List of Plug

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
Chevrolet Volt Plug-in Hybrid Green Ford C-Max Energi
Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in Hybrid Green Ford Fusion Energi
Ford Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid Green Toyota Prius Plug-in
Toyota Prius Plug-in Plug-in Hybrid Green

Eligible 2015 Electric and Other Fuel Types

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

Eligible 2014 Plug-in Hybrids

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

Eligible 2014 Electric and Other Fuel Types

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