Choose the Correct California Vaccine Record Form
California does not have one blank Department of Public Health form for every vaccine-record need. The correct route depends on whether you need an online record, school documentation, a missing-dose correction, a privacy change or a medical exemption.
Start with the form router below. It explains who completes each document, what evidence to prepare, what the form changes and which official California service to use next.
Start with the CDPH Digital Vaccine Record.
💉 Immunization Record Tools
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🔎 Where Should I Look for My Records?
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Staff may complete CDPH 286 from supporting records.
The administering provider normally corrects the dose.
Use the official CAIR lock or unlock form.
Which California public-health vaccine form should you use?
Use this to request an available California Immunization Record or COVID-19 Vaccine Record from the state portal.
Who completes it: The adult patient, parent or legal guardian.
Use this to record documented vaccine dates and determine admission status for pre-kindergarten, TK/K–12 or seventh grade.
Who completes it: School or childcare staff using a supporting record.
Use the clinic, pharmacy or health department that administered the vaccine to verify and submit a missing or incorrect dose.
Who completes it: The authorized healthcare organization.
Use these forms to limit or restore access by other authorized CAIR users. Locking does not delete the record.
Who completes it: The patient or parent/guardian.
A parent discusses the medical issue with an eligible California physician, who creates the exemption through the official CAIR-ME system.
Who completes it: The eligible physician—not the parent or school.
This provider-only request merges confirmed duplicate patient records. The merge cannot be reversed.
Who completes it: An authorized healthcare user with CAIR identifiers.
How to request a California Digital Vaccine Record
The CDPH portal searches information reported to the California Immunization Registry. A successful match produces a secure link to the available record.
Prepare these details first
California Immunization Record or COVID-19 Vaccine Record?
| Option | What it may contain | Use it for | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Immunization Record | Vaccinations reported to CAIR by healthcare providers and pharmacies, plus record-based recommendations when available. | School, childcare, work, college, healthcare or personal records. | It may be incomplete when a dose was not reported, occurred outside California or is attached to a mismatched profile. |
| COVID-19 Vaccine Record | COVID vaccine product and dose dates with QR-code verification when supported. | COVID-specific proof or replacing information from a lost paper card. | A previously saved QR record does not automatically update after a later dose. |
How to request a child’s California vaccine record
Use the child’s legal identity details and the parent or guardian phone number or email most likely connected with the child’s vaccination visits.
Match the pediatrician, insurance, pharmacy or school record rather than a nickname.
A previous parent phone number or email may still be connected with older vaccine submissions.
Even when several children share one family contact, review and save each child’s result separately.
No secure link, no match or incorrect personal details?
How to correct a missing or incorrect CAIR vaccine dose
The CAIR Help Desk can explain record routes, but it does not clinically add missing doses for patients. The healthcare organization that administered the vaccine should verify and submit the correction.
| Detail | Where to find it | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Vaccine name | Provider portal, pharmacy history, receipt or paper record. | Identifies the clinical dose that is missing or incorrect. |
| Administration date | Appointment confirmation, visit summary, claim or pharmacy receipt. | Helps staff locate the exact encounter. |
| Administering organization | Clinic, pharmacy, hospital, county event, employer or school clinic. | Shows which organization should verify and submit the dose. |
| Manufacturer and lot number | Clinical administration or pharmacy record. | Supports accurate provider documentation when available. |
| Identity used at the visit | Insurance profile, portal account or appointment record. | May reveal a duplicate or mismatched patient profile. |
Vaccines administered outside California
Obtain the official record from the other state, military system, federal clinic, tribal provider or international source. CDPH advises asking a California healthcare provider whether valid historical documentation can be submitted to the California registry.
How the CDPH 286 Blue Card is completed
CDPH 286 is the California Pre-Kindergarten and School Immunization Record, also called the California School Immunization Record, CSIR or Blue Card.
Information recorded on CDPH 286
What families should bring
Bring the complete printable record rather than only a cropped QR-code screenshot.
It should identify the pupil and show vaccine types, complete dates and the source.
Ask the former school to transfer the immunization and exemption records directly.
What the status boxes on CDPH 286 mean
| Status | What it means | Required staff action | Family action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has all required doses | The documented record meets the applicable admission requirement. | Initial the review and enter the date requirements were met. | Keep a personal copy of the complete record. |
| Missing doses not currently due—conditional | The pupil is missing future doses but is not yet due for them. | Enter follow-up dates and review the record at least every 30 days. | Schedule the next dose and provide updated documentation promptly. |
| Temporary medical exemption | An approved temporary exemption applies until a stated date. | Enter the exemption expiration as a follow-up date. | Ask what documentation is needed before the exemption expires. |
| Missing doses are overdue | A required dose is currently due and the pupil may be subject to exclusion. | Record the overdue status and follow-up information. | Ask which exact vaccine and dose number is missing before scheduling care. |
| Other: IEP, independent study or home | The pupil falls within a special instruction category described on the form. | Use the correct code and maintain all required records. | Confirm how the pupil’s instruction arrangement affects attendance and documentation. |
California school-record transfer steps
| Situation | Official timing or rule | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| California school-to-school transfer | The former school transfers the immunization record no later than 10 school days after the new school requests it. | Give the new school the former school’s exact name, location and contact information. |
| Transfer from another state | The new school reviews immunization information and exemption documentation for the pupil’s age and grade. | Bring the other state’s registry record and provider documentation rather than relying on CAIR alone. |
| Foster student enrollment | The student must be immediately enrolled even when ordinary records are unavailable. | Ask for the new school’s educational liaison. |
| Foster record request | The new-school liaison contacts the former school within two business days, and the former school provides records within two business days of receiving the request. | Record the request date and follow up with both liaisons. |
| Permanent medical exemption | The exemption documentation travels with the pupil’s record. | Confirm that both the Blue Card and exemption document were transferred. |
What the CAIR lock and unlock forms change
California’s registry notice explains that CAIR can contain immunization and tuberculosis-test information. Authorized healthcare, public-health, school, childcare and other legally permitted users have limited access based on their role.
