To buy a gun in California, you need to be at least 21, pass a state background check run through a licensed dealer, hold a valid Firearm Safety Certificate, wait 10 days, and choose a firearm the state allows civilians to buy. California gun purchase laws apply the same way whether you buy from a retailer, from a friend, or through an online listing: every transfer goes through a licensed dealer, and the background check fee set by the state is $31.19.
Who Can Buy a Firearm
The age floor is 21 for any firearm bought from a licensed dealer. Senate Bill 1100 set that minimum by prohibiting dealers from transferring firearms to anyone younger, with narrow exceptions for active law enforcement and military members.1California Legislative Information. SB-1100 Firearms: Transfers
A felony conviction, from California, federal court, or any other jurisdiction, brings a lifetime ban on owning or possessing firearms under Penal Code 29800. The same statute reaches anyone addicted to a narcotic drug and anyone with an outstanding warrant for a qualifying offense who knows about the warrant.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29800
A long list of misdemeanors triggers a separate 10-year ban under Penal Code 29805, including assault, battery, domestic violence, stalking, criminal threats, and brandishing a weapon. This is where California diverges sharply from federal law: many of these offenses would clear a federal background check but will stop you at the state level.
Active restraining and protective orders also disqualify you. Penal Code 29825 makes it a crime to buy or possess a firearm while subject to a domestic violence protective order, a civil harassment restraining order, a workplace violence restraining order, or an equivalent order from another state, with penalties of up to one year in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29825
Mental health history is a separate disqualifier. Certain involuntary psychiatric holds, adjudications of mental disorder, and court findings of dangerousness result in temporary or permanent loss of firearm rights. California screens both state and federal databases, so passing a federal check does not mean you will pass in California.
What To Bring Before You Visit a Dealer
Firearm Safety Certificate
Every buyer must hold a valid Firearm Safety Certificate before a dealer can process a sale. The FSC requires passing a 30-question written test on firearm laws, safe handling, and storage, administered by a Department of Justice-certified instructor at a participating gun shop. The fee is $25 and covers two attempts; the certificate is valid for five years.4State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions
Identification and Residency
Bring a valid California driver’s license or state ID card. If your card carries the “Federal Limits Apply” notation, you also need proof of lawful presence in the United States, such as a U.S. passport, certified U.S. birth certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, or valid Permanent Resident Card.5New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 11 CCR 4045.1
Handgun buyers have an extra step. You need separate proof of residency, such as a residential lease, a property deed, or a utility bill dated within the last three months.6State of California Department of Justice. Title 11, Division 5, Chapter 4, Evidence of Residency Documentation Without it the dealer cannot start the paperwork.
The DROS, the Fee, and the 10-Day Wait
At the counter, the dealer submits a Dealer Record of Sale, or DROS. This is the application that runs California’s background check. You pay a state-set DROS fee of $31.19, which covers one or more firearms transferred to the same buyer at the same time.7New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 11 CCR 4001 – DROS Fees The dealer enters your name, address, date of birth, and physical descriptors. Small errors can get the application rejected, so check the form before it goes in.
Once submitted, Penal Code 26815 imposes a mandatory 10-day waiting period before the dealer can release the firearm.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 26815 During those 10 days the Department of Justice reviews your criminal history, mental health records, and restraining order status.
The check comes back as one of four results:
- Approved. The dealer can release the firearm as soon as the 10 days expire.
- Delayed. The DOJ needs more time and can extend the review up to 30 days from the original DROS submission.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 11 CA ADC 4230
- Undetermined. If the DOJ cannot reach a decision in 30 days, release is up to the dealer. Many large retailers decline; some smaller shops will proceed.
- Denied. The sale ends and the dealer provides a prohibited-person notice.
You have to pick up the firearm in person after the wait. If you do not pick it up within 30 days of the DROS submission, the dealer must cancel the transaction and you start over, including paying the DROS fee again.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 11 CA ADC 4230 The dealer re-verifies your ID at pickup. For a handgun, you also complete a safe handling demonstration with that specific firearm before it leaves the shop.
Private Sales Go Through a Dealer Too
California does not allow private sales to bypass any of this. Under Penal Code 27545, every sale, loan, or transfer between people who do not hold a dealer’s license has to be processed by a licensed dealer.10California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 27545 Same DROS, same 10-day wait, same eligibility rules.
The dealer collects the standard $31.19 DROS fee for a private party transfer and may add a processing fee of their own. Buying from a friend or an online listing is not faster or cheaper; the only thing that changes is where the firearm came from. Completing a private transfer without going through a licensed dealer is a crime for both buyer and seller.
