California’s large capacity magazine law, found at Penal Code 32310, makes it illegal for most people to possess, buy, sell, import, lend, give away, or manufacture any ammunition magazine that holds more than 10 rounds. Penalties range from a $100 infraction for simple possession to a felony carrying up to three years in county jail for manufacturing or selling. The ban applies to magazines you already owned before the law took effect, and the Ninth Circuit upheld it in March 2025.
What Counts as a Large-Capacity Magazine
California defines a large-capacity magazine as any ammunition feeding device that can accept more than 10 rounds.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 16740 The 10-round threshold is the only measurement that matters. Whether the magazine is loaded, empty, or attached to a firearm makes no difference.
Three types of devices fall outside the definition even if they could technically hold more than 10 rounds:
- A magazine that has been permanently altered so it cannot hold more than 10 rounds.
- Tube-style feeding devices designed for .22 caliber ammunition.
- The tubular magazine built into a lever-action rifle.
The word “permanently” in the first exclusion is doing real work. A magazine blocked by a removable pin or spacer that pops out with basic tools likely does not qualify. The alteration has to be irreversible enough that the magazine genuinely cannot accept more than 10 rounds.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 16740
What the Law Prohibits
PC 32310 splits conduct into two categories with different penalty structures.
Making, Importing, Selling, or Transferring
Subdivision (a) makes it illegal to manufacture, import, keep for sale, offer for sale, give, lend, buy, or receive any large-capacity magazine. The reach is wide. Buying one in Nevada and bringing it home counts as importing. Handing one to a friend at the range counts as giving or lending. Ordering parts online and assembling them at your kitchen table counts as manufacturing, because the statute spells out that “manufacturing” includes assembling a magazine from component parts such as the body, spring, follower, and floor plate.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 32310
Possession
Subdivision (c), which took effect on July 1, 2017, made it illegal to possess any large-capacity magazine “regardless of the date the magazine was acquired.”2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 32310 Before that date, people who already owned large-capacity magazines were grandfathered in. The 2017 change ended that protection and required every owner to get rid of them.
Penalties
Manufacturing, Importing, or Transferring
Violating subdivision (a) is a wobbler, meaning the prosecutor can charge it as either a misdemeanor or a felony based on the circumstances and the defendant’s record. As a misdemeanor, the maximum is one year in county jail,2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 32310 with the default California misdemeanor fine of up to $1,000.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 19
As a felony, the sentence is 16 months, two years, or three years. The time is generally served in county jail rather than state prison, unless the defendant has prior convictions for serious or violent felonies.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 1170 The maximum felony fine is $10,000.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 672
Simple Possession
Possession is sometimes called a wobblette because it moves between an infraction and a misdemeanor rather than between a misdemeanor and a felony. As an infraction, the penalty is a fine of up to $100 per magazine. As a misdemeanor, the penalty is up to $100 per magazine in fines, up to one year in county jail, or both.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 32310 The per-magazine fine structure matters: possessing five prohibited magazines could mean $500 in fines even at the infraction level.
Firearm Rights
A felony conviction under PC 32310 triggers a lifetime ban on owning or possessing firearms in California. Penal Code 29800 prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from having any firearm.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 29800 A misdemeanor conviction does not automatically trigger that ban, but it leaves a record that can complicate future firearm purchases and background checks.
Who Is Exempt
The exemptions in Penal Code sections 32400 through 32450 are narrow and tied to professional or institutional roles. Personal self-defense and recreational shooting do not qualify. Covered groups include:
- Federal, state, county, and city law enforcement agencies issuing magazines to employees for official duties.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32400
- Licensed California firearms dealers operating under specific conditions, including sales to out-of-state buyers who hold a Department of Justice permit.8Justia Law. California Penal Code 32400-32450
- Gunsmiths receiving a magazine for maintenance, repair, or modification, who must return it to the owner afterward.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32425
- Film, television, and video productions using the magazine solely as a prop.8Justia Law. California Penal Code 32400-32450
How to Comply If You Still Have One
When the possession ban took effect on July 1, 2017, anyone who could no longer lawfully keep a large-capacity magazine had three options:2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 32310
- Remove it from California by taking it to a state where it is legal to possess.
- Sell it to a California dealer who holds the proper permits.
- Surrender it to any law enforcement agency for destruction.
A fourth practical route is to permanently and irreversibly modify the magazine so it cannot accept more than 10 rounds. Once that is done, the device no longer meets the definition of a large-capacity magazine under PC 16740.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 16740
Traveling Through California
If you live in a state where large-capacity magazines are legal and you need to drive through California, federal law gives you limited protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you may transport a firearm, and by extension its ammunition and accessories, through a restrictive state if you are traveling from one place where you may lawfully possess it to another place where you may lawfully possess it.10GovInfo. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms The firearm must be unloaded, and both the firearm and ammunition must be stored where they are not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, typically a locked trunk. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, use a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.
This federal protection covers pass-through travel only. If you stop in California for an extended stay, visit a range, or make the state your destination, federal safe-passage does not apply and California law governs. Even on a legitimate pass-through, officers may not be familiar with the federal rule, and the practical cost of fighting a wrongful arrest can be substantial. Keep magazines locked, separated from firearms, and in the trunk for the entire drive.
For air travel, the TSA requires firearms and ammunition to be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided container, and transported as checked baggage, with a declaration at the airline ticket counter.11Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition If a connecting flight routes you through a California airport and you need to retrieve and recheck your luggage, you could briefly possess a large-capacity magazine on California soil. Worth planning around when booking.
Current Status of the Court Challenge
The ban has faced a long constitutional challenge in Duncan v. Bonta, where gun owners argued it violates the Second Amendment and that applying the possession ban to magazines bought before the law took effect is an unconstitutional taking. On March 20, 2025, a Ninth Circuit en banc panel upheld the ban. The majority concluded that large-capacity magazines are accessories rather than “arms” protected by the Second Amendment, and in the alternative that the ban aligns with the nation’s historical tradition of regulating especially dangerous weapons and weapon components.12Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Duncan v. Bonta, No. 23-55805
The plaintiffs filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision in August 2025 (Docket No. 25-198). As of early 2026, the petition has been repeatedly distributed for conference but the Court has not yet granted or denied review.13Supreme Court of the United States. Docket for No. 25-198, Duncan v. Bonta Until the Court acts, the Ninth Circuit’s ruling stands and PC 32310 is fully enforceable, including against magazines acquired during the brief 2019 window when a district court decision had struck down the ban.