What a Hazardous Materials Business Plan Is
A hazardous materials business plan, or HMBP, is the emergency plan and chemical inventory that Health and Safety Code §25507 requires of a business that handles 55 gallons of a hazardous liquid, 500 pounds of a solid, or 200 cubic feet of a compressed gas at any one time, subject to the exemptions the section lists. It is filed electronically in CERS and certified every year under §25508.2. From 2020 through 2025 the plan's site map, certification, and training record were the three most cited items at California hazardous materials inspections.
A hazardous materials business plan, usually written HMBP, is the document the Health and Safety Code requires of a business that handles a hazardous material above a set quantity. It is not a safety program in the Cal/OSHA sense. It is an emergency plan and a chemical inventory, filed with the local fire department or environmental health agency so that responders know what is inside a building before they enter it. The requirement is in Chapter 6.95 of the Health and Safety Code, whose title, Hazardous Materials Release Response Plans and Inventory, says what the plan is for.
Inspectors cite the plan’s paperwork more than anything else they look at. From 2020 through 2025, the site map, the annual certification, and the training record were the three most cited items at California hazardous materials inspections, 184,368 violations in all, per the CalEPA Regulated Site Portal.
Who needs one
Health and Safety Code §25507(a) requires a business plan at any facility that meets any of several conditions. The one that reaches most businesses is (a)(1): it “handles a hazardous material or a mixture containing a hazardous material that has a quantity at any one time during the reporting year that is equal to, or greater than, 55 gallons for materials that are liquids, 500 pounds for solids, or 200 cubic feet for compressed gas.”
The other conditions in §25507(a):
- It is required to submit chemical inventory information under the federal community right-to-know law (42 U.S.C. §11022, Tier II).
- It handles an extremely hazardous substance, as defined in 40 CFR §355.61, at or above that substance’s threshold planning quantity, where that quantity is under 500 pounds.
- It handles 5,000 pounds of a solid or 550 gallons of a liquid that is a hazard only as an irritant or sensitizer, with a higher threshold for paint in an approved recycling program.
- It handles 1,000 cubic feet or more of certain cryogenic, refrigerated, or compressed gases.
The quantity is measured “at any one time,” not over the year. A “business” under §25501(c) includes employers, self-employed individuals, nonprofits, and government agencies, and a plan is required “for each unified program facility, site, or branch.”
Subdivision (b) of §25507 then lists materials that are “exempt from the requirements of this section.” Among them: refrigerant gases in closed cooling systems; lubricating oil, “if the total volume of each type of lubricating oil handled at a facility does not exceed 55 gallons and the total volume of all types of lubricating oil handled at that facility does not exceed 275 gallons at any one time,” where used oil is not lubricating oil; consumer products handled at and sold from a retail establishment, with limits for products rated 3 or 4 on the NFPA or HMIS scale; propane for on-premises cooking and heating up to 500 gallons; and fuel in the tanks of vehicles and motorized equipment. A drum of motor oil in a repair shop and the propane behind a restaurant are the cases these exemptions describe. Whether a particular facility falls inside or outside them is a question for the section’s full text and the local CUPA.
What the plan contains
§25505(a) names four parts.
- The inventory. The hazardous materials at the facility, with any additional information the local agency requires by ordinance.
- A site map. The statute lists what it must show: “north orientation, adjacent streets, access and exit points, evacuation staging areas, hazardous material handling and storage areas, emergency response equipment, and, if present, loading areas, internal roads, storm and sewer drains, and emergency shutoffs.” Local agencies may add requirements by ordinance.
- Emergency response plans and procedures. At minimum: immediate notification contacts for local responders and the CUPA, procedures to mitigate a release, and evacuation plans and procedures for the site.
- Training. “Training for all new employees and annual training, including refresher courses, for all employees in safety procedures in the event of a release or threatened release.” The training may account for each employee’s position, and it “shall be documented electronically or by hard copy and shall be made available for a minimum of three years.”
CERS presents these as three sections: facility information, the hazardous materials inventory, and the emergency response and training plans. CUPAs describe a submittal as complete when all three sections have been submitted and accepted.
When it is due
Three dates matter, all in §25508 and §25508.2.
- The first filing. A business is not in violation “until 30 days after the business becomes subject to” the requirement (§25508(b)).
- The annual date. The CUPA sets the due date. If it sets none, the plan is due “on or before March 1 of every year that the plan is required to be submitted” (§25508(a)(2)).
