California Firearms Laws: Purchases, Carry, and Prohibited Guns

California firearms laws touch nearly every part of gun ownership: you need a Firearm Safety Certificate to buy, every transfer runs through a licensed dealer with a 10-day waiting period, magazines over 10 rounds and assault-weapon features are prohibited, concealed carry requires a county-issued license, and storage, transport, and prohibited-person rules carry criminal penalties that reach felony prison time. Several of these rules are being actively litigated in federal court, so a few pieces of the framework are in motion.

Buying a Gun in California

Every firearm sale or transfer, including one between two private individuals, has to go through the state’s Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) system. A private seller cannot simply hand over a gun. A licensed dealer processes the paperwork and submits the buyer’s information to the California Department of Justice for a background check.¹

A 10-day waiting period runs from the day the DROS application is submitted. The dealer cannot release the firearm before those 10 days are up, even if the background check clears in an hour. If the DOJ has not completed the check within 30 days, the dealer may, at their discretion, transfer the firearm to the buyer.¹

Before any of that can happen, you need a valid Firearm Safety Certificate. The FSC costs $25, requires a passing score of at least 75% on a 30-question written test on firearm safety and California gun laws, and stays valid for five years.²

California also limits how often you can buy. State law prohibits purchasing more than one handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle within any 30-day period. A federal court injunction currently blocks enforcement of this restriction in Nguyen v. Bonta, but the statute itself is still on the books and could become enforceable again if the injunction is lifted.

Ammunition Purchases

Ammunition vendors have to record the buyer’s name, address, date of birth, ID number, and the type and amount of ammunition purchased for every sale, and submit that data electronically to the DOJ.³

The state also required a point-of-sale background check on every ammunition purchase, which effectively blocked mail-order sales from out of state. In July 2025, a federal court struck down the ammunition background check requirement. Because that ruling could be appealed or superseded by new legislation, check with your dealer about the current rule before trying to buy.

Guns and Features That Are Banned

Assault Weapons

California’s Assault Weapons Control Act restricts firearms two ways: a list of specifically banned makes and models, and a set of prohibited features. On a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine, a single feature such as a pistol grip, telescoping stock, or flash suppressor is enough to make the firearm an illegal assault weapon.

Possession alone is punishable by up to one year in county jail or a state prison sentence under realignment.⁴ Manufacturing, distributing, or selling one is a straight felony that carries four, six, or eight years in prison.⁵

Magazines Over 10 Rounds

Separately from the assault weapons ban, California prohibits possessing any magazine that holds more than 10 rounds, whether the magazine is for a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. Tubular magazines in lever-action firearms and .22 caliber tubular magazines are exempt. If you already own a large-capacity magazine, your legal options are to remove it from the state, sell it to a licensed dealer, surrender it to law enforcement, or permanently alter it to hold no more than 10 rounds.

In 2025, the Ninth Circuit ruled en banc in Duncan v. Bonta that the law is constitutional, reversing a district court decision that had struck it down.⁶

The Handgun Roster

Only handguns that have passed the state’s drop safety, firing reliability, and safety testing can be sold by licensed dealers to the public, and the certified list is maintained by the DOJ.⁷ Recent additions to the roster’s requirements, including microstamping, have kept most new models off the list. Off-roster handguns can still change hands through private party transfers, intrafamilial transfers, or law enforcement exemptions.

Ghost Guns and Homemade Firearms

Knowingly possessing an unserialized firearm or a completed frame or receiver is illegal in California. Manufacturing or assembling an unserialized firearm without first getting a unique serial number from the DOJ is also illegal.⁸

Under AB 1621, unlicensed individuals generally cannot purchase unserialized frames, receivers, or firearm precursor parts. If you already own an unserialized firearm, you have to apply to the DOJ for a serial number, hold a valid FSC, pass a background check, be at least 21, and engrave the assigned number onto the frame or receiver within 10 days. Selling a privately made firearm built by someone without a federal manufacturing license is also prohibited.⁸

Carrying a Firearm in Public

Carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, or carrying a loaded firearm in public, is generally a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. It becomes a felony if the person has a prior felony conviction, the firearm is stolen, or the person is a prohibited possessor.⁹¹⁰

Concealed Carry Licenses

The legal path to carrying is a Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) license issued by a county sheriff or, in some cities, the police chief. After the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision invalidated California’s former “good cause” requirement, the legislature passed Senate Bill 2, which removed both the “good cause” and “good moral character” standards.¹¹

Under current law, a sheriff must issue or renew a license if the applicant:¹²

Passes the screening standards in Penal Code 26202, including a background check.
Is at least 21 years old.
Lives or has a principal place of employment in the county.
Has completed a mandatory firearms training course.
Is the recorded owner with the DOJ of the specific firearm to be carried.

