09/30/2026
🚨 CALIFORNIA AUTO GLASS SHOPS — THE RULES ARE GETTING SERIOUS 🚨
Installing a windshield is NOT just “remove and replace.”
With SB 988, the California Motor Vehicle Glass Act, there is now even more focus on proper windshield installation, ADAS calibration, customer disclosure and documentation.
And remember — the California Bureau of Automotive Repair already expects shops to follow proper procedures, accepted trade standards, manufacturer requirements and adhesive specifications.
⚠️ Cutting corners can create serious problems.
A shop should be doing things like:
✅ Verifying the correct glass
✅ Following OEM procedures
✅ Using the proper adhesive system
✅ Preparing the bonding surface correctly
✅ Following Safe Drive-Away Time
✅ Identifying ADAS-equipped vehicles
✅ Determining whether calibration is required
✅ Performing required calibration properly
✅ Documenting whether calibration passed or failed
✅ Giving the customer accurate paperwork
🚫 A windshield should NOT be handed back to a customer as “complete” if required safety procedures were ignored.
🚫 A calibration should NOT be marked “successful” if it was never properly completed.
🚫 Manufacturer procedures should NOT be treated as optional.
Shops that fail to follow the rules may face:
⚠️ BAR complaints
⚠️ Investigations
⚠️ Citations
⚠️ Probation
⚠️ Suspension
⚠️ Possible revocation of their Automotive Repair Dealer registration
SB 988 also provides civil penalties of up to:
💰 $500 for a first violation
💰 $2,000 for subsequent violations
The real question is no longer:
“Did you replace the windshield?”
The question is:
🔥 “Did you restore the vehicle safely and according to the manufacturer’s requirements?”
A windshield is a SAFETY component.
ADAS is a SAFETY system.
There is no room for shortcuts when people’s lives depend on the work.