Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fees Guide
Industry Topics

Definitions

Below are definitions for the covered electronic waste recycling programs. The source for these definitions and other relevant definitions can be found at Public Resources Code (PRC) section 42463.

A covered electronic device (CED), in general, is a video display device containing a screen greater than four inches, measured diagonally, identified in regulations adopted by Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), as well as any covered battery-embedded product (defined below).

A video display device is an electronic device with an output surface that displays, or is capable of displaying, moving graphical images or a visual representation of image sequences or pictures, showing a number of quickly changing images on a screen in fast succession to create the illusion of motion, including, if applicable, a device that is an integral part of the display, in that it cannot be easily removed from the display by the consumer, that produces the moving image on the screen. A video display device may use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, or other image projection technology.

A covered battery-embedded (CBE) product, generally, is a product containing a battery from which the battery is not designed to be easily removed from the product with no more than commonly used household tools.

A retailer is a person who makes a retail sale of a new or refurbished covered electronic device. A “retailer” includes a manufacturer of a CED who sells that device directly to a consumer through any means, including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a sales outlet, catalog, or the Internet, or any other similar electronic means.

A vendor is a person that makes a sale of a CED for the purpose of resale to a retailer who is the lessor of the CED to a consumer under a lease that is a continuing sale and purchase.

Refurbished, when used to describe a CED, means a device that the manufacturer has tested and returned to a condition that meets factory specifications for the device, has repackaged, and has labeled as refurbished.

Fee Application

How the Covered Electronic Waste Recycling (eWaste) Fee Is Imposed

The eWaste fee is due on the retail purchase or lease of a new or refurbished video display device with a screen size of more than four inches measured diagonally and has been identified in the regulations adopted by DTSC.

Currently, the video display devices identified in the regulations include any device listed below containing a screen (viewable screen size) greater than four inches measured diagonally:

  • Televisions
    • Cathode ray tube (CRT)
    • Liquid crystal display (LCD) (excluding LCD projection televisions)
    • Light-emitting diode (LED)
    • Plasma (excluding plasma projection televisions)
    • Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens (effective 7-1-22)
  • Desktop computer monitor
    • LCD/LED
    • OLED (effective 7-1-22)
  • Laptop computers
    • LCD/LED (includes tablets until 7-1-22)
    • OLED (effective 7-1-22)
  • LCD/LED or OLED containing tablets (effective 7-1-22)
  • Bare CRT or any other CRT device (includes computer monitors)
  • Portable DVD players with LCD/LED screens
  • LCD/LED Smart Displays (effective 7-1-22)

Manufacturers are required to inform retailers that sell CEDs which of their products have been identified as CEDs subject to the eWaste fee. New products may be identified by the DTSC and added to the regulations after they have been tested. Any new products identified by DTSC and added to the regulations will become subject to the fee effective July 1, of the following year. For more information, contact the manufacturer or DTSC.

Smartphones

DTSC does not classify smartphones with LCD screens greater than four inches as CEDs. Alternatively, cell phones, including smartphones with screen sizes greater than four inches, are subject to a statutorily mandated collection and recycling program according to the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004 (Chapter 8.6 of Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resource Code).

How the Covered Battery-Embedded (CBE) Waste Recycling Fee Is Imposed

The CBE waste recycling fee is due on the retail purchase or lease of a new or refurbished CBE product.

Manufacturers are required to inform retailers that sell CEDs which of their products have been identified as CBE products subject to the CBE waste recycling fee.

Business Locations Outside of California

If you are required to have a California seller's permit or Certificate of Registration — Use Tax, you must register for an eWaste fee and/or CBE waste recycling fee account and collect the fee when you sell CEDs to California customers. Our online registration system will guide you through the process. See our online guide, Use Tax Collection Requirements Based on Sales into CA Due to the Wayfair Decision, for more information on whether you may be required to register for sales and use tax purposes.

If you are not required to register for an eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee account, you may voluntarily register to collect and pay the fee as a courtesy to your California customers. Upon collecting the fee, you must provide the customer with an invoice or similar document that lists the fee as a separate charge. A copy of the invoice or similar document should be retained by both the seller and customer.

If the out-of-state seller does not have an eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee account, the California customer must pay the fee directly to us.

Customer Invoices

The law requires the retailer to separately state the applicable fee on the customer's receipt. We do not prescribe any particular format for the invoice, but you must be able to determine if the correct amount was collected and remitted based on the number of CEDs sold.

If a customer purchases several CEDs on one invoice, you may want to group the products and fees by fee category and type (i.e. eWaste fee and CBE waste recycling fee) on your invoice. If you do this, you can list one fee total for each fee category and type. You can use this method or list each CED and applicable fee amount separately.

