You generally cannot have ammunition shipped to your house in California. Under Penal Code 30312, online ammunition orders have to be sent to a California-licensed ammunition vendor, who runs a background check and hands the ammo to you in person. One narrow exception exists: residents who hold both a federal Type 03 Curio and Relic license and a California Certificate of Eligibility can receive ammunition at the address on their license. For everyone else, direct-to-door shipping is a misdemeanor.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30312
How the Vendor Transfer Works
You can shop and pay online, but the retailer has to ship your order to a licensed vendor in California rather than to you. Most gun shops that hold a Federal Firearms License qualify. Call around, pick one, and give that vendor’s address to the online retailer at checkout.
When your shipment lands at the shop, you go in person to pick it up. At the counter, the vendor submits your information to the California Department of Justice for an eligibility check. Which check you get depends on whether you already have a firearm registered in the state’s Automated Firearm System (AFS):
- Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check — $5, fast, available if you’re already in the AFS.
- Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check — $19, can take several days, used when you’re not in the AFS.2State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions – Ammunition Purchase Authorization Program
On top of the DOJ fee, the vendor charges its own transfer or processing fee. The state doesn’t regulate that charge, and it varies a lot by shop. Budget roughly $25 to $75, more for large or multi-box orders. It’s worth comparing a few vendors before you commit.
You’ll also pay an 11% state excise tax on retail ammunition sales, in effect since July 1, 2024. The vendor collects it when you pick up the order.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Firearm Excise Tax Law – Section 36011
No workaround exists based on quantity, caliber, or how long you’ve owned firearms. If you don’t fit the collector exception below, the vendor route is the only legal path.
The One Way to Get Ammo Shipped to Your Door
California residents who hold both a Certificate of Eligibility from the DOJ and a federal Type 03 FFL (the Curio and Relic collector’s license) can legally receive ammunition at the address printed on the license, bypassing the vendor transfer requirement.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30312
Getting both credentials takes some paperwork and up-front money:
- Type 03 FFL — applied for through the ATF, $30, valid three years.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Federal Firearms Licenses
- Certificate of Eligibility — applied for through the DOJ, requires fingerprinting, $71 initial fee, $22 to renew each year.5State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Certificate of Eligibility
First-year cost runs about $101 plus whatever your Live Scan operator charges for prints. After that, you’re spending $22 a year on the COE and $30 every three years on the FFL. If you order ammunition online even a few times a year, that beats paying transfer fees and DOJ checks on every shipment.
Two other categories are exempt from the vendor requirement, but they won’t help a typical buyer: sworn law enforcement officers acting in an official capacity, and licensed ammunition vendors themselves.
Who’s Eligible to Buy at All
Clearing the background check matters more than clearing the shipping question, because an ineligible buyer can’t take the ammo home no matter how it got there.
You must be at least 21 to buy handgun ammunition. Long-gun ammunition can be sold to buyers 18 or older. For calibers that work in both, a vendor can sell to someone 18 to 20 only if the vendor reasonably believes it will be used in a rifle.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30300
Anyone prohibited from possessing a firearm under California law is also barred from possessing ammunition. That includes people with felony convictions, people subject to a domestic violence restraining order, people convicted of certain misdemeanors such as domestic battery or assault, and people subject to a mental health firearms prohibition.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30305
Can You Just Drive It In From Nevada or Arizona?
No. Penal Code 30314 bars California residents from importing ammunition bought out of state unless it’s first delivered to a licensed California vendor for processing. The same background check and transfer rules apply as if you’d ordered online.
This trips people up. Buying ammo at a Nevada or Arizona shop during a road trip and loading it into your trunk for the drive home violates California law, even if the purchase itself was legal where you bought it. The only lawful way to bring it in is to have the out-of-state seller ship to a California vendor on your behalf.
What Happens If You Skip the Vendor
Having ammunition shipped directly to your home, or otherwise bypassing the background check process required by Penal Code 30312, is a misdemeanor.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30312 Online retailers that ship to California generally know the rules and will refuse to send ammunition to a residential address, which is one reason the vendor system catches most would-be violations before they happen.
A Pending Court Challenge Could Change the Rules
California’s ammunition background check regime is being challenged in Rhode v. Bonta. A federal district court issued a permanent injunction against key parts of the system, including the vendor transfer rule in Penal Code 30312 and the out-of-state importation ban in Penal Code 30314, finding they violated the Second Amendment. The Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling in July 2025.8Justia Law. Rhode v. Bonta, No. 24-542 (9th Cir. 2025)
During the appeal, however, a motions panel stayed the injunction, so the laws remain enforceable while the case continues. California is likely to seek further review. Until that process ends, follow the law as written: use a licensed vendor, complete the background check, and don’t bring ammunition in on your own. If the injunction eventually takes full effect, direct shipping to the home could become legal, but that hasn’t happened yet.