No. If you have a felony conviction, you cannot legally buy, own, or possess a gun in California. Penal Code 29800 imposes a lifetime ban at the state level, and federal law imposes a separate lifetime ban on top of it. Both apply regardless of how long ago the conviction happened or what the felony was for, and the common record-clearing tools people reach for, including expungement, do not lift the prohibition.
What California’s Felony Firearm Ban Covers
Penal Code 29800 makes it illegal for anyone convicted of a felony to own, buy, receive, or possess a firearm.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 The ban is permanent. It does not expire with time, and the type of felony does not matter. A decades-old nonviolent drug conviction carries the same lifetime prohibition as a violent offense.
Where the conviction happened also does not matter. California applies the ban to felonies from its own courts, from other states, from federal court, and even from foreign countries.
So-called wobbler offenses, which prosecutors can file as either a felony or a misdemeanor, fall under the ban only if you were actually convicted of the felony version. If the same offense was charged and resolved as a misdemeanor, Penal Code 29800 does not apply, though a separate statute may still restrict firearm possession for 10 years or longer depending on the specific misdemeanor.
There is one narrow out-of-state exception. If you have a nonviolent felony from another state, and that state later vacated, expunged, or dismissed the conviction in a way that specifically restored your firearm rights under that state’s law, California will not apply its own ban to that conviction.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 The exception is limited to nonviolent felonies, and the other state’s relief must have actually restored gun rights there.
Federal Law Adds a Second, Independent Ban
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing any firearm or ammunition.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts That covers essentially every felony.
Because the federal prohibition is independent of California’s, clearing one does not clear the other. Even if you manage to lift the state ban, you still commit a federal crime by possessing a gun if the federal ban is still in place. The federal law also covers ammunition, and California’s background-check system for ammunition sales will flag federal prohibitions along with state ones.
Ammunition is also prohibited under state law. Penal Code 30305 bars anyone covered by Penal Code 29800 from owning or possessing ammunition, with penalties up to a year in county jail or time in state prison and a fine up to $1,000.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30305
Firearms You Already Own
If you owned guns before your felony conviction, California requires you to give them up. Penal Code 29810 directs the court to inform newly convicted defendants of the prohibition and to order them to relinquish any firearms they own or control. You can surrender them to law enforcement, sell them to a licensed dealer, or transfer them to a dealer for storage.
This is where people slip into new charges without meaning to. Guns kept in your home, even ones titled to a spouse or roommate, can support a constructive possession charge if you have access to them. After a qualifying conviction, the safe move is to remove every firearm from any place you live or can reach.
Can You Ever Get Your Gun Rights Back?
Restoring firearm rights after a felony is possible in narrow situations. Three paths come up most often, and only two of them actually work.
Reducing a Wobbler to a Misdemeanor
If your felony was for a wobbler offense, you can ask the court to reduce it to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b). Once reduced, the statute treats the offense as a misdemeanor “for all purposes.”4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 That language is broad enough to lift the state firearm ban under Penal Code 29800, because you no longer have a felony conviction for state-law purposes.
Two things complicate the picture. If the misdemeanor version of your offense appears on the list in Penal Code 29805, you still face a 10-year firearm ban under state law after the reduction. And the federal ban generally does not go away: if the crime was punishable by more than one year in prison at the time you were convicted, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) typically continues to apply regardless of how California later reclassifies it.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A reduction helps with state law but rarely solves the federal side.
Certificate of Rehabilitation and a Governor’s Pardon
The fullest path to restoring firearm rights runs through a Governor’s pardon, usually reached by first petitioning for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. When a court grants the certificate, it automatically functions as an application for a pardon and is forwarded to the Governor’s Office.5Governor of California. Pardons
Eligibility requires a waiting period after release from custody, generally seven years and longer for certain offenses, plus five years of continuous California residency. If you were sentenced to probation rather than prison, you typically have to get your conviction dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4 before you can apply.
Pardons are rare and granted at the Governor’s complete discretion. Even when one is issued, it will not restore firearm rights if the conviction involved the use of a dangerous weapon.6Judicial Branch of California. Pardon from the Governor For convictions that did not involve a dangerous weapon, a full and unconditional pardon can lift the state ban.
The federal side is its own obstacle. Congress has not funded the ATF program that grants individual relief from federal firearms disabilities for decades, which has effectively closed that door for most people. The Department of Justice published a proposed rule in July 2025 on the application process for relief from federal firearms disabilities, but the status of that rulemaking remains unsettled.7Federal Register. Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms
Expungement Does Not Restore Gun Rights
This is where people most often go wrong. A dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4, commonly called an expungement, does not restore the right to possess a firearm. The statute says so directly: a 1203.4 dismissal “does not permit a person to own, possess, or have custody or control of a firearm.”8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4 An expungement can help with employment screening and other purposes, but the firearm ban survives it intact. Someone who assumes their expungement cleared everything and goes to buy a gun is committing a new felony.
What Happens If You Try Anyway
Attempting to buy a firearm with a felony on your record will fail at the background check, and the attempt itself can trigger a new prosecution. Possessing a firearm as a felon is a separate felony under Penal Code 29800, punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800
Federal exposure is heavier. Under 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8), a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses trigger the Armed Career Criminal Act, which imposes a mandatory minimum of 15 years with no possibility of parole.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties State and federal prosecutors can pursue the same incident at the same time, so a single traffic stop with a firearm in the car can produce charges in both systems.