As a retailer, you can opt to pay the fees on your customers behalf, but you must note that you have done so on the customer's receipt. The entire fees are due with your fee return. When a retailer pays the fee and indicates that on the receipt, the customer has no liability for the fee.

Application of Sales and Use Tax to eWaste Fee and CBE Waste Recycling Fee

Do not include the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee amount in your sales or use tax calculation. However, you must list the amount of the applicable fee on your customer invoice.

Application of Fees for Specific Transactions

Lay-away Sales

A lay-away is generally a contract to sell at a future date and the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee would not apply until the full purchase price is paid and the sale is complete.

Internet Sales

Internet sales are treated just like sales from brick-and-mortar stores or sales by mail or phone. If you sell a CED to a California consumer and your business is in California, or you are required to hold a California seller's permit or are registered or should be registered to collect California use tax, you owe the applicable fees. If you are not required to collect the fees, your customer owes it.

Drop Shipments on Behalf of Out of State Companies to California Consumers

If a California retailer is instructed by an out of state retailer to ship a CED directly to a California consumer, the California retailer or drop shipper is obligated to collect the applicable fees. See the definition of retail sale for the purpose of the Sales and Use Tax Law, or for additional information on drop shipments, view Sales and Use Tax Regulation 1706

Configure-to-Order Sales Made Through a Retailer but Shipped by the Manufacturer

A consumer who buys a CED in a retail sale or a transaction subject to use tax owes the applicable fee. The retailer is required to collect the fee and pay it to us.

CEDs Removed from Inventory

If you pull a CED from your display stock or inventory and use or donate it, you are considered the consumer. You must report the applicable fees on your return.

Sales or Leases to the Federal Government

Retailers are required to collect the applicable fee on retail purchases or leases by the Federal government. Transactions with the Federal Government are not exempt from the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee unless otherwise exempt.

CEDs Replaced Under Warranty

Whether a CED replaced under warranty is subject to the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee depends on the type of warranty. In general, the replacement CED does not constitute a retail sale.

Under a factory (mandatory) warranty, no fee would be due if a new or refurbished replacement CED was provided, unless the customer upgrades the CED.

Under an optional warranty, the repairer is considered the consumer of the CED. The repairer should pay the fees on any new or refurbished replacement CEDs provided, either at the time of purchase or by reporting these CEDs as self-consumed on their Electronic Waste Recycling Fee Return or Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Return.

Bad Debts

There are no exemptions or credits to be claimed for bad debts related to the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee.

Leases

Leases to California Companies

If a lease is a “continuing sale or purchase,” you must collect the eWaste fee from the lessee with the first lease payment.

Lease Renewals

Lease renewals are not subject to the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee, unless a new or refurbished CED is provided at the time of renewal.

Leasing with Option to Buy at the End of Lease

The customer is purchasing a used CED. The eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee does not apply to the sale of used CEDs.

Fee Option for Retailers that Lease CEDs

Under specific conditions, a retailer who leases CEDs to consumers may choose to pay the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee to the vendor of those CEDs instead of collecting the fee from the consumers/lessees. A vendor is defined as the person making a sale of a CED for purposes of resale to a retailer and who is the lessor of the CED to a consumer under a lease that is a continuing sale or purchase.

For a retailer to elect to pay on behalf of a consumer, all of the following conditions must be met:

  • The vendor must be registered with us to collect and pay the fees
  • The vendor must hold a valid seller's permit for sales and use tax purposes
  • The lessor or retailer must pay the fees to the vendor and the fee must be separately stated on the vendor's invoice to the retailer
  • The retailer provides an express statement on the invoice, contract, or other record given to the lessee or consumer to document the lease or rental, that the fees has been paid on behalf of the lessee or consumer.

If all the above conditions are met, the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee is a debt owed by the vendor and the retailer is not liable for the fees.

Transactions Not Subject to the eWaste Fee

General

The fee does not apply to the sale of a video display device that is any of the following:

  • Used and not refurbished.
  • Part of a motor vehicle, as defined in Vehicle Code section 415, or a component part of a motor vehicle assembled by or for a vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer. This includes replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle.
  • Contained within, or a part of a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including monitoring or control equipment.
  • Contained within a clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room air conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier.
  • Sold for resale.
  • Shipped to a location outside of California.
  • A cell phone, including smartphone with screen size greater than four inches.
  • An eReader, eBook, or eInk (does not include eReaders that are tablets).
  • OLED smart devices.
  • Projection televisions (LCD or plasma only)

You must maintain records to document any sale not subject to the fee. View our webpage, publication 103 Sales for Resale, for information on sales for resale. View our webpage, publication 101 Sales Delivered Outside California, for information on sales of products shipped directly to locations outside California.

