California Penal Code 466 is a misdemeanor that makes it a crime to possess certain tools with the intent to break into a building, vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, vessel, or trailer coach. It also covers making or altering keys without authorization and manufacturing or repairing any instrument knowing it will be used for a crime. A conviction carries up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The charge turns entirely on intent, so simply owning the listed tools is never enough on its own.
What the Statute Actually Prohibits
PC 466 is often treated as one offense, but the statute describes three distinct crimes, and the evidence needed for each is different.
- Possessing a listed tool, or any tool adapted for the purpose, while intending to feloniously enter a building, vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, vessel, or trailer coach.
- Knowingly making or altering a key or similar instrument so it will open a lock on any of those structures, without being asked to do so by someone with the right to open that lock. This provision targets unauthorized locksmiths and anyone copying or re-cutting keys for illicit use.
- Making, altering, or repairing any instrument while knowing, or having reason to believe, it will be used to commit a misdemeanor or felony. This is the broadest of the three because it isn’t limited to break-in tools.
All three are misdemeanors with the same penalties.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 466 – Burglarious and Larcenous Instruments and Deadly Weapons The second and third don’t require proof you planned to break into anything yourself; making a tool for someone else’s crime is enough.
Which Tools Are Covered
PC 466 names specific instruments and then adds a catch-all for anything else used to gain unauthorized entry. The named tools are:
- Picklocks, tension bars, lock pick guns, and tubular lock picks
- Bump keys, keybits, and master keys
- Slim jims and slidehammers
- Crows and crowbars
- Screwdrivers, vise grip pliers, and water-pump pliers
- Floor-safe door pullers
- Ceramic or porcelain spark plug chips or pieces (a small shard can shatter a car window almost silently)
- Key programming devices and key duplicating devices
- Signal extenders
The last three were added by Assembly Bill 486, signed into law in October 2025, to address a growing method of vehicle theft.2California Legislative Information. AB-486 Crimes: Burglary Tools A key programming device accesses a vehicle’s onboard computer to create new keys, delete existing ones, or start the engine without any key. A signal extender amplifies a keyless-entry fob’s signal, letting a thief near the owner’s front door relay it to an accomplice standing by the car in the driveway.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 466 – Burglarious and Larcenous Instruments and Deadly Weapons
Beyond the named items, the statute reaches “any other instrument or tool” possessed with intent to break into a protected structure. A rock, a flathead screwdriver from a home toolbox, or a bent coat hanger can all qualify. The tool itself doesn’t have to look suspicious. What matters is the purpose behind carrying it.
Why Intent Is the Whole Case
Without proof you planned to use the tool for an unlawful entry, there is no crime. A plumber with pipe wrenches in the truck, a locksmith carrying pick guns, or a mechanic with slim jims is not committing an offense, no matter how often those tools appear on the PC 466 list.
Since no one announces criminal plans out loud, prosecutors build the intent case from circumstances. The factors that tend to matter:
- Location. Being found near the back door of a closed business tells a different story than having a crowbar in your garage.
- Time of day. Nighttime possession in a residential area raises more suspicion than daytime possession on a job site.
- Other items present. Gloves, a flashlight, a large empty bag, dark clothing, or a mask found alongside tools all point toward criminal intent.
- Prior conduct. Casing a property, trying door handles, or peering into windows before police contact strengthens the inference.
- Lack of a legitimate explanation. No trade, hobby, or reason to be carrying the specific combination of tools found.
No single factor decides the case. Prosecutors layer the circumstances, and juries evaluate the picture as a whole. One screwdriver in a glovebox is almost certainly fine. That same screwdriver with a bump key set, gloves, and a flashlight, parked behind a closed jewelry store at midnight, is a different matter.
