California’s fur ban, in effect since January 1, 2023, makes it illegal to sell, manufacture, trade, or give away new fur products anywhere in the state. The law is codified at California Fish and Game Code Section 2023 and carries civil penalties of up to $1,000 per item for repeat offenders.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2023 Owning or wearing fur you already have is not restricted. Selling new fur, in a store or online to a California buyer, is.
What Counts as Fur Under the Law
The statute defines fur as any animal skin or part of a skin with hair, fleece, or fur fibers still attached, raw or processed. A fur product is any clothing item, body covering, or fashion accessory made in whole or in part from fur. That sweeps in handbags, shoes, slippers, hats, earmuffs, scarves, gloves, jewelry, keychains, toys, trinkets, and home décor, not just coats and stoles.2California Legislative Information. Bill Text – AB-44 Fur Products: Prohibition
Several familiar materials sit outside the definition. Cowhide, deerskin, sheepskin, and goatskin are excluded, so standard leather goods and shearling are unaffected.3California Legislative Information. Today’s Law As Amended – AB-44 Fur Products: Prohibition Taxidermy is also carved out: any pelt or skin preserved through taxidermy is exempt.4California Legislative Information. Compare Versions – AB-44 Fur Products: Prohibition
What You Can and Cannot Do
The law targets commerce, not personal property. You can still own, wear, store, and inherit fur. What you cannot do is sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, or distribute a new fur product in California for any kind of consideration, monetary or otherwise.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2023 That “or otherwise” language catches promotional giveaways and gifts with purchase. Handing out a new fur item for free as part of a business transaction still counts as distribution.
Manufacturing fur products in California for sale is separately prohibited.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2023 Online sellers outside the state are not off the hook either. Listing a new fur product on an e-commerce platform and shipping it to a California address falls within the ban.
Exceptions That Remain Legal
The statute carves out four categories of fur sales and trades that are still allowed:1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2023
- Used fur products sold through thrift stores, consignment shops, pawnshops, estate sales, or any other channel. The statute does not limit where secondhand fur can be resold, only that the item has to be genuinely used.
- Fur products used for religious purposes.
- Fur products used for traditional tribal, cultural, or spiritual purposes by a member of a federally recognized Native American tribe, or by a member of a nonfederally recognized California tribe listed on the state’s Tribal Consultation List.
- Any activity expressly authorized by federal law.
The used fur exception is the one most consumers run into. Selling an inherited mink coat at a consignment shop is legal. Buying a brand-new mink coat from an online retailer that ships to California is not.
Penalties and How They Add Up
Civil penalties come in three tiers, keyed to how many violations a seller racks up in a one-year window:1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2023
- First violation: up to $500.
- Second violation within one year: up to $750.
- Third or later violation within one year: up to $1,000.
Those figures are per item. Each individual fur product counts as its own violation. A boutique caught with ten new fur hats could face up to $5,000 on a first offense, and up to $10,000 if two prior violations already sit on the record for that year. The per-item math is where the real exposure lives for any retailer carrying meaningful inventory.
Recordkeeping for Exempt Sellers
If you sell or trade used fur, or fur that qualifies under the religious or tribal exceptions, you have to keep a record of each transaction for at least one year.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2023 The law does not spell out a format, but the record needs to show the sale happened and that the item was exempt. Secondhand dealers who already report used fur purchases under Business and Professions Code Section 21628 are treated as satisfying this obligation automatically.5LegiScan. Bill Text: CA AB44 2019-2020 Regular Session Chaptered
Reporting a Suspected Violation
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife enforces the ban. Suspected sales of new fur can be reported through Cal-TIP, the department’s tip line, at 1-888-334-2258, or through an online report on the department’s website.6California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Contact CDFW Non-urgent concerns can also go to a local CDFW law enforcement officer.