactured engines, not secondhand transactions between private individuals. If your neighbor sells you their old gas Toro, no state law currently prohibits that sale. Businesses that resell used equipment may face more scrutiny, and the secondary market could see additional restrictions in the future.

Buying a new gas mower out of state and hauling it home falls into a gray area. The California rule applies to engines produced for sale in California, and federal import rules under 40 CFR Part 1068 restrict bringing noncompliant engines into the country.³ Those federal rules focus on international imports rather than interstate travel. A California retailer shipping a gas mower to a California address clearly violates the sales restriction. A resident driving to Nevada, buying a gas mower, and bringing it home hasn’t been directly tested in enforcement.

Using the Gas Mower You Already Have

Nothing in state law stops you from running a gas mower you already own.¹ CARB has been explicit that the regulation targets production and sale of new engines, not the continued operation of equipment already in people’s garages. You can mow your lawn with your existing gas machine until it stops working.

Two practical caveats apply. Parts and fuel will get harder to find as manufacturers and retailers shift inventory toward electric. And local ordinances in some cities restrict when or whether you can run gas equipment regardless of when you bought it.

Cities That Restrict Use

Several California cities have adopted their own restrictions on gas-powered landscaping equipment, often through noise ordinances rather than emission rules. Because these local bans target the use of equipment, not just sales, they can affect mowers you already own.

More than 20 California cities restrict gas-powered leaf blowers, including Pasadena, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood. South Pasadena’s ordinance covers leaf blowers specifically and does not extend to lawn mowers, trimmers, or other equipment.⁴ Pasadena bans gas-powered leaf blowers citywide with an escalating fine structure: $100 for a first citation, $200 for a second, $500 for a third, and $1,000 for a fourth.⁵

Most of these local bans focus on leaf blowers rather than mowers, because blowers are louder and produce more airborne particulate at ground level. As the statewide transition accelerates, more cities may extend their rules to cover mowers. Homeowners’ associations can impose their own restrictions, and public facilities like parks and schools are increasingly adopting all-electric landscaping policies. Check your city code and any HOA rules before you start the engine.

Penalties

Who enforces what depends on the violation.

Retailers and Manufacturers

CARB enforces the statewide sales restriction. Under California Health and Safety Code Section 43016, violations involving small off-road engines carry a base civil penalty of up to $500 per unit.⁶ That figure is adjusted upward for inflation. As of 2025, the inflation-adjusted maximum for SORE certification violations is $632 per unit.⁷ A retailer selling dozens of noncompliant mowers faces penalties that stack quickly. CARB can also require a manufacturer or distributor to bring a product into compliance as a condition of continuing to sell in California.

Homeowners and Landscapers

Local usage bans are enforced by municipal code enforcement officers, not CARB. Fine structures vary. Pasadena starts with a warning notice before issuing citations that escalate from $100 to $1,000.⁵ In cities with strict ordinances, repeated violations can bring fines of $500 or more. Equipment confiscation is possible in some jurisdictions for persistent offenders, though it’s uncommon.

Exemptions Worth Knowing

The zero-emission rule has a few carve-outs:

Farm equipment. Federal law prohibits states from regulating new engines used in farm equipment or vehicles under 175 horsepower. This federal preemption means a gas-powered mower or similar engine used for genuine agricultural purposes on a farm may fall outside CARB’s reach entirely.⁸
Existing equipment. No statewide prohibition applies to continuing to use gas mowers you already own. For most homeowners, this is the exemption that matters.

AB 1346 doesn’t spell out an emergency or disaster-response exemption; the statute focuses on directing CARB to adopt feasibility-based regulations. Any emergency-related flexibility would come through CARB’s regulatory discretion, not the law itself.

Rebates for Switching to Electric

Financial help is available if you’re making the switch. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, offers up to $250 toward a cordless electric mower. The rebate scales with purchase price: $150 for mowers costing $250 or less, $200 for mowers priced $251 to $400, and $250 for anything above $400. You have to turn in your old gas mower for permanent destruction to qualify, and you can receive up to three rebates total, each for a different equipment category.⁹

CARB lists additional incentive programs on its website, and individual utilities sometimes offer their own rebates. No federal tax credit applies to residential electric lawn mowers. The IRS Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit covers items like heat pumps and insulation, not outdoor power equipment.¹⁰ Commercial landscapers may be able to deduct the cost of new electric equipment as a business expense under normal depreciation rules, but no special federal credit targets zero-emission landscaping tools.

1
LegiScan. California Assembly Bill 1346 (Chaptered)
2
California Air Resources Board. CARB Approves Updated Regulations Requiring Most New Small Off-Road Engines Be Zero Emission Starting in 2024
3
eCFR. 40 CFR Part 1068 Subpart D – Imports
4
City of South Pasadena. Ban on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
5
City of Pasadena. Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban
6
California Legislative Information. California Code, HSC 43016
7
CARB. 2014 – 2024 Minimum and Maximum Penalties
8
California Air Resources Board. Small Off-Road Engine Regulations – Applicability Fact Sheet
9
AQMD. Residential Lawn and Garden Rebate Program
10
Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit