California gun ownership laws are among the strictest in the country. To buy a firearm, you must be at least 21, hold a Firearm Safety Certificate, clear a Department of Justice background check, and wait ten days before taking the gun home. Ownership carries continuing duties: safe storage, transport in a locked container, no open carry, background-checked ammunition purchases, and a five-day deadline to report a lost or stolen weapon. Break any of these rules and you can face misdemeanor or felony charges, even if you bought the gun legally.
Who Can Legally Own a Firearm
The floor is age 21 for any firearm, handgun or long gun.1California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 27510 Narrow exceptions cover active military members and holders of valid hunting licenses buying certain long guns, but almost every California buyer needs to clear 21.
Several categories of people are barred from possessing any firearm regardless of age. A felony conviction under California, federal, or another jurisdiction’s law triggers a lifetime ban, as do certain violent offenses listed in the Penal Code and addiction to a narcotic drug.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29800 Violating that ban is itself a felony.
Certain misdemeanor convictions produce a ten-year prohibition rather than a lifetime one. The list is long and includes assault, battery, domestic violence, stalking, criminal threats, and brandishing a weapon.3California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 29805
A domestic violence restraining order or other qualifying protective order strips firearm rights for the duration of the order, and the subject must surrender any firearms to law enforcement, sell them to a licensed dealer, or transfer them to a dealer for safekeeping.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29825 Mental health history also matters: involuntary hospitalization after a professional’s determination of danger to self or others disqualifies you,5California Legislative Information. California Code Welfare and Institutions Code 8100 and a court finding of dangerousness due to mental disorder can be permanent unless a court later certifies otherwise.6California Legislative Information. California Code Welfare and Institutions Code 8103 Communicating a serious threat of physical violence to a licensed therapist results in a five-year prohibition.
A Gun Violence Restraining Order is a separate track: family members, roommates, coworkers, school employees, employers, and law enforcement can petition a court to bar a specific person from having, buying, or possessing any firearms or ammunition for the duration of the order.7California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 18100
Getting a Firearm Safety Certificate
Before you can purchase or receive any firearm, you need a valid Firearm Safety Certificate. Passing means scoring at least 23 out of 30 on a written test covering safe handling, storage, legal use of force, and California transfer laws.8New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 11 CCR 4253 The test costs $25, which includes a second attempt if you fail, and is given by Department of Justice-certified instructors, usually at firearms dealers.9State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Firearm Safety Certificate Program
The Purchase Process
Documents You Need at the Counter
Start with a valid California driver’s license or state ID. If it carries the “Federal Limits Apply” notation, you also need proof of lawful presence such as a U.S. passport, certified U.S. birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, or permanent resident card.10New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 11 CCR 4045.1
For a handgun, add a second document proving your current residential address, like a utility bill dated within three months of the purchase or a signed residential lease, matching the name and address on your ID.11California Department of Justice. Title 11, Division 5, Chapter 4 You will sign an affidavit confirming you own a state-approved firearm safety device such as a lock or safe.
DROS, the 10-Day Wait, and the Pickup Window
The dealer submits a Dealer Record of Sale to the Department of Justice, which runs the background check. The fee is $31.19 per transaction, whatever the number of firearms transferred to the same buyer that day.12New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 4001 – DROS Fees
Ten days must pass between the DROS submission and pickup.13California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 27540 There is no expedited option for most buyers. If the DOJ cannot resolve your eligibility in the initial ten days, it can extend the hold up to 30 days from the transaction date. Once cleared, you have 30 days to pick up the firearm; miss that window and the DROS is cancelled, so you restart from scratch.14State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions – Firearms Dealers
Before the dealer hands the firearm over, you must perform a safe handling demonstration with that specific weapon, verifying it is unloaded, loading a dummy round, and unloading it again with proper muzzle discipline.15California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 26856 If you cannot complete it, the sale does not close.
One Firearm Every 30 Days
You cannot apply to purchase more than one firearm within any 30-day period. The limit covers all firearms, not just handguns, and includes combinations of firearms, frames, receivers, and firearm precursor parts.16California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 27535 Licensed collectors, law enforcement, and a few other categories are exempt.
No Direct Private Sales
California does not allow firearm transfers to happen directly between individuals. Every sale, gift, or gun-show handoff runs through a licensed dealer, who applies the same DROS background check and ten-day wait as a retail purchase.17State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions Intrafamilial transfers between parents and children or grandparents and grandchildren have some exemptions from dealer processing but still require reporting to the Department of Justice.
