California Firearms Laws: Bans, Carry Rules, and Prohibited Persons

California firearms laws reach almost every stage of gun ownership, from the paperwork at purchase to how the gun sits in your closet. A 10-day waiting period applies to every transfer, many rifle features common elsewhere are banned, magazines are capped at 10 rounds, ammunition sales are tracked, and certain convictions bar you from owning a gun for ten years or for life. Several of these rules are in active federal litigation, which means what is enforceable this month may shift the next.

Buying a Firearm

Every sale or transfer, whether at a shop or between two private individuals, has to run through California’s Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) system. A private seller cannot simply hand the gun over. A licensed dealer has to process the transaction and submit the buyer’s information to the California Department of Justice for a background check.¹

The 10-day waiting period starts when the DROS application is submitted. No dealer can hand you the gun before those 10 days are up, even if the background check cleared on day one.¹ If the DOJ cannot finish the background check within 30 days, the dealer may release the firearm, at the dealer’s discretion.

You also need a valid Firearm Safety Certificate before the dealer can start the sale. The FSC costs $25, requires at least 75% on a 30-question written test on firearm safety and California gun law, and is good for five years.²

California also limits how often you can buy. The statute bars purchasing more than one handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle in any 30-day window. A federal court injunction currently blocks enforcement of this restriction in Nguyen v. Bonta, but the law itself remains on the books and could be enforced again if the injunction is lifted.

Ammunition Rules Right Now

Ammunition vendors have to record detailed buyer information at every sale, including name, address, date of birth, identification number, and the type and amount of ammunition. That data gets submitted electronically to the DOJ and kept in the Ammunition Purchase Records File.³

Until recently, every ammunition purchase also required a point-of-sale background check, which effectively killed online ammo sales to California addresses. In July 2025 a federal court struck down the background check requirement. That ruling could be appealed, and new legislation could reinstate the checks, so ask your local dealer what is required before trying to buy.

Guns and Features That Are Banned

Assault Weapons

California’s Assault Weapons Control Act works two ways: a list of specific banned makes and models, and a set of banned features. For a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine, a single feature like a pistol grip, telescoping stock, or flash suppressor is enough to make it an illegal assault weapon.

Simple possession of an assault weapon is punishable by up to a year in county jail, or by a state prison term under California’s realignment system.⁴ Manufacturing, distributing, or selling one is a straight felony with a term of four, six, or eight years.⁵

Magazines Over 10 Rounds

Separate from the assault weapons ban, it is illegal to possess any magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds. The ban covers handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Tubular magazines in lever-action firearms and .22 caliber tubular magazines are exempt. If you already own a large-capacity magazine, your legal options are to take it out of state, sell it to a licensed dealer, surrender it to law enforcement, or permanently alter it so it holds no more than 10 rounds. In 2025 the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc in Duncan v. Bonta, ruled the law constitutional and reversed a district court decision that had struck it down.⁶

The Handgun Roster

California keeps a roster of handguns certified for retail sale. Only models that have passed state drop safety, firing reliability, and safety testing can be sold by licensed dealers to the public.⁷ Roster requirements have expanded to include microstamping, which imprints a microscopic code on fired cartridge cases. Few manufacturers have implemented the technology, so very few new models have made the list. Off-roster handguns can sometimes still be acquired through private party transfers, intrafamilial transfers, or law enforcement exemptions.

Ghost Guns and Homemade Firearms

California has some of the toughest rules in the country on unserialized firearms. It is illegal to knowingly possess an unserialized firearm or a completed frame or receiver, and it is illegal to manufacture or assemble one without first getting a unique serial number from the DOJ.⁸

Under AB 1621, unlicensed individuals generally cannot buy unserialized frames, receivers, or firearm precursor parts. If you already have an unserialized firearm, you have to apply to the DOJ for a serial number, hold a valid FSC, pass a background check, be at least 21, and engrave the assigned number onto the frame or receiver within 10 days. Selling or transferring a privately made firearm that was built by someone without a federal manufacturing license is also illegal.⁸

Carrying a Firearm in Public

Carrying a loaded or concealed firearm in most public places without a license is a crime. Concealed carry without a permit is generally a misdemeanor with up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. It becomes a felony if the person has a prior felony conviction, the firearm is stolen, or the person is a prohibited possessor.⁹ The same penalty structure applies to carrying a loaded firearm in public.¹⁰

Getting a CCW License

The legal route is a Carry Concealed Weapon license, issued by the county sheriff or, in some cities, the police chief. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, California enacted Senate Bill 2, which removed the former “good cause” and “good moral character” standards.¹¹ Under the current law, a sheriff must issue or renew a license if the applicant meets all of the following:¹²

Passes the screening standards in Penal Code 26202, which includes a background check
Is at least 21 years old
Lives or has a principal place of employment in the county
Has completed a mandatory firearms training course
Is the recorded owner with the DOJ of the specific firearm to be carried

Places You Still Cannot Carry

SB 2 also created a long list of “sensitive places” where concealed carry is banned even with a valid CCW. Federal courts have partially enjoined these restrictions, so what counts as off-limits has shifted. As of early 2025, after the Ninth Circuit reversed the preliminary injunction, the following sensitive place rules are enforceable:¹³

Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, including their parking areas
Playgrounds and youth centers
Public parks, athletic areas, and athletic facilities
Property controlled by the Department of Parks and Recreation or the Department of Fish and Wildlife, except designated hunting areas
Casinos and gambling establishments
Stadiums and arenas
Public libraries
Amusement parks
Zoos and museums

Other SB 2 location designations remain enjoined and are not currently enforceable. Because the litigation is still moving, check the DOJ’s latest guidance before carrying anywhere that might fall under the statute.

