California College Vaccine Requirements and Exemptions

California college vaccine requirements depend on which system you’re entering. The University of California and California State University systems both require proof of vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, pertussis, and meningococcal disease, plus tuberculosis screening, before you can register. California Community Colleges generally require none of this for regular enrollment. Private schools set their own rules. Missing a deadline at UC or CSU triggers a registration hold that blocks you from signing up for classes.

Which California Schools Require Vaccines

The University of California has the longest-standing mandate. Every incoming UC student — undergraduate, graduate, or professional — must document vaccination against four diseases and complete TB screening before their first term.¹ These are classified as “Mandatory Programs,” meaning you either comply or obtain an approved exception.²

The CSU system now requires essentially the same list under its revised Executive Order 803. New students must submit documentation for MMR, varicella, Tdap, and meningococcal conjugate, plus complete a TB risk questionnaire.³ Individual CSU campuses may be at different points in rolling out the full list, so check your campus health services page for what’s currently enforced.

California Community Colleges are the outlier. State law exempts anyone 18 or older, and anyone seeking admission to a community college regardless of age, from the general childhood immunization requirements.⁴ Most community college students face no vaccine mandates for general enrollment. That changes if you enter a health science program with clinical placements, which comes with its own separate requirements.

Private and independent institutions set their own policies. Many mirror the public systems or go further, so contact the school’s admissions or health services office directly.

The Required Vaccines at UC and CSU

Both systems require proof of vaccination or immunity against the same core diseases, with specific dose and timing rules.

MMR: two doses, the first on or after your first birthday, or a positive blood titer showing immunity to all three diseases.¹
Varicella (chickenpox): two doses, the first on or after your first birthday, or a positive titer. A history of having had chickenpox does not satisfy this. You need documented vaccination or a blood test confirming immunity.⁵
Tdap: one dose on or after your 11th birthday, with a Tdap or Td booster every 10 years after.¹
Meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY): one dose on or after age 16. This applies to all students age 21 and younger, not just those living on campus.³
Hepatitis B: required by state law for first-time enrollees 18 or younger. Students 19 and older are exempt from this specific mandate, though both systems strongly recommend it.⁶

Beyond the mandates, both systems recommend Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B for students 19 and older, HPV, annual flu, Meningococcal B, pneumococcal for students with certain chronic conditions, and polio if you never finished the childhood series.³

Tuberculosis Screening

Every incoming UC and CSU student completes a TB risk questionnaire. It’s not a test, just a short set of questions about travel history, prior exposure, and other risk factors. Answer yes to any of them and you’ll need a follow-up tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay blood test within one year of starting.¹

Higher-risk categories include time spent in South or Central America, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, or the Middle East, along with any prior positive TB test or known exposure. International students from these regions will almost always need testing. Students with a history of a positive result typically need a chest X-ray taken within six months of starting.⁷

Proving Immunity Without Vaccination Records

If you don’t have your childhood records, you have options short of restarting from scratch.

For MMR and varicella, a blood titer measuring your antibody levels can prove immunity. A positive titer satisfies the requirement, no shots needed. Both UC and CSU accept positive titers as equivalent to vaccination records for these two.⁵ For varicella, note that neither system accepts a parent’s or doctor’s statement that you had chickenpox as a child. Documented doses or a positive titer only.

The California Department of Public Health also recognizes some age-based evidence of immunity. Anyone born before 1957 is generally presumed immune to MMR. For varicella, anyone born in the U.S. before 1980 qualifies, as does anyone whose physician certifies a history of chickenpox or shingles.⁸

If you were vaccinated in California as a child, your records may already be in the California Immunization Registry. You can download them through the Digital Vaccine Record portal at myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov.⁹ Not everything is in the system, especially older records or shots given out of state, but it’s worth checking before you book new appointments.

Medical and Religious Exemptions

UC and CSU recognize two exemption types: medical and religious. Personal belief exemptions are not available.

Medical Exemptions

A medical exemption requires a written statement from a licensed physician (MD or DO), nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. The statement must name the specific vaccines being exempted, describe the medical condition or circumstance that makes vaccination unsafe, and indicate whether the exemption is permanent or temporary with an expiration date.¹⁰ The UC system limits medical exemptions to conditions recognized by the CDC or the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.¹¹

Religious Exemptions

Both systems allow exemption based on a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. The UC form asks you to identify the specific belief and list which vaccines you’re requesting an exception for.¹² Even if your exemption is approved, you may still have to follow non-pharmaceutical measures like masking or testing, and you could be temporarily excluded from campus during a disease outbreak.