Transactions Not Subject to the CBE Waste Recycling Fee

General

The CBE waste recycling fee does not apply to the sales of any of the following:

  • Used CBE products that have not been refurbished.
  • A video display device covered by the eWaste fee.
  • Certain medical devices, as specified in PRC section 42463(f)(2)(A)
  • Certain energy storage systems, as specified in PRC section 42463(f)(2)(C)
  • Certain electronic nicotine delivery systems, as specified in PRC section 42463(f)(2)(D)
  • CBE products sold for resale.
  • CBE products shipped to a location outside of California.

You must maintain records to document any sale not subject to the fee. View our webpage, publication 103 Sales for Resale, for information on sales for resale. View our webpage, publication 101 Sales Delivered Outside California, for information on sales of products shipped directly to locations outside California.

Refunds

When to file a claim for refund

Be sure to file your claim for refund by the applicable deadline. If you do not file on time, we cannot consider your claim, even if you overpaid the eWaste fee or the CBE waste recycling fee. Your filing deadline is the latest of the following dates:

  • Three years after the due date of the return on which you overpaid the fees
  • Six months after you overpaid the fees
  • Six months after the date a determination (billing) became final
  • Three years after we collected an involuntary payment, such as from a levy or lien

If you have questions about your deadline to file a refund claim, contact our Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 (TTY:711), Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific time), except state holidays.

Returns and Customer Refunds

If a customer returns a CED for which you collected the eWaste fee or the CBE waste recycling fees and you provided a full refund on the entire amount paid for the CED, you should also refund the relevant eWaste fee or the CBE waste recycling fee.

You may claim a credit on your Electronic Waste Recycling Fee Return or Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Return for fees you refunded to customers if you reported and paid the fee on a previous return, and if you gave the refund during the reporting period for which you are claiming the credit.

How to file a claim for refund

Submit a Claim for Refund — File your claim for refund through our online services system. Log in using your username and password and select the account for which you want to claim a refund. Select the More link under the I Want To section then select the Submit a Claim for Refund link and follow the prompts.

Additional Return Filing Options — You may also file a claim for refund by filing either:

Claims for refund must be in writing, state the reason for overpayment, specify the period for which you made the overpayment, and the amount of the refund requested. Additional refund details can be found on our Filing Claims for Refund — Special Taxes and Fees webpage.

You may email the claim form to the Refund Team or mail it to:

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
Appeals and Data Analysis Branch (MIC: 33)
P.O. Box 942879
Sacramento, CA 94279-0033

Fee Collected on product not considered a CED

If you believe you were charged an eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee on a device that is not considered a CED, you may e-mail us or call us at 1-800-400-7115 (TTY:711). Select the option for Special Taxes and Fees.

Record Keeping

Records must be retained for at least four years from the time the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee is due unless we authorize you in writing to destroy them sooner.

CED Manufacturer Requirements

Manufacturer's Notification Letters

Video display devices — On or before April 1 of each year, manufacturers are required to send a notice to all retailers that sell video display devices manufactured by the manufacturer on or before December 31 of the prior year. The notice shall identify the electronic devices that are video display devices subject to the eWaste fee.

CBE products — Beginning July 1, 2025, and every year thereafter, manufacturers are required to send a notice to all retailers that sell CBE products manufactured by the manufacturer. The notice shall identify the CEDs that are CBE products subject to the CBE Waste Recycling fee.

Manufacturer's Reports

Manufacturers may also be required to submit certain reports to CalRecycle pursuant to PRC section 42465.2 and/or PRC section 42467.

For more information regarding the manufacturer's reports, please see CalRecycle's website on manufacturer reporting information.

Recycling CEDs

Proof of Fee Paid Upon Disposal

Proof that the eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee was paid upon purchase of a CED does not need to be provided upon disposal. The disposal of a CED is a separate transaction from the purchase of a CED. The disposal facility may or may not charge the consumer a fee to dispose a CED, but either way, it will not be dependent upon a consumer having first paid an eWaste fee or CBE waste recycling fee at the time they purchased the CED.

“Cost Free Opportunities” to Dispose of CEDs

The Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 states that consumers will be provided with “cost free opportunities” to dispose their computers, monitors, and TVs. CalRecycle administers these recycling programs and their contact information is listed below.

Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Program
1001 I Street
P.O. Box 4025
Sacramento, CA 95812-4025
1-916-341-6269
ewaste@calrecycle.ca.gov
embeddedbatteries@calrecycle.ca.gov