The California Penal Code, originally enacted in 1872, is the state’s primary body of criminal law, and this California Penal Codes list walks through how the code is structured, how it classifies offenses as felonies, misdemeanors, or infractions, and which sections define the crimes people most often look up. The code is divided into six Parts and thousands of numbered sections, so knowing the layout and the key section numbers is usually enough to find any specific offense.
How the Code Is Organized
The Penal Code is split into six Parts, each covering a broad area:
- Part 1 — Crimes and Punishments (Sections 25–680.4): specific offenses, their elements, and penalties.
- Part 2 — Criminal Procedure (Sections 681–1620): arrest, prosecution, trial, and appeals.
- Part 3 — Imprisonment and the Death Penalty (Sections 2000–10008): prison operations, parole, and capital punishment.
- Part 4 — Prevention of Crimes and Apprehension of Criminals (Sections 11006–14315): law enforcement operations.
- Part 5 — Peace Officers’ Memorial (Sections 15001–15003): the memorial program for officers killed in the line of duty.
- Part 6 — Control of Deadly Weapons (Sections 16000–34400): firearms, ammunition, and prohibited weapons.
Within each Part, Titles group related offenses, Chapters narrow the focus, and individual Sections carry the numbers you see in legal filings. A reference like “PC 187” or “Penal Code Section 459” points to one specific section, and the number alone is usually enough to find the exact provision.
Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions
PC 16 lists California’s three offense categories, and PC 17 draws the lines between them.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 – Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions
- Felonies are the most serious offenses, punishable by state prison or, for certain non-violent crimes, county jail under PC 1170(h). Murder, robbery, and arson are common examples.
- Misdemeanors carry a default maximum of six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000 under PC 19, though some misdemeanors set higher or lower limits.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 19 – Punishment for Misdemeanor
- Infractions are minor violations like traffic tickets that carry fines but no jail time.
Wobblers
Many California offenses are “wobblers,” meaning the prosecutor can charge them as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Grand theft and second-degree burglary are common examples. Under PC 17(b), a judge can also reduce a wobbler to a misdemeanor at sentencing, upon granting probation, or later through a post-conviction motion. Once reduced, the offense is treated as a misdemeanor for all purposes going forward.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 – Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions
Take assault with a deadly weapon under PC 245(a)(1). A first-time offender might see a misdemeanor charge carrying up to one year in county jail, while someone with prior convictions could face a felony with two to four years in state prison. The classification decision shapes bail, plea negotiations, and everything that follows.
Crimes Against the Person
Part 1, Title 8 groups offenses involving harm or the threat of harm to another person, and these carry some of the longest sentences in California law.4Justia Law. California Penal Code – Of Crimes Against the Person
PC 187 — Murder. The unlawful killing of a human being or fetus with malice aforethought. PC 188 defines malice in two forms: express malice, meaning a deliberate intent to kill, and implied malice, where the killing resulted from an act so dangerous that it showed what the statute calls “an abandoned and malignant heart.” Implied malice covers situations where someone didn’t specifically intend to kill but acted with extreme recklessness.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 187 – Murder6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 188 – Malice Aforethought
PC 203 — Mayhem. Permanently disfiguring or disabling part of another person’s body. It targets injuries beyond ordinary battery, such as severing a limb or destroying eyesight.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 203 – Mayhem
PC 211 — Robbery. Taking someone’s personal property from their body or immediate presence through force or intimidation. The “immediate presence” element separates robbery from theft. Snatching a phone from someone’s hand is robbery. Taking that same phone off a table while the owner is in another room is not.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 211 – Robbery
PC 240 and PC 242 — Assault and Battery. Assault is an attempt to injure someone coupled with the present ability to do so; no contact is required. Battery is the actual use of force or violence. You can commit assault without ever touching anyone. Battery requires contact.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 240 – Assault10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 242 – Battery
PC 261 — Rape. Sexual intercourse accomplished through force, threats, or duress, among other specified circumstances. The statute was amended by SB 258, effective January 1, 2026.11California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261 – Rape
Crimes Against Property
Property offenses are concentrated in Title 13, covering arson, burglary, theft, forgery, and related crimes. Title 14 covers malicious mischief, including vandalism.12Justia Law. California Penal Code – Of Crimes Against Property
PC 451 — Arson. A felony in all cases, with prison terms varying based on whether the fire caused great bodily injury, burned an inhabited structure, burned another structure or forest land, or burned other property.13California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 451 – Arson
PC 459 — Burglary. Entering a building, room, locked vehicle, or similar enclosed space intending to commit theft or any felony inside. The intent must exist at the moment of entry. Walking into an unlocked store to browse and then deciding to steal is theft, not burglary. Planning to steal before you walk in is burglary, even if you leave empty-handed.14California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 459 – Burglary
PC 484 and PC 487 — Theft. PC 484 defines theft generally as taking someone else’s property, fraudulently keeping entrusted property, or obtaining property through false pretenses.15California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 484 – Theft Defined Grand theft under PC 487 applies when the property is worth more than $950. As a wobbler, it can be charged as a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail or as a felony punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail under PC 489.16California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 489 – Grand Theft Punishment
PC 470 — Forgery. Signing another person’s name or a fictitious name on financial documents with intent to defraud. The statute reaches checks, money orders, contracts, and a long list of other instruments.17California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 470 – Forgery
PC 496 — Receiving Stolen Property. Buying or taking possession of property known to be stolen. The penalty is up to one year in county jail or a felony sentence under PC 1170(h).18California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 496 – Receiving Stolen Property
Crimes Against Public Justice
These offenses target conduct that corrupts government operations and the court system. The victim isn’t a person or property; it’s the integrity of the legal process.
