California School Bus Pre Trip Inspection Checklist to Print

Print the state rule's own list blank, or type 1 beside an item with a defect.

California School Bus Daily Inspection Checklist (unofficial)

Daily inspection: 13 CCR 1215(d)

Daily inspection: 13 CCR 1215(d): a column for each check. Totals fill in as scores are typed.
	Check 1	Check 2	Check 3	Check 4	Check 5	Check 6
Gauges, indicators, warnings
Horns, in the plural
Driver's seat and seat belts
Doors, releases and windows
Seats, handrails and panels
Lighting, inside and outside
Heating, cooling, ventilating
Glass, mirrors and adjustment
Wipers and washers, windshield
Required emergency equipment
Tires, wheels and lugnuts
Governor cut in and cut out
Static pressure for air loss
Applied brake pressure loss
Low air pressure warnings
Emergency stopping systems
Parking brake, item (F)
Antiskid device, if equipped
Vacuum gauge reading
Low vacuum warning devices
Brake pedal, for adjustment
Items with a defect

Type a score and the totals fill in.

Scoring key

Not California's form: This sheet is made from the regulation's text. It is not a state agency's, a school district's, an examiner's or a carrier's form, nor the written report the rule asks for.
Marking a check: Type 1 where that check found a defect. An empty box means the item was in order.
Before driving the bus: The driver inspects each vehicle daily: 13 CCR 1215(b)(1)(A). Reviewing and signing the last report do not apply to school bus drivers: (b)(2).
The driver's written report: Written when each day's work is complete. It covers at least this list, says so when no defect was found, and is always signed: 13 CCR 1215(c), (e).
A list with no upper end: The inspection shall include, but is not limited to, these items: 13 CCR 1215(d).
Repairs by the driver: Unless the driver is the mechanic in charge of the bus, only necessary emergency repairs on the road: 13 CCR 1215(g).

Marks stay in this browser until you press Start a new sheet.

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All 28 lines

Items (1) to (11) of 13 CCR 1215(d) 11

Doors, releases and windows All doors, the emergency releases on them, and the windows: 13 CCR 1215(d)(4).
Driver's seat and seat belts One item takes the seat the driver sits in together with its belts: 13 CCR 1215(d)(3).
Gauges, indicators, warnings All gauges, indicators and warning devices, first on California's list: 13 CCR 1215(d)(1).
Glass, mirrors and adjustment All glass and all mirrors; the item goes on to include adjusting the mirrors: 13 CCR 1215(d)(8).
Heating, cooling, ventilating Three kinds of system in one item, with the word all in front: 13 CCR 1215(d)(7).
Horns, in the plural The rule writes Horns and adds no test or measure: 13 CCR 1215(d)(2).
Lighting, inside and outside Lighting inside the bus and outside it, named as systems: 13 CCR 1215(d)(6).
Required emergency equipment The item says all required emergency equipment and lists no single piece: 13 CCR 1215(d)(10).
Seats, handrails and panels Every seat, the handrails and the modesty panels: 13 CCR 1215(d)(5).
Tires, wheels and lugnuts All tires and wheels, down to the lugnuts: 13 CCR 1215(d)(11).
Wipers and washers, windshield Windshield wipers and washers share the ninth item: 13 CCR 1215(d)(9).

Show all 28 lines (17 more)

Item (12), brake system: (A) to (J) 11

Antiskid device, if equipped On the list only for a bus that has one: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(G).
Applied brake pressure loss Pressure lost while the brake is applied: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(C).
Brake pedal, for adjustment Last on the list: the pedal is checked for the adjustment of the brakes: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(J).
Emergency stopping systems The item adds in brackets that draining the reservoirs in dual air systems is not required: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(E).
Governor cut in and cut out The pressures at which the governor cuts the compressor in and cuts it out: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(A).
Items with a defect That day's total of marked items, (1) through (12)(J).
Low air pressure warnings Low air pressure warning devices, in the plural, with no pressure figure in this section: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(D).
Low vacuum warning devices The vacuum counterpart of item (D): 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(I).
Parking brake, item (F) Two words in the regulation, Parking brake, and nothing more: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(F).
Static pressure for air loss Air loss with the system at static pressure, second of the brake checks: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(B).
Vacuum gauge reading The check is that the gauge reads not less than 15 inches: 13 CCR 1215(d)(12)(H).