Your stated CAIR rights
Limits access so that only the patient’s medical provider and public-health authorities can view the record as permitted.
Restores access for other authorized CAIR users after a previous lock.
Details requested by the online forms
Provider-only CAIR correction and exemption routes
| Process | Who uses it | What it does | Patient or parent action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duplicate Record Correction | Authorized CAIR healthcare users. | Requests an irreversible merge of records confirmed to belong to the same patient. | Ask the provider or CAIR support to investigate the suspected duplicate. |
| CAIR Medical Exemption | An eligible California physician through CAIR-ME. | Creates an official school or childcare medical-exemption request. | Discuss the medical issue with the child’s physician and school. |
| Historical dose submission | A California provider reviewing valid prior documentation. | Adds eligible documented vaccinations from another provider or jurisdiction. | Supply complete written records with exact vaccine dates and sources. |
| School roster lookup | Authorized school or childcare personnel through CAIR Hub. | Helps staff verify school-entry immunization status for enrolled children. | Ask the school what proof remains missing after its official review. |
CAIR2 or Healthy Futures/RIDE?
Most California providers report through CAIR2. Providers in eight greater San Joaquin Valley counties use Healthy Futures/RIDE software for registry access and reporting.
Covers most California counties and is supported by the centralized CAIR Help Desk and regional representatives.
Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties.
The receiving organization may require its own form
| Purpose | Useful starting record | Possible additional requirement |
|---|---|---|
| School or childcare | DVR, provider history, pharmacy record or previous-school record. | School staff may complete CDPH 286 or an approved computerized equivalent. |
| College or university | DVR or provider-generated immunization history. | Campus form, portal upload, provider signature or accepted laboratory evidence. |
| Healthcare employment | DVR, provider or pharmacy record. | Occupational-health form, TB documentation or employer-specific review. |
| Immigration examination | Complete provider and registry history. | Civil-surgeon review and immigration documentation. |
| International travel | Provider or travel-clinic history. | An International Certificate of Vaccination when required by the destination. |
Who should you contact for California record help?
Contact the clinic, pharmacy, hospital, county site or healthcare provider that administered it.
Start with My DVR Assistant and keep the ticket number.
Monday–Thursday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Closed on listed state holidays.
Immunization Branch
850 Marina Bay Parkway
Building P, 2nd Floor
Richmond, CA 94804-6403
Phone: 209-468-2292
Email: support@myhealthyfutures.org
Final California form and privacy checklist
California vaccine record form FAQs
Which California vaccine record form should I use?
Most residents should start with the CDPH Digital Vaccine Record request. Schools and childcare programs may complete CDPH 286 from supporting records. Patients use CAIR lock or unlock forms for privacy preferences, while providers handle missing clinical doses, duplicate records and medical exemptions.
How do I get a California immunization record online?
Open the official CDPH Digital Vaccine Record portal, choose the California Immunization Record or COVID-19 record, enter the requested identity and contact details, create a four-digit PIN and open the secure link if CAIR finds a matching record.
How long is the California Digital Vaccine Record link valid?
The current CDPH FAQ says the secure link must be opened with the four-digit PIN within 24 hours. Submit a new request if the link expires.
What is California form CDPH 286?
CDPH 286 is the California Pre-Kindergarten and School Immunization Record, also called the CSIR or Blue Card. School or childcare staff use supporting immunization documentation to record vaccine dates and determine the pupil’s admission status.
Can parents fill in vaccine dates on the California Blue Card?
Parents provide the supporting immunization record, but school or childcare staff complete CDPH 286 or an approved equivalent. Vaccine dates should be copied from a provider, pharmacy, registry or previous-school record rather than entered from memory.
What should I do if my California record is missing a vaccine?
Contact the provider, pharmacy, clinic or health department that administered the vaccine. Ask it to verify the dose and submit or correct the information in CAIR or Healthy Futures/RIDE. The CAIR Help Desk cannot clinically add a missing dose for you.
Can an out-of-state vaccine be added to CAIR?
CDPH advises giving valid out-of-state documentation to a California healthcare provider and asking whether the provider can submit the historical dose to the appropriate California registry.
What does locking a CAIR record do?
Locking limits access by non-clinical CAIR users. It does not delete the record, and the patient’s medical provider and public health authorities may retain access as permitted. An unlock request can restore broader authorized sharing.
Can a patient submit the CAIR duplicate-record correction form?
The duplicate-record correction form is for authorized healthcare users and requires CAIR organization and patient identifiers. Patients should ask their provider or the CAIR Help Desk to investigate a possible duplicate.
Who should I contact for California vaccine record help?
Contact the administering provider first for missing vaccine doses. Use My DVR Assistant for identity or contact-information problems. The CAIR Help Desk is available at 800-578-7889 or CAIRHelpDesk@cdph.ca.gov during its currently published support hours.