No. As of October 1, 2025, EVs can no longer use HOV lanes with a single occupant in any state. The federal law that let states exempt electric and alternative fuel vehicles from carpool lane occupancy rules expired on September 30, 2025, and Congress did not renew it.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 23 USC 166 – HOV Facilities If you drive an EV, you now need to meet the same passenger minimum as every other car on the road.
What Changed on October 1, 2025
For roughly two decades, 23 U.S.C. § 166 gave states the option to let qualifying EVs and alternative fuel vehicles use HOV lanes regardless of how many people were inside. About 13 states built programs around that authority, including California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and Utah. Drivers typically applied for a special decal or plate through their state DMV, sometimes for a small fee.
The statute contained a hard sunset: states could allow the exemption only “before September 30, 2025.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 23 USC 166 – HOV Facilities When that date passed, the state programs lost their federal footing. California, which ran one of the largest clean air vehicle decal programs in the country, stopped accepting new applications in August 2025 and formally ended the program on October 1, 2025.2California Department of Motor Vehicles. Clean Air Vehicle Decals Other participating states wound down their programs on the same timeline.
Your Old Clean Air Decal No Longer Works
If you have a clean air vehicle decal or a special plate issued under one of the expired state programs, it does not grant HOV lane access anymore. The sticker on your bumper has no legal effect after the federal authority behind it disappeared. Driving solo in a carpool lane with an old decal will not shield you from a ticket.
Several states, California among them, passed their own legislation extending their decal programs in anticipation of a federal renewal. Those state laws cannot take effect without restored federal authority, so they sit dormant.
The Occupancy Rules That Now Apply to Your EV
Your EV must carry the number of people posted on the lane sign, the same as any gas or diesel vehicle. A “2+” sign means at least two occupants. A “3+” sign means at least three. Some HOV lanes enforce this only during peak commute hours; others enforce it around the clock. The rule on the sign is the rule for your car.
What a Ticket Costs
HOV violation fines vary by jurisdiction. First-offense penalties commonly start in the range of $75 to several hundred dollars, with court fees often added on top. Repeat violations escalate.
Express Lanes and Toll Discounts Are a Separate Question
Many highways have converted HOV lanes into High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, sometimes called express or managed lanes. On these, carpools meeting the occupancy threshold ride free or at a reduced rate, and solo drivers can pay a variable toll to enter. The expired federal exemption applied to HOV facilities, not to how HOT lanes price their tolls.
Some toll operators previously gave registered EVs a discount or free passage. Those were the operator’s own arrangements, and they varied widely. Whether any EV-specific toll benefit still exists on a HOT lane you use depends entirely on that operator’s current policy. Check with your local toll authority before assuming the old deal is intact.
Could the Exemption Come Back?
Possibly. The HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4948) was introduced in the 119th Congress during the 2025–2026 session.3Congress.gov. H.R.4948 – HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act The bill currently carries an “Introduced” status, meaning it has not moved through committee or received a floor vote. The exemption has been renewed multiple times since it was first created, often through surface transportation reauthorization bills, so another extension is not out of the question. Until a bill passes and is signed, though, the exemption remains expired.
If Congress does act, states that ran programs before could restart them relatively quickly, and some already have the state-level laws in place to do so. Watch your state DMV or transportation agency website for announcements rather than relying on secondhand reports. For now, the carpool lane rules apply to everyone equally, EV or not.