California schools ask for specific immunization documents before a child can enroll. This page covers the exact records California law requires, how to retrieve them from official sources, and what to do if records are incomplete at enrollment time.
Last verified: September 6, 2026
Under California Health & Safety Code §120335, schools must verify that every child's immunization history is on file before admission. The official document is the CDPH 286, commonly called the "Blue Card."
The CDPH 286 must show dated dose records — month, day, and year — for each of the 7 required vaccine groups covering K–12 entry (per the California Department of Public Health):
Students entering 7th grade also need a Tdap booster documented on record (administered on or after the 10th birthday).
CAIR2 is the California Immunization Registry — a statewide database where most healthcare providers file dose records electronically. Contact your county immunization program to request a printed record, or check whether your county offers a parent-access portal. A CAIR2 record printout is accepted by California schools as an official immunization history.
(Source: cdph.ca.gov — CAIR, accessed September 6, 2026)
If CAIR2 doesn't have a complete record, bring your existing immunization documents to your child's healthcare provider. They can review what's on file, fill in the dated dose history on the CDPH 286 Blue Card, and provide the form directly to you to submit to the school.
A blank CDPH 286 form is available directly from the California Department of Public Health. Your healthcare provider completes and signs it. The school will not accept a form completed solely by a parent.
(Source: cdph.ca.gov, accessed September 6, 2026)
If your child was previously enrolled in another state or country, bring those records to a California-licensed provider. The provider reviews the foreign or out-of-state record, verifies dose dates, and transfers the information to a CDPH 286 for California school submission.
California law provides a 30-day conditional admission period for students who are in the process of completing their immunization record requirements at the time of enrollment. During this window, the child may attend school while the family secures the missing documentation.
(Source: cdph.ca.gov — Conditional Admission, accessed September 6, 2026)
Kindergarten and transitional kindergarten enrollment typically begins in spring for the following school year. Assembling records before enrollment — not the first day — avoids the 30-day clock entirely.
Every person gets one health story, and one private Family Stork email address every clinic already knows how to use. Give that address to your pediatrician, your county immunization program, or your school nurse — they send records to it, and the immunization history builds itself into one timeline.
When California schools ask for the CDPH 286 at enrollment — or at the 7th-grade checkpoint — the dose dates are already filed. No calling the old provider, no re-requesting from CAIR2, no searching through a box of paper cards.
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Keep your family's entire health story in one place: family health timeline software.
Family Stork gives every family member a private @families.familystork.com address. Providers send immunization records to it automatically. The California CDPH 286 information, CAIR2 updates, and every dose date — organized in one place, ready for every enrollment. $99/year — about $10/month.
Start your family's record — freeCalifornia recognizes medical exemptions only. Personal belief exemptions were eliminated under SB 277 (2015). Medical exemptions must be issued by a licensed California physician (MD or DO) and are governed by California Health & Safety Code §120370–120372.
The official process and submission requirements are described at the California Department of Public Health: