California’s gun ban is really a stack of overlapping prohibitions. The state outlaws named assault rifle models and any semi-automatic rifle, pistol, or shotgun equipped with certain features. It bans .50 BMG rifles, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, silencers, and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It blocks retail sale of most modern handguns through a shrinking approved roster, requires homemade firearms to carry a state-issued serial number, and bars several categories of people from owning any firearm at all. Guns that are sold freely elsewhere are often illegal to buy, build, or even keep here.
Assault Weapons Banned by Name
Penal Code section 30510 lists dozens of specific firearms as assault weapons, including all AK-pattern rifles (Chinese-made AK-47s, Norinco and Poly Technologies variants, MAADI models) and the Colt AR-15 series.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30510 The Beretta AR-70, Steyr AUG, and Bushmaster Assault Rifle are on the list as well.2State of California Department of Justice. Assault Weapons Laws (California and Federal Law)
The statute also sweeps in “any other models that are only variations of those weapons with minor differences, regardless of the manufacturer.” A rifle that functions like an AK-47 but wears a different brand name or cosmetic changes still counts.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30510
Assault Weapons Banned by Features
Most Californians run into trouble under Penal Code section 30515, which classifies a semi-automatic centerfire rifle, pistol, or shotgun as an assault weapon based on what’s attached to it. A single component is enough to turn a legal firearm elsewhere into a felony here.
Rifles
A semi-automatic centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine becomes an assault weapon if it has any one of the following: a pistol grip that protrudes below the action, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, or a forward pistol grip.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515 A semi-automatic centerfire rifle with a fixed magazine holding more than 10 rounds also qualifies, as does one with an overall length under 30 inches.
Pistols
A semi-automatic pistol with a detachable magazine is an assault weapon if it has a threaded barrel capable of accepting a suppressor or forward handgrip, a second handgrip, a barrel shroud that lets you fire without burning your hand (other than a standard slide), or the ability to accept a magazine outside the pistol grip. A semi-automatic pistol with a fixed magazine over 10 rounds also qualifies.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515
Shotguns
A semi-automatic shotgun is an assault weapon if it has both a folding or telescoping stock and a pistol grip, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip. Any semi-automatic shotgun without a fixed magazine is banned, and so is any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515
Compliance Configurations
Owners keep semi-automatic centerfire rifles legal in two ways. A “featureless” build removes every prohibited feature: swap the pistol grip for a compliant grip or grip wrap, replace the flash suppressor with a muzzle brake, pin the telescoping stock. Without a prohibited feature, the rifle can keep a detachable magazine.
The alternative is a “fixed magazine” configuration. Under section 30515, a fixed magazine cannot be removed without disassembling the action.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30515 Devices called “maglocks” require the rear takedown pin to be pulled before the magazine releases. With a fixed magazine holding no more than 10 rounds, the rifle can keep its otherwise-prohibited features, but reloading is slower.
Assault Weapon Penalties
Manufacturing, importing, selling, or giving away an assault weapon is a straight felony punishable by four, six, or eight years in state prison. Transferring one to a minor adds a consecutive year.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600
Possessing an unregistered assault weapon is a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor (up to one year in county jail) or a felony. A narrow first-offense exception drops the penalty to a $500 fine when the owner legally acquired the weapon before it was classified as an assault weapon, has no prior conviction for the offense, is caught within a year of the registration deadline, and possesses no more than two such firearms.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30605
.50 BMG Rifles
Penal Code section 30610 separately bans .50 BMG rifles. Simple possession is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in county jail, or both.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30610 Manufacturing and sales carry the same four, six, or eight years in state prison as assault weapons.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600 A registration window existed for pre-2005 owners, but it closed long ago.
Short-Barreled Rifles, Short-Barreled Shotguns, and Silencers
California flatly bans three items that federal law regulates through the National Firearms Act (NFA) process.
Short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns cannot be manufactured, imported, sold, or possessed. Violations are wobblers carrying up to a year in county jail or state prison.7California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 33215 Even with the federal NFA tax stamp for short-barreled rifles dropping to $0 in 2026, California’s state ban still applies.
Silencers, also called suppressors, are outright banned. Possession is a felony punishable by state prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.8California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 33410 This traps people moving from states where suppressors are legal with a federal stamp. California does not recognize NFA registration as a defense.
Large-Capacity Magazines
Any ammunition feeding device that holds more than 10 rounds is a “large-capacity magazine,” and possession is illegal.9California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 16740 Narrow exceptions cover permanently altered devices, .22 caliber tube feeders, and tubular magazines in lever-action firearms.
Manufacturing, importing, selling, buying, or giving away a large-capacity magazine can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony. Simple possession is chargeable as an infraction with a $100 fine per magazine, or a misdemeanor with up to a year in county jail plus the $100-per-magazine fine.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32310
There is no grandfather clause. The law applies “regardless of the date the magazine was acquired.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban in its March 2025 en banc decision in Duncan v. Bonta, reversing an earlier district court ruling that had struck it down.11Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Duncan v. Bonta (En Banc Opinion) The ban remains enforceable, though the case could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Handgun Roster
California controls which handguns dealers can sell, not just which ones you can own. Under Penal Code section 32000, a licensed dealer cannot sell or transfer any handgun not listed on the state’s Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale. Any handgun off the roster is classified as “unsafe,” and its sale is a misdemeanor.12State of California Department of Justice. Handguns Certified for Sale
To get on the roster, a new semi-automatic pistol must pass firing, safety, and drop tests and carry two specific safety features: a chamber load indicator showing whether the gun is loaded, and a magazine disconnect mechanism that prevents firing when the magazine is not fully inserted.13California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 31910 Most major manufacturers don’t build models with both, so very few new pistols qualify.
The roster is shrinking by design. For every new semi-automatic pistol added, the Department of Justice must remove three older models that lack the required features.13California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 31910 The retail selection gets smaller each year.
A microstamping requirement was legislatively restructured in 2023. Under SB 452, new microstamping provisions are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2028, but only after the Department of Justice makes determinations about viability and commercial availability.14State of California Department of Justice. Senate Bill (SB) 452 Microstamping Until then, microstamping is not an active requirement.
Private party transfers, curio and relic handguns, certain single-action revolvers, and pawn or consignment returns are exempt from the roster requirement.12State of California Department of Justice. Handguns Certified for Sale Off-roster handguns still circulate through those channels, at significantly higher prices.
Ghost Guns and Unserialized Firearms
California prohibits manufacturing or assembling any firearm without a valid serial number. Before building, you must apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial number, engrave or permanently affix it to the firearm within 10 days of completing the build, and then notify the DOJ.15California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29180 A polymer plastic firearm must also have at least 3.7 ounces of 17-4 PH stainless steel embedded in the frame during fabrication.
Selling or transferring a homemade firearm is banned outright unless you’re a federally licensed manufacturer. You also cannot help a prohibited person build or assemble a firearm.15California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29180
An unserialized handgun carries up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Other unserialized firearms carry up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Each firearm is a separate offense.15California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29180
Who Cannot Own Any Firearm
Some Californians cannot legally possess even firearms that are otherwise unrestricted. Penal Code section 29800 makes it a felony for any of the following to own, buy, receive, or possess a firearm:
- Anyone convicted of a felony under federal, California, or another state’s law.
- Anyone with two or more convictions for brandishing a firearm under Penal Code section 417(a)(2).
- Anyone addicted to a narcotic drug.
- Anyone who knows they have an outstanding warrant for a qualifying offense.
Additional state prohibitions apply to people subject to domestic violence restraining orders and people involuntarily committed for mental health treatment, under separate Penal Code and Welfare and Institutions Code provisions.
Ammunition Purchase Rules
Under Penal Code section 30312, ammunition sales must go through a licensed ammunition vendor in a face-to-face transaction.17California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30312 You can order ammunition online, but it must be shipped to a licensed vendor for pickup rather than delivered to your home.
Exemptions cover law enforcement, federally licensed importers and manufacturers, licensed dealers and collectors with a current certificate of eligibility, ammunition used entirely at a licensed shooting range, and ammunition received from a spouse, domestic partner, or immediate family member.17California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30312
California also required point-of-sale background checks for ammunition purchases starting in 2019, processed through the Department of Justice’s Ammunition Purchase Authorization Program.18State of California Department of Justice. Ammunition Purchase Authorization Program In July 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ammunition background check requirement in Rhode v. Bonta. The status of ammunition eligibility checks may continue to shift as the state pursues further appeals. The face-to-face vendor requirement under section 30312 is a separate provision and remains in force.