AB 38: wildfire disclosures when you sell a California home

What AB 38 is

AB 38 is a California law passed in 2019 to make wildfire risk part of every home sale in the most fire-prone areas. It added two requirements to the disclosures sellers already give buyers:

1. Defensible space documentation (California Civil Code section 1102.19), in effect since July 1, 2021.
2. A home hardening disclosure (Civil Code section 1102.6f), in effect since January 1, 2021, and expanded on July 1, 2025.

The law does not force a seller to remodel or upgrade the house. It requires the seller to provide defensible space documentation where an ordinance or inspection program exists, and to disclose what they know about the home's wildfire vulnerabilities, so the buyer goes in with eyes open.

Does it apply to my home?

AB 38 covers sales of houses and other residential property with one to four units. Some transfers, such as certain foreclosure and probate sales, are exempt. It applies when the property is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, in either a State Responsibility Area (where CAL FIRE is responsible for wildfire protection) or a Local Responsibility Area (cities and other areas protected by local fire departments).

Look up the address on CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map. The zone also appears on the Natural Hazard Disclosure report that sellers already provide.

Requirement 1: defensible space documentation

For a home in a High or Very High zone, where a local ordinance or an inspection program exists, the seller must give the buyer documentation showing the property complies with California's defensible space law (Public Resources Code section 4291) or with the local vegetation management ordinance. In practice, that means a defensible space inspection.

How it works where you live

• If your city or county requires its own inspection for sales, follow the local ordinance and give the buyer that documentation.
• If not, but an agency offers inspections in your area, the documentation must come from an inspection done within the six months before you enter into the sale.
• If neither exists, there may be no documentation to provide. Your agent or local fire department can confirm.

Who does the inspection

• Most cities and Local Responsibility Areas: your local fire department or fire protection district.
• State Responsibility Areas with no local ordinance: CAL FIRE, which takes real estate inspection requests online at fire.ca.gov/dspace. A passing CAL FIRE inspection is documented on its Notice of Defensible Space Inspection form.

Fees and wait times vary by agency. Some local fire departments charge a modest fee, and some offer the inspection free. Request it as soon as you decide to sell, because inspection calendars can fill up in spring and summer.

What the inspector looks at

Defensible space inspections check the area around the home, out to 100 feet or the property line: dead plants and leaves, dry grass, tree branches near the roof and chimney, plants spaced too closely, firewood and other combustibles near the house, and, increasingly, burnable material in the first five feet as California's Zone 0 rules move toward adoption. Ask your inspector what they check today. Our defensible space guide and Zone 0 guide walk through what to clean up before the inspector arrives.

If the property doesn't pass

The owner can complete the work and schedule a reinspection before escrow closes. If that isn't possible, the buyer and seller can use the agreement described below.

If the inspection isn't done before closing

If the seller can't provide the documentation, the law requires the seller and buyer to sign a written agreement in which the buyer agrees to obtain it:

• according to the local ordinance, where one requires an owner or buyer to get the documentation, or
• within one year of the close of escrow, where there's no such ordinance but an inspection program exists.

Your agent or escrow officer can supply the agreement. For buyers, this means taking on the cleanup work and the inspection after you move in, so factor that into your plans and your offer.

Requirement 2: the home hardening disclosure (homes built before 2010)

For a home in a High or Very High zone that was built before January 1, 2010, the seller must give the buyer a disclosure notice. Homes built before then generally predate California's modern wildland-urban interface building standards. The notice includes three parts.

1. A statement about the zone

A statement that the home is in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, that it was built before current wildfire building codes, and that hardening improvements may make it more resistant to wildfire. It points buyers to CAL FIRE's readyforwildfire.org.

2. Features that may make the home vulnerable

The seller discloses which of these features they are aware of:

• Eave, soffit and roof vents with openings larger than 1/8 inch, or that aren't flame and ember resistant
• A roof of untreated wood shingles or shakes
• Combustible landscaping or other materials within five feet of the home or under an attached deck
• Single-pane or non-tempered glass windows
• Loose or missing bird stopping or roof flashing
• Gutters without metal or other noncombustible covers

3. Low-cost retrofits the seller completed (since July 1, 2025)

Since July 1, 2025, the seller must also provide the state's current list of low-cost retrofits and say which of them, if any, they completed while they owned the home. CAL FIRE updated the list on January 1, 2026. It covers improvements like these:

• Class A roofing when the roof is replaced, and bird stops to block gaps under roof coverings
• Noncombustible gutter covers
• Metal mesh spark arrestors over chimney and stovepipe outlets
• Ember- and flame-resistant vents, installed after checking with your local building official
• Caulking or plugging gaps larger than 1/8 inch around exposed rafters and in siding
• Weatherstripping gaps larger than 1/8 inch in garage doors
• Noncombustible mesh over operable skylights
• At least 6 inches of vertical metal flashing where a deck meets the wall
• Multi-pane windows with at least one tempered pane, and ignition-resistant siding and decking, when those are replaced

If the seller has a final inspection report from a local fire hazard inspection program, they must also give the buyer a copy or tell them where to get one.

This disclosure is about what the seller knows. It doesn't require the seller to make any of the improvements, and the law states that it doesn't create new building code requirements.

A checklist for sellers

1. Look up your address on CAL FIRE's fire hazard zone map, using the current 2025 maps.
2. If you're in a High or Very High zone, find out who inspects in your area: your local fire department, or CAL FIRE at fire.ca.gov/dspace.
3. Clean up the yard before the inspection: dead plants, leaves and needles, dry grass, branches near the roof, and anything burnable within five feet of the house.
4. Request the defensible space inspection early, and keep the documentation for your agent.
5. If your home was built before 2010, gather what you know about the roof, vents, windows, gutters and the first five feet, plus any retrofits you've done, for the hardening disclosure.
6. If the inspection won't be done by closing, ask your agent about the buyer agreement.

Many of the items buyers will see on the disclosure, like vent mesh, gutter covers and weatherstripping, are inexpensive weekend projects. Our free action plan ranks what to fix first, with typical costs.

A checklist for buyers

1. Ask early whether the home is in a High or Very High zone, and for the defensible space documentation.
2. Read the home hardening disclosure closely if the home was built before 2010. Each listed vulnerability is a project you may inherit.
3. If you sign the buyer agreement, put the inspection on your calendar for your first months in the home.
4. Talk to your insurance agent before you close. Wildfire risk affects coverage and price, and California rules require licensed insurers that rate wildfire risk to give credit for many of these same improvements.

This guide is general information, not professional advice. Building codes and defensible space rules vary by state, county and fire district. Your local fire department or a qualified contractor can tell you what applies to your home. No home is fireproof. Read our full disclaimer.