A felony conviction in California carries a prison or county jail term set by the specific statute you were convicted under, along with mandatory fines, victim restitution, and, in many cases, sentence enhancements that add years on top of the base term. California felony penalties are built from layers: the base sentence, any enhancements for how the crime was committed, any strikes from prior convictions, and a set of collateral consequences that continue after release. The state defines a felony as any crime punishable by death, state prison, or county jail for more than one year.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 The death penalty remains on the books but has been halted by a governor’s moratorium since 2019, so life in prison is the practical ceiling for the most severe convictions.2Office of the State Public Defender. Death Penalty in California
Straight Felonies and Wobblers
California does not use letter grades for felonies. Each statute writes its own penalty, and every offense falls into one of two charging categories.
A straight felony can only be filed as a felony. Murder, kidnapping, and rape are examples. The prosecutor has no discretion to reduce the charge, and no judge can later drop it to a misdemeanor.
A wobbler can be filed either way. Assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, and certain domestic violence charges are common wobblers. Penal Code 17(b) lets the judge reduce a wobbler to a misdemeanor at sentencing, when granting probation, or even after probation is completed.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 The post-probation option matters because it lets someone come back years later and clear the felony from their record for most purposes.
How Prison Terms Are Set
Most felonies carry a determinate sentence: a fixed number of years rather than an open-ended range. The statute lists a triad of three possible terms, a lower, middle, and upper. When a statute doesn’t specify, the default under Penal Code 18 is 16 months, two years, or three years.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 18 Serious offenses have their own, much higher triads.
Since SB 567 took effect, the middle term is the presumptive sentence. A judge can go lower when mitigating circumstances support it and must impose the lower term when factors like childhood trauma, abuse, or the defendant’s youth contributed to the offense.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1170
Going above the middle term is harder. Aggravating facts must either be admitted by the defendant or proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury. Prior convictions can be considered from the certified record without a jury finding, but circumstances like particular cruelty or abuse of a position of trust require the higher standard.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1170 The judge also has to state on the record why a term above or below the middle was chosen.
Sentence Enhancements That Add Years
The base term is the starting point. California adds mandatory extra years for specific conduct, and those enhancements run consecutively, meaning they begin only after the base term ends. A moderate base can grow into decades once enhancements are stacked.
Firearms
Penal Code 12022.53, known as the 10-20-Life law, applies to a list of violent felonies including murder, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, and certain sex offenses.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 12022.53 Personal use of a firearm adds 10 years, even if the gun was unloaded or inoperable. Intentionally firing adds 20 years. Firing a gun that causes great bodily injury or death adds 25 years to life. An armed robbery with a five-year base and a personal-use enhancement reaches 15 years before anything else is considered.
Gang Involvement
Penal Code 186.22 adds time when a felony was committed for the benefit of, or in association with, a criminal street gang. A non-serious, non-violent felony gets two, three, or four extra years. A serious felony adds five years. A violent felony adds ten. Certain gang-related felonies like home invasion robbery and carjacking can trigger an indeterminate life sentence with a minimum of 15 years.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 186.22
The Three Strikes Law
Penal Code 667 layers additional prison time onto defendants with prior convictions the code labels “serious” or “violent.” Serious felonies include murder, robbery, first-degree burglary, arson, and any felony involving personal use of a firearm, among others.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1192.7 Violent felonies overlap substantially and add kidnapping, carjacking, and certain sex crimes.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667.5
A defendant with one prior serious or violent conviction who picks up any new felony has the normal term doubled. On a triad of two, three, or four years with a middle term of three, a second-strike sentence becomes six years.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667
A defendant with two or more prior strikes faces an indeterminate life sentence. The minimum term is the greatest of three times the normal term, 25 years, or the term the court would otherwise impose with enhancements.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667 In practice, 25 years to life is the floor for most third-strike cases.
Proposition 36 narrowed when the life sentence applies. Before the 2012 reform, any new felony (even shoplifting) could trigger 25 to life for someone with two priors. Now the new offense itself generally has to be serious or violent to trigger the full third-strike penalty; otherwise, the second-strike doubling rule applies.10Legislative Analyst’s Office. Proposition 36 – Three Strikes Law Exceptions remain when the current offense involved a firearm, resulted in a sex offense requiring registration, or caused great bodily injury.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667
Fines and Victim Restitution
Prison time dominates the conversation, but the financial hit is substantial. California imposes two separate categories of money obligations at felony sentencing.
Many felony statutes specify their own fines. When a statute doesn’t, the court can still impose a fine of up to $10,000 for a felony.11California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 672 That fine is separate from and additional to the prison term and to the restitution described below.
