Authorization Criteria for Cementitious Materials for use in Concrete List

GENERAL
The Cementitious Material Prequalification Program establishes procedures to ensure that cementitious material meets the requirements of Section 90-1.02B (Cementitious Materials) in the Caltrans Standard Specifications, that all cementitious materials must be on the Authorized Materials List prior to being used on Caltrans projects.

NOTE: Rapid-strength non-portland hydraulic cements do not fall under the scope of this list and should continue to be sampled and verified per Section 90-3.02A.

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
Caltrans Standard Specification Section 90: "Concrete".

DEFINITIONS
Definitions provided in this section are for clarifying terms used within this document.

•  Laboratory - a facility that provides testing.   
  • Supplier's Laboratory - the supplier's cementitious materials testing facility. This laboratory will verify the supplier's quality control and specification compliance testing. The supplier may contract out this work. Only laboratories that are participants in the CCRL on-site inspection and proficiency sample program and are accredited by the AASHTO Accreditation Program for the tests performed are recognized as approved laboratories for this program. Accreditation must be valid for the cementitious material(s) being supplied to the Department. The Department will periodically verify that the laboratory is maintaining AASHTO Accreditation by viewing the online directory on www.aashtoresource.org.
  •  Transportation Laboratory - the Department's Materials Engineering and Testing Services (METS) laboratories. Any Department laboratory or Department authorized laboratory shall maintain AASHTO Accreditation for testing of cementitious materials for chemical and physical properties.
• Quality Control (QC) Testing - testing as described in the supplier's quality control plan. QC testing and frequency shall be determined by the supplier. The supplier is responsible for conducting QC testing.
• Source - the point of origin of a material. This includes, for example, cement plants and power plants (production facility). In a case where a supplier owns more than one source, each individual facility will be considered a separate source.
• Supplier - an entity manufacturing or distributing cementitious materials for use on a Caltrans project.
• Terminal or distribution center - a facility where bulk quantities of cementitious material are stockpiled for distribution. This may include warehouse facilities, barges or ship storage facilities. If any modification, blending or commingling of cementitious materials from different sources is made at a terminal (or distribution center), that terminal or distribution center will be the source. If no materials modifications are made at a terminal site, the source remains the production facility and all quality control is performed at the production facility. Terminals or distribution centers where cementitious material is stockpiled from sources outside the US (non-domestic)shall maintain records of quality control testing from the supplier's laboratory. Although quality control may be performed at a production facility outside the US, all stockpiled material received in the state of California must be tested (before use by the Department) by a laboratory in a manner that conforms to the requirements of this program. The laboratory performing this testing must participate in the CCRL on-site inspection and proficiency sample program and must be accredited by the AASHTO Accreditation Program for testing the cementitious material(s) supplied to the Department.

CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Cementitious Material must conform to the requirements of Section 90 of Caltrans Standard Specifications.

APPLICATION TO SUPPLY CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL (NEW PRODUCTS)
Submit the AML submittal form (TL-9502) to New.Products@dot.ca.gov with a copy to Tayyab Adnan (Tayyab.Adnan@dot.ca.gov) that also includes the following:

• An application for each cementitious material to appear on the list
  • A preformatted document can be found at https://mets.dot.ca.gov/aml/CementitiousListNotificationemail.php.
• An SDS for each material supplied
  • The SDS will be evaluated by the Department's Office of Health and Safety. 
• Six months of prior mill certifications showing Section 90 and applicable ASTM specification compliance for each material in request. 
  • Refer to Cementitious Material Requirements above. If six months of prior mill certifications are not available by the submission date, the product can be conditionally approved on the AML if it fulfills all other requirements. Once six full months of fully compliant mill certifications are received by the AML administration group, the conditional status can be removed. Conditional approval can be terminated if mill certifications are not received on time or any of the data does not meet Caltrans Standard Specifications.
• ASR (alkali-silica reaction) requirements 
  • Coal ash, natural pozzolans, or blended SCMs containing coal ash or natural pozzolans, must comply with one of the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) expansion limitations shown in the table titled "ASR Expansion Limitations" using either of the following as fine aggregate for the ASR expansion testing:

1. Natural aggregate subject to the following:
    1.1. Lot of aggregate must fall into Zone 2 under ASTM C1778.
    1.2. Mortar using the lot of aggregate must show no less than 0.50 percent expansion under ASTM C1260.
2. Borosilicate glass. Mortar using the lot of borosilicate glass must show no less than 0.50 percent expansion under ASTM C1260.

ASR Expansion Limitations

^aUse SCM replacement ratio based on Equation 1 in section 90-1.02B(3)(b) below with X=3  
^bUse portland cement or Type IL cement on the AML for cementitious materials in testing.

• Cementitious material samples (to be sent only after approval of SDS)
  • Sample each cementitious material product from production line or storage facility for initial testing in the same manner that you sample for quality control. Split cementitious material product into two samples (supplier's sample and Caltrans' sample). Supplier's split of the sample should be tested by the supplier's laboratory. Caltrans' split of the sample should be sent to the following address:

Transportation Laboratory
Attention: Tayyab Adnan, Cementitious Materials for use in Concrete AML
5900 Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento, CA, 95819-4612

• Minimum sample sizes as received at the Transportation Laboratory shall be as follows:
  • Portland Cements, Blended Cements, and Slag (GGBFS) - 20 lbs. 
  • Silica Fume and Metakaolin - 2 lbs.
  • Supplementary Cementitious Materials (except Silica Fume and Metakaolin) - 6 lbs.
    • For SCMs for which ASR testing is required

Reference Aggregates 

Note: Please reference ASTM 1293/C1293M-23a section 7.2.1 and 7.2.2
for the definition of “nonreactive fine or coarse aggregate.” 

• Cement used for ASR testing of SCMs – 20 lbs.

• Submit samples in airtight containers marked with material name and type, supplier name and sample date along with a copy of the Notice of Intent to Supply Cementitious Material.
• Test results of the supplier's portion of the cementitious materials sample should be sent to Caltrans (at the address listed above or by email to cementitious.materials.AML@dot.ca.gov) within 15 days after completion of all testing of the sample.
• Results of Caltrans' split sample testing will be available on DIME at https://dime.dot.ca.gov/ within 15 days after completion of all testing of the sample.
• Please allow up to 90 days for evaluation of samples after receipt, except in cases involving ASTM C1293 testing. For ASTM C1293, Caltrans will conduct testing only if discrepancies are identified in the supplier’s test results. If submission and verification testing requirements are met, the material will be added to the Department's Authorized Materials List.

MAINTAINING AUTHORIZED STATUS OF CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS (ONGOING RENEWALS)
To maintain the authorized status of a cementitious material, the supplier must submit the following:
Quarterly Requirements
Within 45 days of the end of the quarter, submit by email to cementitious.materials.AML@dot.ca.gov and Tayyab Adnan (Tayyab.Adnan@dot.ca.gov) for each material supplied:

• Monthly mill certification data in .pdf format.
• Certificate of Compliance that all material supplied to the Department during the quarter conformed to Department specifications.
• Letter outlining any changes in production quality control or quality control testing that may have occurred since the last submittal period for each facility of the supplier. Include any information about changes to the facility and/or the supplier's quality control program.

Annual Requirements
Once every subsequent year after obtaining initial qualification status, submit the following items: 

• A split sample submitted within the calendar quarter designated by the schedule posted here. 
• If the qualified cementitious material is a coal ash, natural pozzolan, or blended SCM containing coal ash or natural pozzolans, the following split samples: 1) SCMs, 2) reference aggregates, and 3) AML approved portland cement or portland limestone (IL) cement for ASR testing - submitted within the calendar quarter designated by the schedule posted here. The material quantities are the same as the new product quantities shown above.
• A current listing of contact information at the address listed below or by email to cementitious.materials.AML@dot.ca.gov and Tayyab Adnan (Tayyab.Adnan@dot.ca.gov). Please provide both a primary and a backup contact.

The schedule will be updated and posted prior to the start of each calendar year. Caltrans' split of the sample(s) should be sent to the Department's Transportation Laboratory for testing. Supplier's split of the sample(s) should be tested by the supplier's quality control laboratory and results should be forwarded to the Department within 15 days after completion of all testing of the sample. Caltrans' split of the sample should be sent to the following address:

Transportation Laboratory
Attention: Tayyab Adnan, Cementitious Materials for use in Concrete AML
5900 Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento, CA, 95819-4612

Results of Caltrans' split sample testing will be available on DIME at https://dime.dot.ca.gov/ within 15 days after completion of all testing of the sample. Please allow up to 90 days for evaluation of SCM samples after receipt, excluding ASTM C1293 testing for coal ash, natural pozzolans, or blended SCMs containing these materials. ASTM C1293 testing will be conducted only if discrepancies are identified in the supplier’s test results.
Failure to meet any of the reporting requirements listed above may result in removal from the Authorized Materials List. 

Independent Sampling and Testing
The Department maintains the right to visit a facility at any time and sample or witness sampling of each material supplied for testing by the Department. The Department will coordinate with facilities for on-site visits. Samples, if tested, must conform to relevant specifications. If a sample fails to conform to the relevant specifications, a letter will be sent informing the supplier of the failure. The supplier must submit an explanation of the corrective action taken to address the non-conforming result.
----------------------------------
NOTES: 
ASR testing requirement Implementation timeline for coal ashes, natural pozzolans, or blended SCMs containing coal ashes or natural pozzolans:

• For new SCM products
  • Caltrans will begin accepting submittals and conducting testing starting May 1, 2026. Approved fly ash, natural pozzolans, and blends of these materials may be used in projects upon approval. Harvested ash, bottom ash, and blended SCMs containing these materials can be used in projects only after the revised specifications are published in October 2026.
• For existing SCMs on the AML impacted by the ASR testing requirement
  • The requirement will be applied starting in Q1 2027, according to the schedule found below.

Revised: 1/26/26

AUTHORIZED CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS LIST
2026 SCHEDULE FOR SENDING SAMPLES