Sensitive Places

SB 2 created a long list of “sensitive places” where carrying is banned even with a valid CCW. Federal courts have partially enjoined that list, so what is enforceable has shifted. After the Ninth Circuit reversed the preliminary injunction against them, these restrictions are enforceable as of early 2025:¹³

Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and their parking areas
Playgrounds and youth centers
Public parks, athletic areas, and athletic facilities
Property controlled by the Department of Parks and Recreation or Department of Fish and Wildlife, except designated hunting areas
Casinos and gambling establishments
Stadiums and arenas
Public libraries
Amusement parks
Zoos and museums

Other SB 2 designations remain enjoined and are not currently enforceable. Because the litigation is still moving, check the DOJ’s latest guidance before carrying anywhere covered by SB 2.

Transporting a Firearm

In a vehicle, a firearm has to be unloaded and stored in a locked container or the trunk. A locked container means a fully enclosed box or case secured with a padlock, key lock, or combination lock. The glove compartment and utility compartment do not qualify, even if they lock. Ammunition should be stored separately during transport.

If you are traveling through California from another state, federal law offers some protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you may transport a firearm through any state if you could legally possess it at both origin and destination, the firearm is unloaded, and neither the gun nor the ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm has to be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.¹⁴ The federal safe-passage provision only covers travel through. If you stop for anything beyond a brief, travel-necessary stop, California’s rules apply in full.

Storing a Firearm at Home

California’s criminal storage law has one core rule: you cannot keep a firearm where you know or should know a child or prohibited person is likely to gain access to it unless you have secured it with a DOJ-certified locking device or locked container.¹⁵ The offense is graded by what happens.

First degree applies when a child or prohibited person actually accesses the firearm and causes injury or death, or carries it to a public place. It is a wobbler: as a felony, 16 months, two, or three years in prison and a fine up to $10,000; as a misdemeanor, up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000.
Second degree applies when a child accesses the firearm and carries or displays it in a way that could cause harm, without anyone being injured. It is a misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Third degree applies when a firearm is negligently stored where a child is likely to gain access, even if the child never touches it. It is a misdemeanor.

The safest practice is to store firearms unloaded, secured with a California DOJ-certified safety device, inside a locked safe or container, with ammunition stored separately.

Using a Firearm in Self-Defense

California follows the castle doctrine under Penal Code 198.5. If someone unlawfully and forcibly enters your residence and you knew or reasonably believed the entry occurred, the law presumes you had a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury to yourself, your family, or a household member.¹⁶

The presumption is powerful but narrow. It applies only inside your residence, only against someone who enters unlawfully and by force, and only against a person who is not a household member. Outside the home, you can still claim self-defense, but without that automatic presumption. California does not impose a general duty to retreat, but the force used has to be proportional to the threat.

Who Cannot Own a Firearm

A felony conviction under state or federal law is a lifetime ban on owning, buying, or possessing any firearm in California. Certain violent misdemeanors also carry a lifetime prohibition.

A conviction for any of dozens of specified misdemeanors triggers a 10-year ban. The list covers domestic violence, stalking, brandishing a weapon, assault, battery, criminal threats, and violating a protective order, among others. The legislature has kept adding to it: criminal storage of a firearm was added effective 2020, certain child endangerment charges in 2023, and animal cruelty in 2025.¹⁷

Someone admitted to a mental health facility for inpatient treatment who, in the treating professional’s opinion, is a danger to themselves or others is prohibited from possessing firearms while in treatment; that prohibition ends on discharge.¹⁸ Longer-term prohibitions apply to people a court has found to be a danger to others because of a mental disorder.¹⁹

An active restraining order, such as a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, immediately bars the restrained person from possessing any firearm or ammunition for the length of the order. Violating that prohibition is a separate criminal offense, usually charged as a felony.¹⁹

California also has a Gun Violence Restraining Order process, which lets family members, household members, employers, coworkers, teachers, and law enforcement petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who poses a significant danger. A GVRO prohibits the named person from having custody or control of, owning, buying, possessing, or receiving any firearms or ammunition.²⁰ An emergency GVRO can be issued without the subject present and takes effect immediately, but it is temporary and has to be followed by a full hearing for a longer order.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 26815 – Delivery of Firearms
2
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Firearm Safety Certificate Program Frequently Asked Questions
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30352 – Ammunition Vendor Requirements
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30605 – Possession of Assault Weapons
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600 – Assault Weapons Manufacturing, Distribution, and Transportation
6
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Duncan v. Bonta – Opinion
7
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Handguns Certified for Sale
8
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. California Ghost Gun Laws Reference Guide
9
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 25400 – Carrying a Concealed Firearm
10
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 25850 – Carrying a Loaded Firearm
11
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Regulations – Carry Concealed Weapons Licenses
12
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 26150 – Concealed Carry License Issuance
13
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. 2025-DLE-06 – Additional Restrictions on CCW License Holders
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
15
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 25100 – Criminal Storage of a Firearm
16
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 198.5 – Presumption of Reasonable Fear
17
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29805 – Persons Prohibited from Possessing Firearms for 10 Years
18
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 8100 – Firearms Possession by Persons Receiving Mental Health Treatment
19
California Department of Justice. California Department of Justice – Firearms Prohibiting Categories
20
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 18100 – Gun Violence Restraining Orders