Every felony conviction also triggers a mandatory restitution fine of at least $300 and up to $10,000, set at the court’s discretion. A judge can waive it only for compelling and extraordinary reasons stated on the record, which almost never happens. On top of that, if the crime caused any economic loss to a victim, the court must order the defendant to pay the full amount to cover medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and related costs. The defendant’s inability to pay is expressly not a factor in setting the amount.12California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1202.4 These orders are enforceable as civil judgments, so victims can pursue collection long after the criminal case ends.
When a Felony Doesn’t Mean State Prison
Not every felony ends in state prison. Under Penal Code 1203.1, a judge can suspend the prison sentence and place the defendant on formal probation with conditions like regular check-ins, community service, counseling, drug testing, and restrictions on travel or association.13California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.1 Violating any condition gives the court authority to revoke probation and impose the original prison sentence.
The 2011 realignment law also changed where many felony sentences are served. Under Penal Code 1170(h), defendants convicted of non-violent, non-serious felonies who are not required to register as sex offenders serve their time in county jail rather than state prison, even when the sentence is two or three years.14California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1170 Subdivision h Anyone with a prior serious or violent felony, or convicted of an offense listed as serious or violent, still goes to state prison. Judges handling 1170(h) cases can also impose split sentences, where part of the term is served in custody and the remainder under mandatory supervision in the community.
Actual Time Served and Post-Release Supervision
Time actually served rarely matches the sentence pronounced in court. Penal Code 4019 lets defendants in county custody earn credits: for every four days of actual custody, two days of credit are earned, one for good behavior and one for satisfactory work performance. A four-day sentence can end up as two days of actual confinement when all credits are earned.15California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 4019 Credits aren’t automatic. Refusing assigned work or breaking jail rules costs the credit for that period.
Release doesn’t end state oversight. People released from state prison after serving time for a non-serious, non-violent, non-sex-offense felony go on post-release community supervision (PRCS) for up to three years, managed by the county probation department.16California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 3451 Those convicted of serious felonies, violent felonies, third-strike offenses, or sex offenses requiring registration go on traditional state parole supervised by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Both come with conditions like drug testing, curfews, and restrictions on travel and association, and technical violations account for a significant share of returns to custody.
Consequences That Continue After the Sentence Ends
A felony conviction triggers penalties outside the courtroom that outlast any prison term.
Firearms are the clearest example. Penal Code 29800 imposes a lifetime ban on owning, purchasing, or possessing a firearm after any felony conviction, and violating that ban is itself a felony.17California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 Federal law under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g) mirrors this, barring anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.18Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons Expungement under California law does not restore firearm rights.
Voting rights are different. You can register and vote while on probation, parole, mandatory supervision, or PRCS. The only people who can’t vote in California are those currently serving a sentence in state or federal prison, and once the prison term ends, the right is restored automatically, though you have to re-register.19California Secretary of State. Voting Rights Restored
Employment is protected to a point. California’s Fair Chance Act bars employers with five or more employees from asking about conviction history before making a conditional job offer.20California Civil Rights Department. Fair Chance Act The felony question can’t appear on the initial application, and a background check can’t run until the employer has decided you are otherwise qualified. If the employer wants to withdraw the offer based on a conviction, they must do an individualized assessment and give you a chance to respond. The law does not stop employers from considering a conviction once you are past the conditional offer.
Travel can also become complicated. Canada is a common example: a person convicted of a crime that would also be criminal in Canada may be found inadmissible at the border, and overcoming that requires either qualifying as deemed rehabilitated, applying for individual rehabilitation at least five years after completing the sentence, or getting a temporary resident permit.21Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Overcome Criminal Inadmissibility Other countries impose their own restrictions.
Clearing a Felony From Your Record
California offers two main paths to record relief. Penal Code 1203.4 lets a defendant who has completed probation petition to withdraw the guilty plea and have the case dismissed. This removes many disabilities of the conviction, but it has limits: you still have to disclose the original conviction when applying for public office or a state professional license, it does not restore firearm rights, and the conviction can still be used to enhance a future sentence.22California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4
If your felony is a wobbler, you can ask the court to reduce it to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b) before pursuing 1203.4 dismissal. Combining those two steps is the strongest option for clearing a wobbler conviction.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17
California also now grants automatic record relief for eligible convictions. Starting in 2022 and expanded through SB 731 and later legislation, the Department of Justice reviews criminal justice databases monthly and grants relief without a petition. An expansion effective October 2024 extended automatic relief to additional felony convictions.23California Attorney General. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code Sections 851.93 and 1203.425 Eligible convictions are identified under Penal Code 1203.425, and the DOJ adds a notation of relief to the state criminal history record. Serious and violent felonies remain excluded from automatic relief and still require a petition.