Lead paint testing labs in California

California lead rules in brief

• Renovation and abatement rules: California is not on EPA's list of states authorized to run their own RRP program, so EPA runs the RRP program there, and it has an EPA-authorized lead-based paint (abatement, inspection and risk assessment) program. (TSCA sections 402 and 404; 40 CFR Part 745) source

Read on the official pages linked, November 15, 2026, and re-checked by a second reader. A summary, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the agency before work starts.

Older homes in California and where the labs are

In California, 8,196,138 of 14,644,735 housing units (56%) were built before 1980, rank 13 of 45 states and DC by that share (Census ACS 2020–2024, table B25034). Homes of that age are the ones most likely to contain lead-based paint (EPA: homes built before 1978). The counties with the most older homes, and how far each is from the nearest NLLAP-recognized lead lab:

Over 50 miles from the nearest listed site: San Bernardino County. Many labs accept samples by mail; ask before you ship. Distance runs from the county’s centre (mean of its ZIP-code points) to the lab’s ZIP-code point, in a straight line. EPA’s NLLAP list prints a city but no ZIP code; a lab known only from that list is placed at its city’s most common ZIP code. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034 (Year structure built), county level, downloaded November 15, 2026.

How far the labs stretch in California

California has 15 listed lead lab sites for about 8,196,138 homes built before 1980: one site per 546,409 older homes, the 21th most stretched of 32 states with a listed site (the middle state has one per 717,498).

• 15 of the 15 sites are accredited for paint chips (paint chips scraped from walls, trim or windows).
• 15 of the 15 sites are accredited for dust wipes (dust wipes from floors and window sills, the test used after renovation).
• 11 of the 15 sites are accredited for soil (soil from play areas and the drip line around the house).

Counts from the accreditation list; homes from Census ACS 2020–2024 (B25034). A site count, not capacity: one lab can process many samples, and many accept samples by mail.