California SB 261: who it covers and where it stands

This is an independent summary, not legal advice. SB 261 is the subject of active litigation and CARB's position has changed more than once; check CARB's own pages before relying on anything here.

What SB 261 is

SB 261 (Stern, 2023) created California's Climate-Related Financial Risk Program. It is codified at Health and Safety Code section 38533. It is a separate law from SB 253, which covers greenhouse gas emissions reporting and has its own threshold and timetable.

CARB describes the program as applying to business entities formed under the laws of California, the laws of any other state of the United States or the District of Columbia, or under an act of the Congress of the United States, that have total annual revenues in excess of $500 million and that do business in California. CARB calls these "reporting entities." The law calls for biennial climate-related financial risk reports.

Whether a particular company meets that description depends on its own facts. Nothing on this page is a determination that any company is or is not covered.

Where SB 261 stands right now

This is the part that has moved. As of October 15, 2026:

On November 18, 2025, the Ninth Circuit issued an order in Chamber of Commerce v. Sanchez, Case No. 25-5327 (9th Cir. 2025), granting an injunction against enforcement of SB 261 during the appeal.
CARB states that, in light of that order, it will not enforce Health and Safety Code section 38533 against covered entities for failing to post and submit reports by the January 1, 2026 statutory deadline.
CARB states it will provide further information, including an alternate reporting date as appropriate, after the appeal is resolved. CARB has not published a replacement deadline.
CARB now says it encourages covered entities to publish biennial reports voluntarily, and it has opened a submission page and a public docket of the reports submitted so far.

We have not seen a Ninth Circuit decision on the merits. The injunction is an order pending appeal, not a ruling that the law is invalid, and the position above can change when the appeal is decided.

How this differs from SB 253

The two laws are often discussed together and were covered by the same CARB rulemaking, but their status today is not the same.

Statute. SB 253 is Health and Safety Code section 38532; SB 261 is section 38533.
Revenue threshold. SB 253 applies above $1 billion in total annual revenue; SB 261 above $500 million.
What is disclosed. SB 253 covers Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions; SB 261 covers a climate-related financial risk report.
Frequency. SB 253 is annual; SB 261 is biennial.
Enjoined? SB 253 is not enjoined. SB 261 is enjoined pending appeal.
Next date CARB has published. For SB 253, November 10, 2026 for Scope 1 and Scope 2. For SB 261, none: CARB says it will set an alternate date after the appeal.

CARB's Initial Regulation covering both programs (Title 17, California Code of Regulations, Article 6, sections 96070–96077) was approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the Secretary of State on October 12, 2026, and is effective on filing. CARB states that the deadline for entities to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions is November 10, 2026. That date is an SB 253 date. CARB's SB 261 page still states the non-enforcement position described above.

For the full comparison, read SB 253 and SB 261: how the two laws differ, and for SB 253 itself read the SB 253 overview.

What a climate-related financial risk report covers

CARB has published a Climate Related Financial Risk Report Checklist (updated November 17, 2025) and an FAQ document (November 17, 2025) for entities preparing reports. We link both below rather than paraphrasing them, because the checklist is the operative document and it is short.

We have not seen CARB adopt a mandatory report format or a list of approved preparers.

Is a company on CARB's list?

On September 24, 2025, CARB posted a preliminary list of reporting and covered entities that marks each entry as appearing under SB 261 only, or under both SB 261 and SB 253. CARB says the list was prepared to support development of the fee regulation and that each potentially regulated entity remains responsible for compliance whether or not it appears on the list.

You can check whether a company appears on that list. Appearing on it is not a determination that a company must report, and not appearing on it is not an exemption.