Pepper balls are not legal for civilians in California. Penal Code 22810 bans any tear gas weapon that expels a projectile, which covers pepper ball launchers and the capsaicin-filled rounds they fire. Small aerosol pepper spray canisters remain legal for self-defense, but the projectile launchers sold by companies like Byrna and PepperBall cannot be lawfully bought, owned, or used in the state by anyone outside law enforcement or certain licensed security roles.
Why the Launchers Are Banned
California treats pepper-based chemical agents as “tear gas” and regulates the devices that deploy them as “tear gas weapons.” The statute allows civilians to buy and use tear gas for self-defense only in the form of an aerosol spray canister holding no more than 2.5 ounces. It flatly prohibits any tear gas weapon that “expels a projectile” or delivers tear gas “by any method other than an aerosol spray.”1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 22810 Pepper ball launchers fire solid rounds that burst on impact, placing them squarely inside that prohibition.
Law enforcement officers and certain licensed security professionals are exempt, which is why the same devices show up in police supply catalogs while remaining unavailable to the general public.2Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Clarification Regarding Tear Gas and Other Deadly Weapons
What You Can Legally Carry Instead
The only tear gas product a California civilian can legally carry is an aerosol pepper spray canister of 2.5 ounces or less. The product must dispense as an aerosol, not as a projectile or a stream fired from a launcher. Every canister sold in the state has to include a printed warning that using it for anything other than self-defense is a crime, an expiration date, and use instructions.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 22810
Some manufacturers market California-specific kits that swap live pepper rounds for inert water-filled or rubber projectiles. Those projectiles contain no chemical irritant and so sit outside the tear gas ban, but the launcher itself can still raise legal questions if it is capable of firing live pepper rounds.
Who Cannot Possess Even Aerosol Pepper Spray
Legal aerosol spray is still off-limits to several categories of people under Penal Code 22810:
- Anyone convicted of a felony or of any assault crime, under federal, California, or any other jurisdiction’s laws.
- Anyone previously convicted of misusing tear gas under the same statute.
- People addicted to narcotic drugs, in the statute’s wording.
- Anyone under 18. A minor who is at least 16 may possess pepper spray with written parental consent or when accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Sellers are also barred from furnishing tear gas to any minor.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 22810
Penalties for Possession or Misuse
Using tear gas for anything other than self-defense is a wobbler in California, chargeable as either a felony or a misdemeanor. As a felony, the sentence is 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison. As a misdemeanor, it carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 22810
Penalties increase when the victim is a peace officer acting in an official capacity and the person using the tear gas knows or should know that. Those cases are punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison, or a $1,000 fine, or both, regardless of whether the charge is filed as a felony or a misdemeanor.
Possessing a banned pepper ball launcher can also draw separate charges for illegal possession of a prohibited tear gas weapon. On top of criminal exposure, anyone injured by improper tear gas use can sue for civil damages.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 22815 Ordering a launcher online for delivery to a California address does not shield the buyer, whatever the seller claims about legality.
The Federal Lawsuit That Could Change This
A federal lawsuit filed in San Diego challenges California’s pepper ball ban under the Second Amendment. Manufacturer Byrna Technologies and other plaintiffs argue that pepper projectile launchers are in common use nationwide, with more than 750,000 units sold, and that banning a non-lethal option while permitting lethal firearms is constitutionally inconsistent. They contend the devices are neither dangerous nor unusual under existing Supreme Court precedent on protected arms.
As of early 2026, the case remains in litigation. If the plaintiffs prevail, California would need to revise its tear gas laws to accommodate projectile devices. Until a court orders otherwise, the ban stands.
Traveling With Legal Pepper Spray
Even lawful aerosol spray faces travel restrictions. The TSA prohibits all pepper spray and mace in carry-on luggage. You may pack one container of up to 4 fluid ounces in checked baggage if it has a safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge, and sprays containing more than 2 percent tear gas by mass are barred from checked bags entirely.4Transportation Security Administration. Pepper Spray Amtrak bans all tear gas and corrosive chemicals from both carry-on and checked baggage, with no exception for small self-defense sprays.5Amtrak. Items Prohibited in Baggage Onboard the Train The Postal Service classifies tear-producing ammunition as prohibited in air and surface mail, though small aerosol self-defense sprays may ship by surface under specific packaging rules.6Postal Explorer – USPS. Publication 52 – Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail – Appendix A