If you’re unhoused in California, you still have enforceable legal rights: your belongings are protected during encampment clearances, your children can enroll in school without paperwork, you can register to vote without a fixed address, you can get free identification documents, hospitals must treat you in an emergency regardless of ability to pay, and specific state programs exist for housing and mental health treatment. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson narrowed one key protection by letting cities ticket people for sleeping outside even when no shelter is available, but the other California homeless rights described below remain in force.
Sleeping Outside Is Now a Ticketable Offense
Until mid-2024, the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Martin v. City of Boise blocked California cities from punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter beds weren’t available.1United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. Martin v. City of Boise, 902 F.3d 1031 On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court reversed that framework in a 6-3 decision, holding that general anti-camping ordinances target conduct rather than the status of being homeless and therefore don’t violate the Eighth Amendment.2Congressional Research Service. The Eighth Amendment and Homelessness: Supreme Court Upholds Camping Ordinances in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson
What this means practically: a city can cite you for sleeping in a park or on a sidewalk even if every shelter is full. Cities still have to apply those laws evenly. An ordinance enforced only against visibly homeless people while recreational campers in the same park go untouched can still be challenged on equal protection or due process grounds.
A month after Grants Pass, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-1-24 directing state agencies to clear encampments on state land and urging local governments to do the same.3Office of the Governor of California. Executive Order N-1-24 A May 2025 model ordinance invites cities and counties to adopt the same framework.4Office of the Governor of California. Model Ordinance: Addressing Encampments with Urgency and Dignity
Your Property Is Still Protected During a Sweep
Grants Pass did not touch the rules on your belongings. In Lavan v. City of Los Angeles, the Ninth Circuit held that the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments “protect homeless persons from government seizure and summary destruction of their unabandoned, but momentarily unattended, personal property.”5United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. Lavan v. City of Los Angeles The city had been throwing away tents, medication, and ID documents without notice. The court said no.
Under Lavan, the government may seize property only if there’s an objectively reasonable belief that it’s abandoned, poses an immediate health or safety threat, is contraband, or is evidence of a crime. Property that doesn’t fall into those categories and is seized anyway must be stored for at least 90 days. Walking away from your site briefly — to use a bathroom, visit a clinic, or get food — does not make your property abandoned.5United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. Lavan v. City of Los Angeles
On top of the constitutional rule, the executive order sets procedural steps for state agencies clearing encampments on state property:
- A site assessment to determine whether the encampment poses an immediate threat to life, health, safety, or infrastructure.
- Written notice to vacate posted at the site at least 48 hours before removal, unless emergency conditions exist.
- Outreach to service providers before the sweep.
- Collection, labeling, and storage of personal belongings that aren’t health or safety hazards for at least 60 days.
The 60-day storage minimum in the executive order and the 90-day minimum from Lavan don’t match. Legal advocates argue 90 days is the constitutional floor. If a city destroys your belongings without proper notice or storage, you may have a civil rights claim, and the court filing fees can be waived (see below).
Minor Citations Can Trigger Warrants
California Penal Code Section 647 creates several “disorderly conduct” offenses that fall disproportionately on unhoused people, including soliciting alms (subsection c), unlawful lodging in any building, vehicle, or place without the owner’s permission (subsection e), public intoxication (subsection f), and loitering on private property with intent to commit a crime (subsection h).6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 647 Cities layer their own rules on top, restricting sidewalk sitting, storage of belongings, and sleeping in vehicles. After Grants Pass, cities enforce these more freely.
Panhandling itself is protected speech under the First Amendment. Ordinances that survive legal challenge usually target aggressive conduct — blocking a path, following someone who said no, making threats — rather than the act of asking.
The practical danger is cumulative. An unpaid $50 fine generates a warrant. That warrant appears on background checks that gate housing programs and employment. A single missed court date on a trivial offense can lock the door on getting out. If you’ve been cited, going to court or asking a legal aid organization to help you address the citation matters more than the ticket amount suggests.
Voting Without a Fixed Address
You can register and vote in California without a permanent address. On the registration form, describe where you sleep as your home address: a park, a street intersection, a specific spot under an overpass. If you stay at a shelter, church, or community facility, use that address. You will also need a separate mailing address that can actually receive mail — a shelter, a service organization, or a P.O. Box.7Vote.gov. Voting While Unhoused
Your Children’s Right to Stay in School
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act overrides conflicting state and local school rules and gives homeless students three core rights.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11432 – Grants for State and Local Activities for the Education of Homeless Children and Youths
Your child can remain in their school of origin — the school they attended before losing housing, or the last one where they were enrolled, including preschool. The school must enroll your child immediately, even without immunization records, proof of residency, prior transcripts, or any other paperwork a district would normally require. And the district must provide transportation to and from the school of origin when you request it; if you’ve moved into a different district, the two districts share the cost. Enrollment and transportation continue while any dispute about placement is resolved.