- The annual certification. By that date, every year, “the business owner, business operator, or officially designated representative of the business shall annually review and certify that the information in the statewide information management system is complete, accurate, and in compliance” (§25508.2). A full electronic submittal satisfies the certification.
How often the plan itself must be resubmitted depends on the facility. Under §25508(a)(1), a facility that files federal Tier II information, or holds above-ground petroleum tanks under Chapter 6.67, submits the plan annually; every other handler submits “once every three years.” The annual certification applies to all of them.
Two more triggers: a corrected plan is due within 30 days of a deficiency notice from the CUPA (§25508(a)(3)), and an update is due within 30 days of certain changes, which the portal’s own violation description lists as a 100% or more increase in a material, a new material, or a change in emergency contacts (§25508.1).
What inspectors cite
The record from 2020 through 2025, from the most cited CUPA violations:
| Item | Violations | Sites | Typical time to fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site map missing or incomplete | 88,280 | 39,449 | 38 days |
| Annual certification not done, §25508(a)(1) | 34,387 | 22,669 | 37 days |
| Employee training not done or not documented | 31,445 | 24,554 | 37 days |
| Annual certification not done, §25508.2 | 30,256 | 22,196 | 28 days |
| Update not filed within 30 days of a change | 10,911 | 9,615 | |
| No business plan where one was required | 10,406 | 8,781 |
The site map was cited more than twice as often as any other single item at California hazardous materials inspections from 2020 through 2025. And the certification repeats: 27% of the sites cited for it were cited for it in two or more different years.
Where the plan is filed
The plan is filed in the California Environmental Reporting System, CERS, and reviewed by the local CUPA. The inspection record is public through the CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. CalEPA’s own overview is at its Hazardous Materials Business Plan program page, with a FAQ.
Cal/OSHA’s hazard communication standard, 8 CCR §5194, by its terms applies where employees may be exposed to hazardous substances in the workplace, and 8 CCR §3203 requires an Injury and Illness Prevention Program of every California employer. The chemical inventory in the business plan and the chemical list the hazard communication standard requires describe the same materials, kept for two agencies.
Hazardous materials in California
- Most cited CUPA violations in California, 2020–2025
- What CERS is
- What a CUPA is
- The CalEPA Regulated Site Portal
Sources
Statutory text is quoted from the California Health and Safety Code as published by the Legislature on September 10, 2026: §25501 (definitions), §25505 (contents), §25507 (who must file), §25508 (submission), and §25508.2 (annual certification). Violation counts are computed by CompliantCA from the CalEPA Regulated Site Portal export of September 10, 2026, for Unified Program records dated 2020 through 2025; the method is on the most cited violations page.
This page describes what the statute requires. Whether a particular facility is subject to it depends on what it handles and in what quantity, and the local CUPA answers that question.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs a hazardous materials business plan in California?
Under Health and Safety Code §25507(a)(1), a business that handles a hazardous material in a quantity equal to or greater than 55 gallons for liquids, 500 pounds for solids, or 200 cubic feet for compressed gases at any one time during the reporting year. Lower thresholds apply to extremely hazardous substances, and higher ones to materials classified only as irritants or sensitizers and to certain gases. Subdivision (b) exempts some materials outright, including lubricating oil up to 55 gallons per type and 275 gallons in total, consumer products sold at retail, fuel in vehicle tanks, and propane up to 500 gallons for cooking and heating. The plan is filed for each facility, not each company, and the local CUPA answers whether a given facility is covered.
What does a hazardous materials business plan contain?
Health and Safety Code §25505(a) lists four parts: the hazardous materials inventory; a site map showing north, adjacent streets, exits, evacuation staging areas, storage and handling areas, emergency equipment, and drains and shutoffs where present; emergency response plans and procedures for a release, including notification contacts and evacuation; and training for new employees and annual refresher training, documented and kept for three years.
When is the HMBP due?
Health and Safety Code §25508(a)(2) makes the plan due on the date the local CUPA sets, or by March 1 if the CUPA sets none. A business has 30 days after it first becomes subject to the requirement (§25508(b)). Under §25508.2 the owner, operator, or designated representative must review and certify the information in CERS every year. Facilities that file federal Tier II information or hold above-ground petroleum tanks submit the plan annually; others submit every three years but still certify annually.
What HMBP violations do inspectors cite most?
From 2020 through 2025, California CUPAs cited a missing or incomplete site map 88,280 times, the missing annual certification 64,643 times under two code sections, and missing employee training 31,445 times, per the CalEPA Regulated Site Portal. Together those three items were 30% of all Unified Program violations in the state.