What Possession Means Here
You don’t have to be holding the tool for prosecutors to prove possession. California recognizes two forms. Actual possession means the item is on your person, in a pocket, hand, or backpack. Constructive possession means you have control over the tool even though it is somewhere else, like a car trunk, a storage unit, or a bag left at a friend’s apartment. California’s jury instructions state that “it is enough if the person has control over it or the right to control it, either personally or through another person.”3Justia. CALCRIM No. 1704 – Possession of Burglary Tools More than one person can possess the same tool at the same time, so riding in a car with someone else’s tools does not automatically clear you if you shared control over them.
Penalties and What a Conviction Costs Afterward
PC 466 is a straight misdemeanor and cannot be charged as a felony, regardless of circumstances or criminal history. Under Penal Code 19, the maximum penalties are six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 19
First-time offenders with no prior record rarely see the maximum in practice. Judges often impose informal (summary) probation instead of jail time, with conditions that may include community service, counseling, or restitution for any property damage. Probation typically runs one to three years.
The lasting cost is usually the record itself. A misdemeanor conviction for possessing burglary tools shows up on background checks and signals dishonesty to employers, landlords, and licensing boards. Jobs that depend on trust, such as those involving access to homes, financial accounts, or secure facilities, become harder to land with this charge on file.
How PC 466 Relates to a Burglary Charge
PC 466 targets conduct that happens before a burglary is completed, and the two charges can stack. Someone caught approaching a building with burglary tools who has not yet entered can face both attempted burglary (PC 459/PC 664) and possession of burglary tools (PC 466). If entry already happened, a completed burglary charge is added on top. PC 466 states that any structure listed in Section 459 counts as a “building” for the tools statute,1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 466 – Burglarious and Larcenous Instruments and Deadly Weapons which sweeps in houses, apartments, shops, warehouses, barns, tents, floating homes, locked cargo containers, inhabited campers, and mines.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 459
PC 466 also gives prosecutors a fallback. When they can’t prove actual entry (which burglary requires), the tools-possession charge may still stick. That happens regularly when police intervene before a break-in is completed.
Defenses That Commonly Work
Because intent drives everything, most successful defenses attack that element.
Legitimate Purpose
If you carry tools for your job, a hobby, or routine vehicle maintenance, the intent element falls apart. The burden sits on the prosecution to prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt. You don’t have to prove innocence.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 466 – Burglarious and Larcenous Instruments and Deadly Weapons
Insufficient Circumstantial Evidence
Even without a legitimate purpose, the surrounding circumstances still have to add up to criminal intent. Possessing a screwdriver on a public street in the afternoon, with nothing else suspicious going on, is rarely enough. Defense attorneys argue that the circumstances are equally consistent with innocent behavior.
Illegal Search and Seizure
If police found the tools through an unlawful search, without a warrant, without valid consent, or outside the scope of a lawful stop, the evidence can be suppressed, and the case often collapses. To challenge the search, you have to show your own Fourth Amendment rights were violated, meaning you had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the place searched.6Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov). Amdt4.7.3 Standing to Suppress Illegal Evidence Tools found in someone else’s car or home are harder to challenge unless you can establish your own privacy interest there.
Mistaken Identity
When tools turn up in a shared vehicle, a communal living space, or a job site, the wrong person sometimes gets charged. If someone else had access and control, proving you were the one who possessed the tools with criminal intent gets much harder.
Clearing a PC 466 Conviction From Your Record
As a misdemeanor, PC 466 qualifies for dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4. If you received probation, you can petition after completing all probation conditions. If no probation was imposed, you have to wait at least one year from the date of conviction. Either way, you cannot have any new pending cases or be on probation or parole in another matter.7California Courts. Record Cleaning: Misdemeanors
The petition is filed on form CR-180 with the court that handled the original case. If you’re still on probation, you’ll also need to request early termination under PC 1203.3. A granted dismissal doesn’t erase the conviction entirely. It still appears on certain background checks, particularly for law enforcement and some professional licensing boards. For most employers and landlords, though, the dismissal is a meaningful step and releases you from most of the penalties tied to the conviction.