# California — US boiler and pressure vessel inspection requirements by state

For California, governing body is Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Industrial Safety and Health; statute citation is California Code of Regulations, Title 8. Chapter 4. Division of Industrial Safety, Subchapter 1. Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety , Sections 450 through 560; Subchapter 2. Boiler and Fired Pressure Vessel Safety , Sections 750 through 797; power boiler inspection interval is one annual internal and external inspection (Exception: boilers in turbo-electric plants furnishing steam to a single turbine inspected internally at least once each 18 months); Title 8, Section 770 allows fired boilers to go up to three years without internal inspection after application and acceptance by the Pressure Vessel Unit; pressure vessel inspection interval is one inspection at least every three years for portable air tanks and five years for all other air tanks; LPG tanks on schedule by usage type (3–5 years); accepted inspector types is Inspectors holding a valid Certificate of Competency issued by the division (accepted in lieu of Pressure Vessel Unit engineer); owner/user organization inspectors whose inservice programs have been approved by the Pressure Vessel Unit, recorded from its source on 2026-08-05.

- **State:** California _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Governing body:** Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Industrial Safety and Health
- **Statute citation:** California Code of Regulations, Title 8. Chapter 4. Division of Industrial Safety, Subchapter 1. Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety , Sections 450 through 560; Subchapter 2. Boiler and Fired Pressure Vessel Safety , Sections 750 through 797. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Power boiler inspection interval:** one annual internal and external inspection (Exception: boilers in turbo-electric plants furnishing steam to a single turbine inspected internally at least once each 18 months); Title 8, Section 770 allows fired boilers to go up to three years without internal inspection after application and acceptance by the Pressure Vessel Unit
- **Pressure vessel inspection interval:** one inspection at least every three years for portable air tanks and five years for all other air tanks; LPG tanks on schedule by usage type (3–5 years)
- **Accepted inspector types:** Inspectors holding a valid Certificate of Competency issued by the division (accepted in lieu of Pressure Vessel Unit engineer); owner/user organization inspectors whose inservice programs have been approved by the Pressure Vessel Unit
- **Exemptions:** Boilers and pressure vessels under federal inspection and control or exempted by the labor code; boilers on automobiles and road motor vehicles; boilers and unfired pressure vessels used in household service; air pressure tanks under US DOT, Public Utilities Commission, or Highway Patrol jurisdiction; unfired pressure vessels not subject to more than 15 psi; unfired pressure vessels with inside diameter not exceeding 6 inches; small power boilers with automatic controls not exceeding 100 sq ft heating surface, 16-inch inside diameter steam drums, 100 psi MAWP, 35-gallon water capacity, 400,000 BTU/hr input; LP gas cylinders per US DOT; air tanks of 1-1/2 cubic feet or less not exceeding 150 psi

## What the source says

> California Code of Regulations, Title 8. Chapter 4. Division of Industrial Safety, Subchapter 1. Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety , Sections 450 through 560; Subchapter 2. Boiler and Fired Pressure Vessel Safety , Sections 750 through 797. RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STAMPING Construction:

## Source

- https://www.nationalboard.org/PrintAllSynopsis.aspx?Jurisdiction=Select

Last verified: 2026-08-05. Review by: 2027-08-05.
Part of [US boiler and pressure vessel inspection requirements by state](https://referencesource.org/boiler-inspection-requirements-by-state/).