What You Can and Can’t Buy
The Handgun Roster
Not every handgun on the market is legal to sell in California. Penal Code 32000 bars dealers from selling a handgun unless it appears on the state’s Roster of Certified Handguns, which lists models that have passed California’s safety and drop-testing requirements.11California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32000 The roster shrinks over time as manufacturers drop models or decline re-certification, and new entries are rare because California also requires microstamping technology that most manufacturers have not adopted. Check the current roster on the DOJ website before you commit to a specific model.
Assault Weapons and .50 BMG Rifles
The sale, manufacture, and import of assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles are banned. Violating that prohibition is a felony punishable by four, six, or eight years in state prison, with an additional consecutive year for transferring an assault weapon to a minor.12California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30600 The classification extends beyond named models to specific features and configurations.
Magazine Capacity
California bans the sale, purchase, manufacture, import, and possession of magazines holding more than 10 rounds. A violation is an infraction or misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $100 per magazine, up to one year in county jail, or both.13California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 32310 This applies to magazines you already own. Moving to California with large-capacity magazines means selling them to a licensed dealer, taking them out of the state, or turning them in to law enforcement.
The 30-Day Purchase Limit
Penal Code 27535 historically limited residents to one firearm every 30 days. A federal court injunction issued in August 2024 currently blocks enforcement, so as of this writing there is no enforceable cap on how many firearms an eligible person can buy in a 30-day window.14Office of the Attorney General – State of California – Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions That could change if the injunction is lifted or overturned; check the DOJ’s FAQ before planning multiple purchases.
Safety Device
Every firearm sold has to come with a state-approved safety device. If you already own a gun safe that meets DOJ standards, you can satisfy the requirement by giving the dealer a purchase receipt for the safe and signing an affidavit under penalty of perjury confirming the safe meets state standards and fits the firearm you are buying.15State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Firearm Safety Devices
Ammunition Has Its Own Background Check
Ammunition is not a free purchase after you clear the gun check. When you buy ammunition from a licensed vendor, the vendor submits your information to the DOJ for a real-time eligibility check. There are two tiers:
- Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check. If your information matches a record in the state’s firearm registry and you are not in the Prohibited Armed Persons File, the check processes quickly for a $5 fee.16Legal Information Institute. Cal Code Regs Tit 11 4282
- Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check. If you are not in the registry, the state runs a more thorough check and collects additional personal information for a $19 fee.17California Department of Justice. Text of Regulations – Ammunition
The categories that bar you from firearms also bar you from ammunition. You cannot have ammunition shipped to your home either; online orders must go to a licensed vendor who runs the check at pickup.
After You Take It Home: Storage and Transport
Once the firearm is yours, California holds you responsible for keeping it from unauthorized users. Penal Code 25100 creates three degrees of criminal storage for negligent storage that lets a child or prohibited person access a firearm, with the most serious degree carrying up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine when the access results in death or great bodily injury.
Starting January 1, 2026, Penal Code 25145 adds a broader residential storage requirement. Failing to securely store a firearm in your home carries a fine of up to $250 for a first violation and up to $500 for a second; a third or later violation is a misdemeanor. A good-faith defense is available if you used a safety device or gun safe you reasonably believed met state standards when you bought it.
For transport, handguns have to be unloaded and locked in the vehicle’s trunk or in a locked container. Under Penal Code 16850, a locked container means a fully enclosed container secured with a padlock, key lock, or combination lock. The glove compartment does not count, even if it locks.18Office of the Attorney General – State of California – Department of Justice. Transporting Firearms in California Rifles and shotguns have to be unloaded in transport but do not require a locked container. Registered assault weapons have stricter rules and can only be moved between specific locations, unloaded and locked.
If You’ve Lost Your Rights
If a prior conviction has stripped your firearm rights, California offers several paths to restoration, none of them quick. For “wobbler” felonies, a petition to reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b) can restore rights so long as the resulting misdemeanor is not itself on the 10-year prohibition list. Expungement under Penal Code 1203.4 lets you withdraw a guilty plea after probation, but expungement alone does not automatically restore firearm rights for every offense. For heavier convictions, a Certificate of Rehabilitation or Governor’s pardon may be available, and the federal Department of Justice is developing a program under 18 U.S.C. ยง 925(c) to process relief from federal firearms disabilities, though the application portal is not yet fully operational.19U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Work with a lawyer before filing anything; the wrong petition, or a misunderstanding of which conviction actually triggered the ban, wastes time and money.