Key 6

A list with no upper end The inspection shall include, but is not limited to, these items: 13 CCR 1215(d).
Before driving the bus The driver inspects each vehicle daily: 13 CCR 1215(b)(1)(A). Reviewing and signing the last report do not apply to school bus drivers: (b)(2).
The driver's written report Written when each day's work is complete. It covers at least this list, says so when no defect was found, and is always signed: 13 CCR 1215(c), (e).
Marking a check Type 1 where that check found a defect. An empty box means the item was in order.
Not California's form This sheet is made from the regulation's text. It is not a state agency's, a school district's, an examiner's or a carrier's form, nor the written report the rule asks for.
Repairs by the driver Unless the driver is the mechanic in charge of the bus, only necessary emergency repairs on the road: 13 CCR 1215(g).

How this list was compiled: From Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, section 1215 (Vehicle Condition), subsections (b) to (g), read on 2026-10-05. The 21 part rows are the items of subsection (d), School bus drivers, in the regulation's order: items (1) to (11), then the ten parts (A) to (J) of item (12), Brake system. Each line restates its item in our own words and ends with the item's number. The key lines follow subsections (b)(1)(A), (b)(2), (c), (d), (e) and (g). The text was read on a public copy, the Legal Information Institute's at https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/13-CCR-1215, and not on the state's own code site: govt.westlaw.com/calregs answered with HTTP 403 on that day. The copy's history note ends with an amendment filed 7-26-99 and operative 8-25-99 (Register 99, No. 31); subsection (d) was added by a filing of 1-9-95, operative 2-8-95 (Register 95, No. 2). Nothing comes from an agency handbook, a district's form, a bus maker's manual or a memory aid. Licence: own work

How it works

This unofficial California school bus pre trip inspection checklist prints the list in Title 13, section 1215(d) of the California Code of Regulations, in the rule's order: eleven items, then ten brake system checks. Read October 5, 2026 on a public copy.

Read the full guide

Go down California's list, one column a day

1. Press Print blank sheet for a paper copy, or mark the sheet on screen.

2. Follow the regulation's order: items (1) to (11), then the brake system, (A) to (J).

3. Type 1 beside an item with a defect. Leave the box empty when the item is in order.

4. Add a column for the next day; one sheet holds six.

5. Items with a defect adds up each column.

Items (H) and (I) name a vacuum gauge and low vacuum warning devices; (G), the antiskid device, says if equipped.
The written report of 13 CCR 1215(c) goes on the carrier's or district's own form. This sheet is not that record.

Questions and answers

How to memorize the CHP pre-trip inspection on a school bus?

The regulation's list is short and in a fixed order: eleven items, then ten brake system checks. Marking the same sheet day after day repeats that order. This page offers no memory aid beyond the list itself.

Is this the pre trip inspection test for a CA school bus certificate?

No. It is an unofficial list of the items in 13 CCR 1215(d). That section says nothing about how a certificate test is given or scored, and the sheet prints no pass mark.

Which buses does California's list cover?

Subsection (d) is headed School bus drivers. Subsection (g), on repairs, names the driver of a school bus or SPAB. Other drivers' reports cover the eleven parts listed in (c). No subsection of 1215 names a youth bus.

Does a California school bus driver write a report when nothing is wrong?

Yes. Under 13 CCR 1215(c) and (e) a driver prepares a written report on each vehicle at the completion of each day's work; with no defect found, the report says so, and the driver signs it in all instances.

Notes

Not a government website. Not legal advice. Forms, fees, appointments and official study materials come only from the agency itself, and its website is linked from the facts on this page.

More notes about this page

This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any government agency, licensing board, exam owner or test center named on it. Agency and exam names are used only to describe what each practice test covers, in plain text and without logos or seals.

Everything here is for study and general information. Rules change, and the statute, the regulation and the agency that runs your exam are the final word. Check the official source before you rely on an answer.

Practice questions do not replace required training, a course, supervised hours or hands-on instruction. Follow the law, the label and your trainer, not a quiz score.

Every question names the statute, regulation or official publication it was written from, and the page shows the date the bank was last checked. If you spot a mistake, please tell us through the contact page.

This sheet is for practice and study, and it is not an official inspection report or a substitute for the inspection that the law or your employer requires.

Some sections on this page were read in a public copy of the code, named with its date under the questions, so check the official code before you rely on an answer.