No Personal Belief Exemptions

Neither system accepts a personal belief exemption for its mandatory vaccines. California’s SB 277, effective in 2016, eliminated personal belief exemptions for K-12 immunization requirements, and the university systems follow the same approach. If your objection isn’t medical or religious, there is no pathway.

COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines

The UC system reclassified both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza as “Recommended Programs” effective December 2025. Vaccination is voluntary. You can follow public health recommendations or decline, and no formal declination paperwork is required.² This is a step down from the prior “Opt-Out” category, which required a declination form.

One exception: UC health care locations, including student health centers, hospitals, and clinics, can still require flu vaccination or a formal opt-out for people working or training there.¹³ A public health order imposing stricter requirements would override the recommended classification.

The CSU system has no systemwide COVID-19 or flu mandate. Individual campuses set their own guidance, which can range from a recommendation to a targeted requirement for specific groups. These policies shift with public health conditions, so check your campus student health page.

Health Science and Clinical Programs

Nursing, medical, dental, pharmacy, and other health science students face significantly expanded requirements at any UC, CSU, or community college. Clinical placement sites, meaning the hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities where you’ll rotate, set their own vaccination standards, and your program can’t place you if you don’t meet them.

Typical additions include a completed Hepatitis B series (three doses, or the two-dose Heplisav-B) with a positive titer confirming immunity, annual flu vaccination, annual TB testing or symptom review, and a current physical exam within a few months of program start.¹⁴ Clinical agencies also commonly require or strongly recommend current COVID-19 vaccination for students in patient care.

The titer standard is stricter for clinical students. Where a general-enrollment student can submit two MMR doses as proof, a medical or pharmacy student may need titer results confirming actual immunity, with additional doses and retesting if the titers come back negative.⁵ Students with any prior positive TB test must provide a negative chest X-ray within one year of program entry and file an annual TB symptom review after that.¹⁴

Deadlines and What Happens If You Miss Them

Deadlines vary by campus, but the pattern is consistent. At UC Berkeley, fall 2026 students must submit their TB and immunization records by July 31, 2026. Late fees start September 1, and enrollment holds post on October 1, blocking registration for the following spring.¹⁵ Under UC’s systemwide policy, any student who hasn’t proven compliance by the registration period for their second term cannot register until they do.²

The mechanism is simple. Student health services collects and evaluates your documentation, then reports compliance to the registrar. If you’re not compliant, the registrar places a hold on your account.¹⁶ That hold blocks you from adding or dropping classes, switching sections, and changing grading options.¹⁷ Only the office that placed the hold, typically student health, can lift it.

Ongoing noncompliance can go further. UC’s vaccination policy states that continued noncompliance “may result in educational consequences up to and including disciplinary sanctions.”² Practically, if you can’t register, you eventually lose enrollment. Campus health centers can take weeks to process documents during peak periods, so submit well before the posted deadline rather than waiting for the hold to appear.

1
University of California Office of the President. UC Immunization Requirements and Recommendations
2
University of California. Policy on Vaccination Programs – With Interim Revisions
3
California State University. EO 803 Revised – Immunization Requirements and Recommendations
4
California.Public” Law. California Health and Safety Code 120360
5
Student Health Center (UC Irvine). Immunization Requirements
6
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 120390
7
UCLA Immunization Requirement. UCLA Immunization Requirements
8
California Department of Public Health. Immunization Recommendations and Screening Requirements for College Students
9
California Department of Public Health. CAIR Updates
10
University of California. University of California Immunization Exemption Policy
11
University of California, Santa Barbara Student Health Service. Exemption Requests for Required Immunizations
12
University of California Office of the President. University of California Religious Exception Request Form
13
UCnet. Updates to Policy Covering Flu and COVID-19 Vaccinations
14
Santa Rosa Junior College. Health and Safety Requirements – Associate Degree in Nursing
15
University Health Services. Mandatory TB and Immunization Program
16
University of California, Riverside. Immunization Requirements
17
Office of the University Registrar. Registration Holds