CEQA glossary

California Environmental Quality Act

A plain-language definition of the California Environmental Quality Act and its place in California public-agency environmental review.

The California Environmental Quality Act, usually called CEQA, is the name of Division 13 of the California Public Resources Code, the state-law framework for public-agency environmental review of projects.

Why CEQA matters

CEQA supplies the statutory framework that California public agencies follow when they review the environmental effects of projects they carry out or approve. The CEQA Guidelines in title 14 of the California Code of Regulations provide procedures and definitions used to implement the Act.

Practitioners read the statute, the Guidelines, and the lead agency’s procedures together with the project record. The controlling provision depends on the decision being made.

What CEQA does not establish

The term “CEQA” does not tell you whether a particular activity is a project, whether an exemption applies, which environmental document is required, or what conclusion a lead agency should reach. Those questions require the applicable law, agency procedure, and project facts.

Primary source

Public Resources Code section 21050 states that Division 13 is known and may be cited as the California Environmental Quality Act. The official California Legislative Information page was accessed September 10, 2026.

Published 2026-09-10 · Last materially reviewed 2026-09-10