List of Plug-in Vehicles Eligible for California HOV Lane Stickers

Considering a new plug-in vehicle in California? Odds are your potential new car is eligible for a HOV lane sticker issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The stickers enable single-occupant vehicles to access the high-occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes on public roads.

There are two main types: Green and White. Green stickers mainly apply to plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt. White stickers are primarily used for electric vehicles like the Nissan LEAF, as well as other fuel types like Natural Gas.

Whereas the California DMV currently has no limit on the number of White stickers it can issue since electric cars continue to be rare, the green stickers have been hard to come by until just recently. Late last year, the DMV reported they had issued all 55,000 green HOV lane stickers. The good news is that the State made an additional 15,000 stickers available on January 1, 2015.

It's important to note that neither sticker guarantees indefinite access to HOV lanes. Unless extended by California's legislature, both green and white stickers will expire in 2019, just as yellow stickers on older hybrids expired in 2011.

Below is a list of eligible vehicles according to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). We’ve omitted models that have already sold out. For the full vehicle list we suggest visiting the CARB website.

Eligible 2015 Plug-in Hybrids

Vehicle	Fuel Type	Sticker Type
Chevrolet Volt	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Ford C-Max Energi	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Ford Fusion Energi	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Toyota Prius Plug-in	Plug-in Hybrid	Green

Eligible 2015 Electric and Other Fuel Types

Vehicle	Fuel Type	Sticker Type
Chevrolet Spark EV	Electric	White
FIAT 500e	Electric	White
Ford Focus EV	Electric	White
Kia Soul EV	Electric	White
Mercedes-Benz B Electric Drive	Electric	White
Mitsubishi i-MiEV Mitsubishi i-MiEV	Electric	White
Nissan LEAF	Electric	White
Smart fortwo electric	Electric	White
Volkswagen e-Golf	Electric	White
Honda Civic Natural Gas	Natural Gas	White

Eligible 2014 Plug-in Hybrids

Vehicle	Fuel Type	Sticker Type
BMW i3 (Range Extended)	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Cadillac ELR	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Chevrolet Volt	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Ford C-Max Energi	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Ford Fusion Energi	Plug-in Hybrid	Green
Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid	Plug-in Hybrid	Green

Eligible 2014 Electric and Other Fuel Types

Vehicle	Fuel Type	Sticker Type
BMW i3 (EV)	Electric	White
Chevrolet Spark	Electric	White
Ford Focus EV	Electric	White
Mercedes-Benz B Electric Drive	Electric	White
Mitsubishi i-MiEV	Electric	White
Tesla Model S	Electric	White
Honda Civic Natural Gas	Natural Gas	White