Transporting a Firearm

In a vehicle, the gun has to be unloaded and kept in a locked container or the trunk. A “locked container” means a fully enclosed box or case secured by a padlock, key lock, or combination lock. The glove compartment and utility compartment do not count, even if they lock. Ammunition should be stored separately from the firearm during transport.

If you are passing through California from another state, federal law gives some protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you may transport a firearm through any state if you could legally possess it at both your origin and destination, the firearm is unloaded, and neither the gun nor ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In vehicles without a separate trunk, the firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.¹⁴ This federal safe passage rule only covers travel through. If you stop in California for anything beyond brief, travel-necessary stops, state law applies in full.

Storing a Firearm at Home

California’s criminal storage statute sets three tiers of liability based on how negligently the gun was stored and what happened as a result. The baseline rule is that you cannot keep a firearm where you know or should know a child or prohibited person is likely to get at it, unless you have secured it with a DOJ-certified locking device or locked container.¹⁵

First degree: a child or prohibited person actually gains access and causes injury or death, or carries the gun to a public place. Charged as a wobbler. As a felony: 16 months, two, or three years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. As a misdemeanor: up to a year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000.
Second degree: a child gets the gun and carries or displays it in a way that could cause harm, but no one is actually injured. Misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Third degree: negligently storing a firearm where a child is likely to gain access, even if the child never touches it. Misdemeanor.

The safest practice is to store firearms unloaded, locked with a California DOJ-certified device, inside a locked safe or container, with ammunition stored separately.

Using a Firearm in Self-Defense

California follows the castle doctrine under Penal Code 198.5. If someone unlawfully and forcibly enters your residence, and you knew or reasonably believed the entry happened, the law presumes you had a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury to yourself, your family, or another household member.¹⁶

The presumption is strong but limited. It applies only inside your residence, only against someone who entered unlawfully and by force, and only against someone who is not a member of your household. Outside the home you can still argue self-defense, but without the automatic presumption. California does not impose a general duty to retreat, but any force you use has to be proportional to the threat.

Who Cannot Have a Firearm

Lifetime Bans

A felony conviction under state or federal law triggers a lifetime ban on owning, buying, or possessing any firearm in California. Certain violent misdemeanors also carry a lifetime prohibition.

10-Year Bans

A conviction for any of dozens of specified misdemeanors triggers a 10-year ban. The list covers domestic violence offenses, stalking, brandishing a weapon in a threatening way, assault, battery, criminal threats, and violating a protective order, among others. The legislature has kept adding to it, including criminal storage of a firearm (effective 2020), certain child endangerment charges (effective 2023), and animal cruelty (effective 2025).¹⁷

Mental Health Prohibitions

Someone admitted to a mental health facility for inpatient treatment is barred from firearms if, in the treating professional’s opinion, the person is a danger to self or others. That prohibition lasts only while the person is in treatment and ends at discharge.¹⁸ Separate, longer prohibitions apply when a court has found someone to be a danger to others because of a mental disorder.¹⁹

Restraining Orders and GVROs

An active restraining order, such as a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, immediately prohibits the restrained person from possessing any firearm or ammunition for the life of the order. Violating that firearm prohibition is itself a crime, typically charged as a felony.¹⁹

California also has a Gun Violence Restraining Order process. Family members, household members, employers, coworkers, teachers, and law enforcement can petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who poses a significant danger. A GVRO bars the named person from having custody or control of, owning, buying, possessing, or receiving any firearms or ammunition.²⁰ Emergency GVROs can issue without the subject present in court and take effect immediately. They are temporary, and a full hearing has to follow before any longer-term order.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 26815 – Delivery of Firearms
2
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Firearm Safety Certificate Program Frequently Asked Questions
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30352 – Ammunition Vendor Requirements
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30605 – Possession of Assault Weapons
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600 – Assault Weapons Manufacturing, Distribution, and Transportation
6
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Duncan v. Bonta – Opinion
7
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Handguns Certified for Sale
8
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. California Ghost Gun Laws Reference Guide
9
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 25400 – Carrying a Concealed Firearm
10
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 25850 – Carrying a Loaded Firearm
11
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Regulations – Carry Concealed Weapons Licenses
12
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 26150 – Concealed Carry License Issuance
13
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. 2025-DLE-06 – Additional Restrictions on CCW License Holders
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
15
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 25100 – Criminal Storage of a Firearm
16
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 198.5 – Presumption of Reasonable Fear
17
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29805 – Persons Prohibited from Possessing Firearms for 10 Years
18
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 8100 – Firearms Possession by Persons Receiving Mental Health Treatment
19
California Department of Justice. California Department of Justice – Firearms Prohibiting Categories
20
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 18100 – Gun Violence Restraining Orders