What You Can and Cannot Own
Assault Weapons
California bans assault weapons both by name and by physical characteristics. A semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine counts as an assault weapon if it has any one of several features: a protruding pistol grip, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, flash suppressor, forward pistol grip, or grenade or flare launcher.18California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515 Feature-based rules also cover semiautomatic pistols and shotguns. You cannot buy or possess an assault weapon unless it was lawfully registered during a past registration window.19State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Assault Weapons Laws
Large-Capacity Magazines
Any magazine holding more than ten rounds is a large-capacity magazine, and manufacturing, importing, selling, giving, lending, buying, or receiving one is illegal in California. The offense can be charged as a misdemeanor or, in some circumstances, a felony punishable by up to a year in county jail or a term in state prison.20California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 32310
The Handgun Roster
Dealers can only sell handgun models on the state’s Roster of Certified Handguns. Since 2001, a handgun must pass independent firing, safety, and drop tests and be certified by the Department of Justice before appearing on the list.21State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Handguns Certified for Sale Private-party transfers of off-roster handguns between California residents remain legal, which is why off-roster models command premiums on the secondhand market.
Home-Built Firearms
Before you build a firearm at home, you must apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial number and engrave or permanently affix it to the frame or receiver within ten days of completing the build.22California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 29180 Anyone who already owned an unserialized firearm had until January 1, 2024, to apply, or 60 days after moving to California. Building more than three firearms in a calendar year, or using a 3D printer or CNC mill to make any firearm, requires a manufacturer’s license. Selling or transferring an unserialized firearm is generally illegal, and unfinished frames and receivers are “firearm precursor parts” subject to the same dealer, background check, and waiting-period rules as complete firearms.
Buying Ammunition
Ammunition purchases run through their own background check. Since July 2019, the Department of Justice electronically screens every ammunition sale at the point of sale, cross-referencing the buyer against the Automated Firearms System and the Prohibited Armed Persons File.23California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 30370 If you are not in the firearms registry or are flagged as prohibited, the transaction is denied.
Two checks exist. If a firearm is already registered to you in state records, the check is a quick automated one with a nominal fee. If nothing is registered to you, you go through a longer “standard” check that can take several days and costs more. Ammunition must be bought from a licensed vendor or shipped to one for pickup; direct online-to-door delivery is not legal.
Storing Firearms at Home
If a child or prohibited person could access your firearm, you have a criminal exposure the moment they do. First-degree criminal storage applies when you knew or should have known a child or prohibited person was likely to gain access, that person did, and the result was death or great bodily injury; it is a felony.24California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 25100 Second-degree criminal storage covers lesser injuries, or carrying the firearm to a public place or brandishing it, and is typically a misdemeanor.
A separate storage rule takes effect January 1, 2026. If you are 18 or older, own a firearm, and share a home with anyone prohibited from possessing guns under state or federal law, you must either keep the firearm in a safe, with a trigger lock, or in a comparable device, or on your person and within your immediate control at all times.25California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 25135 Violation is a misdemeanor. The rule applies whether or not the prohibited person ever touches the gun, making it stricter than the criminal-storage statutes that require actual access and harm.
Carrying and Transporting
No Open Carry
Open carry of both loaded and unloaded handguns is banned in incorporated cities and in prohibited areas of unincorporated counties. Carrying an exposed, unloaded handgun in public is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine when the person also has compatible ammunition on hand.26California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 26350 Separate statutes prohibit carrying loaded firearms in public. Walking around with a visible gun in a populated area will get you arrested.
Concealed Carry Permits
Carrying concealed requires a license from your county sheriff or local police chief. Applicants must be at least 21, be the registered owner of each firearm they intend to carry, and complete training.27California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 26155 Initial training runs at least eight hours and includes live-fire proficiency with each specific handgun on the license. Anyone in a prohibited category cannot obtain a concealed carry permit.
Transport in a Vehicle
Move a firearm in a car and the weapon must be unloaded and locked in the trunk, or unloaded and inside a locked container in the passenger area. Outside a vehicle, unloaded and in a locked container.28California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 25610 A “locked container” means a fully enclosed case designed for transporting firearms, secured by a padlock, key lock, or combination lock. The glove compartment and center console do not count, even if they lock. This is one of the most common ways an otherwise lawful owner picks up a concealed-carry charge.
Reporting a Lost or Stolen Firearm
You have five days to report a lost or stolen firearm to your local law enforcement agency, measured from when you knew or should have known it was gone. Recovery of a previously reported firearm has to be reported within five days as well.29California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 25250 Antique firearms are exempt. If a firearm registered to you turns up at a crime scene and was never reported missing, explaining your lack of involvement becomes much harder.
Getting Firearm Rights Back After a Prohibition
Restoration is not automatic. If a felony was a “wobbler” (a crime that could have been charged as a misdemeanor), you can petition the court to reduce it to a misdemeanor, which lifts the lifetime ban, though a ten-year restriction may still apply depending on the offense. A Governor’s pardon can also restore rights in certain cases. Violent felonies and sex offenses generally cannot use the wobbler path. The ten-year misdemeanor ban expires on its own with no early-termination process. If your prohibition comes from a mental health commitment, you can petition the court for a certificate stating you no longer pose a danger.