PC 67 and PC 68 — Bribery. PC 67 criminalizes offering a bribe to an executive officer, carrying two, three, or four years in state prison plus permanent disqualification from public office.19California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 67 – Bribery of Executive Officer PC 68 is the mirror image, targeting the public official who asks for or accepts a bribe. The prison range is the same, and the official also forfeits their position and is permanently barred from government employment in California.20California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 68 – Asking for or Receiving Bribes
PC 118 — Perjury. A felony committed when someone under oath or penalty of perjury knowingly makes a false statement about something material to the case. Trivial misstatements don’t qualify; the lie must be relevant to the proceeding.21California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 118 – Perjury
PC 132 — Offering False Evidence. A felony to introduce a forged or fraudulently altered document as evidence in any legal proceeding.22California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 132 – Offering False Evidence
Crimes Against Public Health and Safety
These offenses cover conduct that disrupts community life. Penalties tend to be lighter than those in the categories above, but the charges are far more common.
PC 370 — Public Nuisance. Anything harmful to health, offensive to the senses, or obstructive enough to interfere with an entire community’s ability to use property or public spaces comfortably.23California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 370 – Public Nuisance Defined
PC 415 — Disturbing the Peace. Three specific acts: fighting in public, making unreasonably loud noise, and using words in public that are inherently likely to provoke a violent response. The maximum penalty is 90 days in jail, a $400 fine, or both.24California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 415 – Disturbing the Peace
PC 647 — Disorderly Conduct. A broader category that includes public intoxication, loitering on private property without permission, and several other behaviors. It’s a misdemeanor, which by default means up to six months in county jail.25California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 647 – Disorderly Conduct
Sentencing Enhancements and the Three Strikes Law
The Penal Code doesn’t just set a base sentence for each crime. It also contains enhancement provisions that add time based on specific circumstances, and the best known of these is the Three Strikes law.
Under PC 667, a defendant with one prior serious or violent felony conviction who is convicted of a new felony receives double the normal sentence. A defendant with two or more prior strikes faces an indeterminate life sentence with a minimum term equal to the greatest of three options: triple the normal sentence, 25 years, or the term calculated under regular sentencing rules including any applicable enhancements.26California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667 – Prior Conviction Enhancements
Three Strikes also eliminates several safety valves. A defendant sentenced under it cannot receive probation, cannot have their sentence suspended, and must serve their time in state prison rather than county jail. Credits toward early release are capped at one-fifth of the total sentence. The time elapsed since the prior conviction doesn’t matter either; a 20-year-old strike still counts. Separately, PC 667(a)(1) adds a five-year consecutive enhancement for each prior serious felony conviction.
Proposition 47 and Reclassified Offenses
California voters passed Proposition 47 in 2014, reclassifying several nonviolent property and drug offenses from felonies or wobblers to straight misdemeanors. The practical effect was to redraw the line between petty and grand theft and to reduce drug possession penalties across the board.
- Theft under $950. PC 490.2 defines all theft of property worth $950 or less as petty theft, regardless of what other Penal Code sections might otherwise say.
- Shoplifting. PC 459.5 created a new misdemeanor for entering a commercial establishment during business hours intending to steal property worth $950 or less, punishable by up to six months in county jail.
- Forgery. Forgery involving checks, money orders, and similar instruments worth $950 or less became a straight misdemeanor under PC 473.
- Receiving stolen property. PC 496 violations involving property worth $950 or less became strictly misdemeanors, removing the prosecutor’s ability to charge them as felonies.
- Drug possession. Simple possession offenses under Health and Safety Code sections 11350 and 11377 were reclassified from felonies or wobblers to misdemeanors carrying up to one year in county jail.
The $950 threshold now effectively functions as California’s felony-misdemeanor line for most theft-related crimes. Before assuming an offense is a felony based on the older statutes alone, check whether Proposition 47’s reclassifications apply.
Related Codes That Also Define Crimes
Not every California crime lives in the Penal Code. Several other codes define offenses that lead to arrest and jail time, and missing them is a common mistake when researching California criminal law.
Drug Offenses in the Health and Safety Code
Most drug crimes sit in the Health and Safety Code. Possession of controlled substances falls under HSC 11350, which carries up to one year in county jail for a first offense. Defendants with prior serious or violent felony convictions, or those required to register as sex offenders, face elevated penalties under PC 1170(h).28California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 11350 – Possession of Controlled Substances Drug manufacturing and sales carry significantly longer sentences under separate HSC provisions. Searching only the Penal Code for a drug charge won’t turn up the statute.
Weapons in the PC 16000 Series
Weapons regulations were originally scattered through the PC 12000 series. In 2010, the Deadly Weapons Recodification Act reorganized them into Part 6, starting at PC 16000. The change was structural, not substantive.29Justia Law. California Penal Code 16000-16025 – Deadly Weapons Recodification Act References to the old 12000-series sections still appear in older court records, so knowing they now correspond to the 16000 series saves time.
Felony Sentencing Under PC 1170(h)
California’s 2011 realignment shifted sentencing for many non-violent, non-serious, non-sex-offense felonies from state prison to county jail. Under PC 1170(h), a felony without a specified prison term is punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail. Defendants with prior serious or violent felony convictions, or those required to register as sex offenders, are excluded and serve their time in state prison instead.30California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1170 – Determinate Sentencing
County jail sentences often carry different credit-earning rules and eligibility for alternative programs like work release. For anyone facing a felony charge, one of the first questions worth answering is whether the offense falls under PC 1170(h) or requires state prison.