Emergency Medical Care and Medi-Cal
Every hospital with an emergency department must screen and stabilize anyone who requests treatment, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. This comes from the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The hospital cannot delay screening or treatment to ask about insurance or payment. If you have an emergency medical condition, the hospital must stabilize you or transfer you to a facility that can, and a facility with the right capabilities and open capacity cannot refuse the transfer.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1395dd – Examination and Treatment for Emergency Medical Conditions and Women in Labor
For ongoing care, California’s Medi-Cal program covers low-income residents without requiring a home address. You can enroll at hospitals, community health centers, and county social services offices.
Free ID and Birth Certificate Replacement
Losing your ID while living outside blocks access to benefits, housing programs, employment, and even retrieval of stored property. California waives the fees.
Birth Certificate
Under California Health and Safety Code Section 103577, you can get a certified copy of your birth certificate at no charge. You need an affidavit signed by you and a homeless services provider verifying your housing status. Qualifying providers include nonprofits receiving government funding for homeless services, licensed attorneys, school liaisons for homeless students, and designated law enforcement homeless liaisons. The State Registrar will issue up to three free copies per year.10California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 103577
State ID Card
The DMV must issue a California ID card at no charge to anyone verified as homeless. Verification works the same way as for the birth certificate: a homeless services provider signs off on your eligibility. If you receive certain public assistance benefits, you also qualify for a reduced $6 standard ID application fee outside the homeless-specific waiver.
Housing and Treatment Programs
Homekey
Homekey is California’s program for converting hotels, motels, apartment buildings, and other existing properties into supportive housing. Local governments and tribes apply as lead applicants and commit to long-term operations, so an individual accesses Homekey units through local housing agencies and service providers rather than applying directly to the state.
HUD-VASH for Veterans
The HUD-VASH program combines a federal rental voucher with VA case management for homeless veterans. HUD provides the housing subsidy; the VA provides clinical services through medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics, or designated providers.11U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) To start, contact a VA medical center or the National Homeless Veteran Call Center. Eligibility extends to veterans earning up to 80% of area median income, and VA service-connected disability payments are excluded from the income calculation, so disability benefits won’t push you over the limit.12U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-VASH Operating Requirements FAQs for PHAs and VAMCs
CARE Court
The Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act created a civil court process for connecting people with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders to treatment and housing support.13California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 1338 – Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program All 58 counties went live by December 1, 2024, with 1,063 petitions filed statewide through May 2025.14California Health and Human Services Agency. CARE Act Implementation Update July 2025 A petition can come from a family member, first responder, behavioral health provider, or other connected party, and the county behavioral health agency then takes over to develop an individualized plan.15California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code Part 8, Chapter 1 – CARE Act Plans can include behavioral health care, stabilization medications, and housing support. Medications cannot be forcibly administered under a CARE plan, and the proceeding is civil, not criminal.
Shelter Access for People with Disabilities
Homeless shelters must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, no matter who runs them — government agencies, nonprofits, or religious organizations partnering with public entities. Equal access covers safety, food, sleeping areas, services, and information. Operators are supposed to examine a facility for physical barriers in parking, entrances, restrooms, bathing facilities, sleeping quarters, and dining areas before designating it as a shelter. A shelter cannot turn you away because of a disability, though the ADA does not require changes that would fundamentally alter a program or impose undue financial burden.16U.S. Department of Justice. The ADA and Emergency Shelters: Access for All in Emergencies and Disasters Wheelchair users, people with other mobility impairments, and people who need refrigeration for medications most often encounter problems at shelters that haven’t planned ahead.
Waiving Court Fees to Enforce These Rights
Filing fees shouldn’t block you from court. California Form FW-001, available at any courthouse, lets you request a waiver of all court filing fees and related costs. You qualify if you receive public benefits such as CalWORKs, SSI, or Medi-Cal, if your income falls below a set threshold, or if you cannot cover basic living expenses after paying court costs.17California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees This is the mechanism for challenging a wrongful citation, filing a civil rights claim over destroyed property, or handling any other matter that requires going to court.