California’s assault weapons ban makes it a felony to manufacture, sell, transport, or import firearms the state classifies as assault weapons, and it makes simple possession of an unregistered one a separate crime. A firearm falls under the ban either because it appears on a list of named models in Penal Code 30510 or because it has certain combinations of physical features under Penal Code 30515. Trafficking carries up to eight years in prison. Possession carries up to three. The law has been in place since 1989, was last expanded in 2017, and remains fully enforceable while federal appeals play out.
How a Firearm Gets Classified as an Assault Weapon
California uses two independent methods. The first is a list; the second is a checklist of features. A firearm caught by either is banned.
Named Models
Penal Code 30510 identifies dozens of semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns by manufacturer and model. Banned rifles include the entire AK series, the Colt AR-15 series, HK-91 through HK-94 models, the Steyr AUG, and the Beretta AR-70. Banned pistols include the UZI pistol, the Intratec TEC-9, and several MAC-type models. Banned shotguns include the Franchi SPAS 12 and the Striker 12.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30510
The list also reaches “variations with minor differences” of any listed model, regardless of manufacturer. A firearm that functions identically to a listed model but wears a different brand name or a cosmetic change is still prohibited, and this classification cannot be modified away.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30510
The Feature Test
Penal Code 30515 sweeps in firearms not on the list. A semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine is an assault weapon if it has any one of these features: a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, or a forward pistol grip. A semiautomatic centerfire rifle is also an assault weapon if it has a fixed magazine holding more than ten rounds, or if its overall length is under 30 inches.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515
Semiautomatic pistols without a fixed magazine are banned if they have any one of these: a threaded barrel, a second handgrip, a barrel shroud other than the slide, or the ability to accept a detachable magazine outside the pistol grip. A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine holding more than ten rounds is also banned.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515
Semiautomatic shotguns are banned when they combine a folding or telescoping stock with a protruding pistol grip, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip. Any semiautomatic shotgun without a fixed magazine is banned, and so is any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515
What the Law Prohibits
Penal Code 30600 makes it a felony to manufacture, distribute, transport, import, sell, give, or lend an assault weapon in California. Keeping one for sale is covered, and so is handing one to a friend.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30600
Possession is a separate crime under Penal Code 30605. Simply having an unregistered assault weapon is illegal, even if you never sell, lend, or display it.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600-30685 Each firearm counts as its own offense. Three unregistered assault weapons in a closet mean three potential charges.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30600
Penalties
The consequences split sharply depending on the conduct.
Manufacturing, Selling, or Importing
These are straight felonies with a sentence of four, six, or eight years in prison. Transferring an assault weapon to a minor adds a consecutive one-year enhancement.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30600
Possession
Possession of an unregistered assault weapon is a wobbler. A prosecutor can file it as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail, or as a felony punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail under California’s realignment sentencing rules.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600-306855California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1170 The assault weapon statutes do not set a specific fine, so the court can add up to $1,000 for a misdemeanor conviction or up to $10,000 for a felony under the state’s general fine provision.6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 672
Reduced Penalty for a Missed Registration
A narrow off-ramp exists for first-time offenders who lawfully owned the firearm before it was reclassified and just missed the registration deadline. If the person has no prior convictions under this law, was found with no more than two such firearms within one year after registration closed, and surrenders the weapon for destruction, the penalty drops to a $500 fine.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600-30685
Registration Is Closed
California grandfathered lawful owners through several registration windows tied to expansions of the ban: the original 1989 ban (deadline January 1, 1991), the 1999 feature-test expansion (deadline January 1, 2001), and the 2017 “bullet button” expansion (deadline June 30, 2018).7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30900 Every window is now closed. There is no current path to register an assault weapon with the Department of Justice.8State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Bullet-Button Assault-Weapon Registration Information
If You Own One Now
An owner holding an unregistered assault weapon today has three lawful choices: modify the firearm so it no longer meets the definition, transfer it out of state, or surrender it to law enforcement.8State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Bullet-Button Assault-Weapon Registration Information Modification only works for firearms captured by the feature test in Penal Code 30515. A firearm banned by name under Penal Code 30510 cannot be modified into legality. Owners who choose to modify generally take one of two paths.
Featureless
A featureless build strips every prohibited feature so the rifle no longer matches the definition, while keeping a detachable magazine. On a semiautomatic centerfire rifle, that typically means replacing the pistol grip with a fin-grip attachment that prevents the thumb from wrapping around the grip, removing any flash suppressor (a muzzle brake or compensator that does not suppress flash is legal), pinning any telescoping stock in a fixed position, and removing any forward grip or thumbhole stock.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515 The rifle keeps a standard magazine release; the ergonomics change.
Fixed Magazine
The alternative is to lock the magazine so it cannot be removed without disassembling the action. The statute defines a fixed magazine as one that cannot come out without disassembly of the firearm action.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515 On an AR-15 style rifle, that means pulling the rear takedown pin and hinging the upper receiver away from the lower before the magazine can be released.9Legal Information Institute. 11 CCR 5471 – Registration of Assault Weapons Pursuant to Penal Code Section 30900(b)(1) A fixed-magazine rifle can keep its pistol grip, telescoping stock, flash suppressor, and forward grip. The fixed magazine still cannot hold more than ten rounds, or the rifle falls back into the assault weapon definition under a separate part of the same statute.
Choosing a configuration and getting it wrong is where owners get charged. If a build keeps one prohibited feature the owner overlooked, or the “fixed” magazine can still be released without opening the action, the firearm is still an assault weapon under the statute.
Who Is Exempt
Sworn peace officers employed by agencies specified in the Penal Code may possess assault weapons for law enforcement purposes on and off duty, with written authorization from their employer and registration of the weapon.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30630 Federal agents authorized by their employing agency are covered, and licensed firearms dealers may handle assault weapons for sales to law enforcement and other authorized buyers. None of these exemptions extends to ordinary civilians.
Related Bans Worth Knowing
California separately bans .50 BMG rifles under the same chapter of the Penal Code. A .50 BMG rifle is defined as a centerfire rifle capable of firing a .50 BMG cartridge that is not already classified as an assault weapon or a machinegun; antique firearms and recognized curios or relics are excluded.11California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30530 The trafficking penalties are the same four, six, or eight years.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30600
Magazine capacity is a separate law that interacts with the assault weapon rules. California has prohibited manufacture, import, and sale of magazines holding more than ten rounds since 2000, and Proposition 63 extended the ban to simple possession in 2016. A rifle that avoids assault weapon classification through a fixed magazine still violates state law if that magazine holds more than ten rounds.
Pending Court Challenges
The ban is being challenged in federal court, and owners should understand that lower-court rulings do not change what is enforceable on the ground. In Miller v. Bonta, a federal district judge struck down the ban in 2021 on Second Amendment grounds. The state appealed, and the case is before the Ninth Circuit, with supplemental briefing continuing into early 2026. In Rupp v. Bonta, the district court upheld the ban in 2024 under the Supreme Court’s framework from New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That case is on appeal and has been paused while the Ninth Circuit resolves a related case involving California’s magazine capacity ban.
Until a final appellate decision or legislative repeal, the ban remains fully enforceable. A favorable trial-court ruling does not create a safe harbor to acquire or keep an unregistered assault weapon.