California AB 2030: the under-18 limit on weight-loss and muscle-building supplements, explained

From January 1, 2027, a person may not sell, offer to sell, or give away as a retail or wholesale promotion an over-the-counter diet pill, or a dietary supplement labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented for weight loss or muscle building, to anyone in California under 18. The limit covers stores and delivery sellers, including sellers outside California that ship into the state. It does not apply to a person under 18 who has a prescription for that product. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2030 on September 28, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 720, Statutes of 2026. The bill does not set its own start date, so it takes effect on January 1, 2027, the date the Council for Responsible Nutrition gives retailers.

Short answer: the law is a sensible floor, and it is broader than most of the online jokes about "ID for creatine" suggest. Coverage depends on how a product is labeled, marketed and displayed, not on a fixed ingredient list. That puts the compliance burden on marketing teams and category pages as much as on cashiers.

What AB 2030 actually says

The law adds section 109030 to the California Health and Safety Code. A "dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building" is any dietary supplement, as defined in federal law at 21 U.S.C. 321(ff), that is labeled, marketed or otherwise represented for the purpose of achieving weight loss or building muscle. An "over-the-counter diet pill" is a nonprescription drug labeled, marketed or represented for weight loss.

• No person may sell, offer to sell, or give away as a retail or wholesale promotion a covered product to anyone in California under 18. The section does not apply to a person under 18 who has a prescription for that product.
• For an in-store purchase, the retailer must request valid identification if it cannot reasonably determine that the buyer appears to be under 18. The retailer may limit access to covered products. The statute does not require that they be kept behind a counter.
• A delivery seller, including an online retailer, that mails or ships a covered product to a consumer in California may not accept the order unless it does one or both of the following: it obtains the purchaser's full name, birth date, and residential address and verifies them through a commercially available database, or aggregate of databases, consisting primarily of data from government sources and regularly used by government and businesses to verify age and identity; or it uses a shipping method that requires an adult at least 18 years old to sign for the shipping container at the delivery address and to show valid government-issued photo identification.
• A database used for that age and identity check must not be in the possession or under the control of the delivery seller, and it must not be subject to any changes or supplementation by the delivery seller.
• The Attorney General, a county counsel or a city attorney can seek an injunction and a civil penalty of no more than $500 per violation. A prevailing plaintiff in such an action is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The statute does not give private individuals a right to sue.

Is creatine covered?

Not automatically. When a court decides whether a supplement is labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented for weight loss or muscle building, it may consider factors including, and not limited to, these. One is whether the product contains an ingredient approved by the FDA for weight loss or muscle building, a steroid, or creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, or green coffee bean extract. Another is whether the label or marketing bears statements or images that express or imply the product will help modify, maintain, or reduce body weight, fat, appetite, overall metabolism, or the way nutrients are metabolized, or will help maintain or increase muscle or strength. Another is whether the seller has placed signs, categorized, or tagged the product with those statements; grouped it with other weight-loss or muscle-building products in a display, advertisement, website, or store area; or otherwise represented that the product is for weight loss or muscle building.

The practical reading: a creatine tub sold as "muscle growth" on a muscle-building shelf sits squarely in scope. A plain creatine product with no muscle claims is a closer call, but the ingredient itself is a listed factor. The list is not exhaustive, so products not named in it can still be covered by their marketing.

How it compares with New York

New York got there first. General Business Law section 391-oo took effect on April 22, 2024, and bars the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to anyone under 18. New York's definition excludes protein powders, protein drinks and foods marketed as containing protein unless they contain an ingredient other than protein which would, considered alone, constitute a weight-loss or muscle-building supplement. California's definition has no such protein carve-out, so a protein product's status in California turns on the same labeling, marketing and display factors as everything else. The age-check rules are not the same. In a New York store, identification is required unless the buyer reasonably appears to be at least 25, and acceptable identification is a listed driver's license or non-driver card, passport, military identification, or student identification with a date of birth. Looking 25 or older is not a defense if the buyer was under 18. A New York delivery seller must use a shipping method that requires the purchaser, or an adult at least 18, to sign and show government-issued photo identification. New York does not offer California's database alternative, and it has no prescription exception.

Why lawmakers acted: the evidence in children and young adults

The campaign behind the bill, "Out of Kids' Hands", was backed by STRIPED at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Two peer-reviewed studies with S. Bryn Austin as senior author speak directly to the risks the bill targets.

• Or and colleagues (2019) analyzed 977 single-supplement adverse event reports in people aged 0 to 25 in FDA's food and supplement adverse event database from January 2004 to April 2015. Compared with vitamins, supplements sold for muscle building (risk ratio 2.7), energy (2.6) and weight loss (2.6) were associated with almost three times the risk of a severe medical event, such as hospitalization, an emergency room visit, disability or death.
• Levinson and colleagues (2020) followed 10,058 US women from 2001 to 2016. Among those with no previous eating disorder diagnosis, women who reported using diet pills for weight control had higher odds of a first eating disorder diagnosis within one to three years (adjusted odds ratio 5.6).

Both studies show associations, not proof that a supplement caused the harm. Adverse event reports are voluntary and incomplete, and diet-pill use may be an early sign of an eating disorder rather than its cause. The authors frame them that way: Levinson's paper calls diet-pill use a possible warning sign that warrants evaluation. Even so, the direction is consistent, and FDA's own weight-loss fraud page says many products sold for weight loss, including pills and supplements, are likely to be contaminated with dangerous hidden ingredients. Its list holds more than 200 public notifications, the most recent dated October 27, 2026, and FDA says the list covers only a small fraction of the contaminated products on the market.

On the muscle side, a 2025 study of 2,731 Canadian adolescents and young adults found that use of each of six common muscle-building supplements, including creatine, whey protein and pre-workout products, was associated with more muscle dysmorphia symptoms. The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2016 clinical report on performance-enhancing substances raised concerns about contamination and a correlation with later anabolic steroid use, and concluded that for most young athletes these products do not produce significant gains over puberty plus appropriate nutrition and training.

The creatine problem

This is where the law is blunt. A 2025 narrative review by an international team of creatine researchers calls creatine monohydrate a safe and effective intervention for improving certain aspects of sport, exercise performance and health across the lifespan. Its authors, like those of the 2021 review below, disclose industry relationships, including with creatine companies. A 2021 review of creatine in children and adolescents found that the limited studies in adolescent athletes generally report performance improvements with consistent reports of no adverse events, while noting that less is known in young people than in adults. Listing it next to weight-loss ingredients such as raspberry ketone and garcinia cambogia treats a muscle-performance ingredient with a substantial trial record like a diet product.

That is not an argument against the law. The bill targets marketing aimed at body change, and most teens do not need a supplement to build strength. It does mean the honest message for families is narrower than "creatine is dangerous". The evidence supports caution about weight-loss products and about supplement-led body ideals, not panic about a well-studied ingredient.

What it means for shoppers, parents and sellers

• Parents: from January 1, 2027, expect ID checks at pharmacies, grocery stores and supplement stores, and age verification or adult-signature delivery online. A teen who wants a muscle or weight product is a good prompt for a conversation with a pediatrician or a registered dietitian.
• Adults: a store must request valid identification if it cannot reasonably determine that you appear to be under 18. An online order shipped to California must be checked against a qualifying database, shipped for an adult signature and photo identification, or both.
• Brands and retailers: coverage follows claims, imagery, product tags and store groupings. A "fat burner" or "lean muscle" category page is itself a factor. Out-of-state sellers that ship into California fall under the delivery-seller rules.
• Claims: copy that promises weight loss or muscle gain now also triggers age-gating in California, on top of existing federal rules on supplement claims.

US rules

FDA is not authorized to approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. A product sold as a supplement but represented as treating or preventing a disease is regulated as a drug. AB 2030 does not change federal supplement law. It adds a California sales restriction based on how products are labeled and sold. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before giving any weight-loss or muscle-building product to a teenager.

FAQ

When does California's supplement age limit start?

January 1, 2027. The Governor approved AB 2030 on September 28, 2026, and the bill sets no different start date.

Does AB 2030 ban creatine for teens?

It bars sales to under-18s of supplements represented for weight loss or muscle building, except where the buyer has a prescription for that product. Creatine is one factor a court may weigh, alongside labeling, marketing and how the store groups the product. It is not an automatic ingredient ban.

Are protein powders covered?

California's text has no protein exclusion, unlike New York's law. A protein product marketed for muscle building, or displayed with muscle-building products, can fall in scope.

Who enforces it, and what are the penalties?

The Attorney General, county counsel and city attorneys can seek injunctions and civil penalties of up to $500 per violation.

Does New York have a similar rule?

New York has had an under-18 sales limit since April 22, 2024, under General Business Law section 391-oo. It excludes most protein products, which California did not copy. New York also uses a different in-store identification rule, requires adult signature and photo identification for delivery with no database alternative, and has no prescription exception.