Do You Need a Background Check to Buy Ammo in CA?

Yes. To buy ammunition in California, you go through a background check at the point of sale almost every time. Since 2019, state law has required all ammunition sales and transfers to run through a licensed ammunition vendor, who submits an eligibility check to the California Department of Justice before completing the transaction. A Ninth Circuit panel ruled the regime unconstitutional in July 2025, but a December 2025 court order kept the litigation active and the DOJ is still enforcing the requirement.¹ Plan on the check.

The Two Types of Checks

Which check you get depends on whether the DOJ already has a firearm record for you in its Automated Firearms System (AFS). The two tracks differ in cost and speed.

Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check

If you’ve previously bought a firearm in California and that transaction is recorded in AFS, you qualify for the Standard check. The vendor enters your ID information, the system cross-references your AFS record, and if everything matches and you’re not a prohibited person, approval typically comes back in minutes. The fee is $5.² That fee took effect July 1, 2025, replacing the original $1 charge.³

Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check

If you’re not in AFS, you’ll need a Basic check. This applies to new gun owners, people whose only long gun purchase happened before January 2014 (when California began recording rifle and shotgun sales in AFS), and anyone who has never bought a firearm in the state.⁴ The Basic check is a more thorough review. It costs $19 and can take several days.⁵

A detail that surprises many buyers: passing a Basic check does not add you to AFS. Approval is good for one purchase and expires after 30 calendar days.⁵ Next time, you pay the $19 again and wait again. The only way to reach the faster $5 Standard track is to have a firearm purchase or transfer recorded in AFS.

What You Need to Bring

You must be at least 21 to buy handgun ammunition from a licensed dealer. For ammunition designed exclusively for rifles or shotguns, the minimum is 18. Some calibers work in both handguns and long guns; a vendor may sell that dual-use ammunition to a buyer between 18 and 20 only if the vendor reasonably believes the ammunition is intended for a rifle.

At the counter, show a valid, unexpired California driver’s license or state-issued ID card.² Your name, date of birth, and current address on that ID must exactly match what the DOJ has on file in AFS. This is where many purchases fail. If you’ve moved or changed your name since your last firearm transaction, the system won’t find a match and your Standard check is denied on the spot.

You can fix outdated information before you shop by updating your record through the DOJ’s California Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS) online portal.⁶ Handle it in advance and you’ll save a wasted trip.

If your California ID has “FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY” printed on the front, bring proof of lawful presence in the United States. Accepted documents include a valid U.S. passport or passport card, a certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate from a city, county, or state vital statistics office (abbreviated or abstract certificates don’t qualify), or a Certificate of Naturalization.⁷

Why a Check Gets Denied

A denial means the system either couldn’t match you to an AFS record (on a Standard check) or flagged you as prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. The vendor can’t override it.

If a Standard check failed because of a records mismatch, update your information through CFARS and try again, or ask for a Basic check instead.⁶ If the denial reflects a prohibition, common disqualifying factors include:

A felony conviction under federal or California law, which triggers a lifetime ban on possessing firearms and ammunition.
Certain misdemeanor convictions, such as assault with a firearm or domestic battery, each with its own prohibition period.
An active domestic violence restraining order or gun violence restraining order for the duration of the order.
An outstanding felony warrant.
A mental health adjudication, including being found mentally incompetent by a court or having been involuntarily committed.

The DOJ publishes a full list of prohibiting categories that goes well beyond these.⁸ If you think a denial was made in error, submit updated documentation through CFARS or contact the DOJ’s Bureau of Firearms directly.

Who Is Exempt

The exemptions from the eligibility check are narrow and mostly professional. They cover:

Sworn peace officers and federal law enforcement officers, with written certification from their agency head identifying them as authorized to carry a firearm on duty.
Authorized law enforcement representatives buying exclusively for agency use, with written authorization.
Licensed ammunition vendors, gunsmiths, wholesalers, and manufacturers or importers holding the applicable federal firearms license.
Certificate of Eligibility (COE) holders, whose COE is verified as current in place of the standard check.
Ammunition bought at a licensed shooting range that stays on the premises at all times.

That list comes from the statute itself.⁹ Two groups people often assume are exempt aren’t. A concealed carry permit (CCW) does not exempt you from the background check.² Neither does a federal Curio and Relic collector’s license (Type 03 FFL) by itself, unless you appear on the DOJ’s centralized list of exempted federal firearms licensees.

Ammunition transfers between certain immediate family members can skip the licensed-vendor requirement: spouses, registered domestic partners, parents and children, and grandparents and grandchildren.¹⁰ The recipient must still be legally eligible to possess ammunition. Handing rounds to a prohibited family member is itself a crime.

Buying Online or Out of State

You can order ammunition online or from an out-of-state seller, but it cannot ship to your home. It has to be sent to a licensed California ammunition vendor, and you pick it up in person after completing the same ID verification and eligibility check as any in-store purchase.² The receiving vendor charges a processing fee for this on top of the DOJ check fee. That processing fee isn’t regulated by the state and varies by store.

Carrying ammunition into California yourself after buying it elsewhere is also illegal unless you first deliver it to a licensed vendor for processing.² This trips up travelers and people moving into California with existing stockpiles.

What a Purchase Actually Costs

The sticker price is only part of it. A federal 11% excise tax on manufacturers and importers under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act is built into the wholesale price before ammunition reaches the shelf.¹¹ California adds an 11% state excise tax on retail sales of firearms, firearm precursor parts, and ammunition, effective since July 1, 2024.¹² Standard state and local sales tax applies on top of that. Then comes the DOJ check fee: $5 for a Standard check or $19 for a Basic check.² Picking up an online order adds the vendor’s processing fee.

Penalties for Skipping the Process

A prohibited person who possesses ammunition faces criminal charges under state law. The offense is a wobbler, meaning prosecutors can file it as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances and criminal history. The maximum penalty is one year in county jail or a term in state prison, a fine up to $1,000, or both.¹³

Buying ammunition for someone who can’t legally purchase it is a federal crime. Straw purchasing carries up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, rising to 25 years if the ammunition is connected to a felony, drug trafficking, or terrorism.¹⁴ Violating California’s vendor-processing requirement for an ammunition sale is a misdemeanor.¹⁰

1
Justia Law. Rhode v. Bonta, No. 24-542 (9th Cir. 2025)
2
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions
3
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Regulations: Ammunition Purchase Fee
4
California Department of Justice. New and Amended Firearms/Weapons Laws 2014-BOF-01
5
Cornell Law School. California Code of Regulations Title 11, Section 4283 – Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check
6
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 11, Section 4353 – Updating AFS Records
7
California Department of Justice. Text of Proposed Regulations – Identification Requirements for Firearms and Ammunition Eligibility Checks
8
California Department of Justice. Firearms Prohibiting Categories
9
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30352
10
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30312
11
Congressional Research Service. Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET)
12
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Firearm Excise Tax Law – Section 36011
13
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30305
14
ATF. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy