No. Under California Penal Code 29800, a felon cannot own a gun in California. The ban is for life, it applies to every kind of felony, and it reaches convictions from any state or country. A few narrow paths can restore firearm rights, but most people convicted of a felony will never legally possess a gun in California again, and even those who clear the state ban can still be blocked by federal law.1California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 29800
What the Lifetime Ban Actually Covers
Penal Code 29800 makes it a felony for anyone with a prior felony conviction to own, buy, receive, or control a firearm. There is no expiration. A felony from three decades ago carries the same disqualification as one from last year. The offense doesn’t have to be violent, and it doesn’t have to have happened in California. Felonies under federal law and the laws of other states and countries all count.1California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 29800
Felony conviction isn’t the only trigger. California also imposes a 10-year firearm ban for dozens of specific misdemeanors under Penal Code 29805, including misdemeanor assault, battery, domestic violence, stalking, criminal threats, and brandishing.2California Department of Justice. Firearms Prohibiting Categories People often don’t realize this at sentencing and only find out when they try to buy a gun years later.3California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 29805
Possession Is Broader Than You Think
California recognizes two forms of possession. Actual possession means the firearm is on your person. Constructive possession means you have the ability and intent to control it even if it’s somewhere else. A gun in your glove box, your closet, or a drawer in your home can all count.
This creates a serious problem in shared households. If you live with a spouse, partner, or roommate who legally owns firearms, prosecutors can argue you constructively possess those guns. Courts look at whether you knew the firearm was there and whether you could access it. A gun sitting in a common area or an unlocked room you use is a real risk. If you’re prohibited and live with a legal gun owner, every firearm in the home needs to be locked in a container or safe you cannot open.
Ammunition and Antique Firearms Are Included
The ban isn’t limited to modern, working guns. Penal Code 30305 makes it a separate crime for a prohibited person to possess ammunition or reloaded ammunition.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 30305 A single box of cartridges in your closet is a chargeable offense on its own, and prosecutors will stack it on top of a firearm charge.
Antique firearms are another trap. Federal law excludes pre-1898 guns and certain muzzle-loaders from its definition of “firearm,” so a convicted felon can generally possess them under federal law.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 Definitions California uses a broader definition in Penal Code 16520(a) that does not carve out antiques the same way. A pre-1898 revolver in your home is not a federal crime, but it is a California felony.
Reducing a Wobbler Felony to a Misdemeanor
The most realistic way to get gun rights back in California applies only to “wobbler” offenses, meaning crimes that can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. If you were convicted of a wobbler as a felony and received probation rather than state prison time, you can petition the court under Penal Code 17(b) to reclassify the conviction as a misdemeanor.6California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 17
If the court grants the reduction, the offense becomes “a misdemeanor for all purposes.” Because Penal Code 29800 only bars people with felony convictions, the state ban lifts. Many common California felonies are wobblers, which is why this pathway works for a meaningful number of people. It does not, however, resolve federal law, discussed below.
Certificate of Rehabilitation and Governor’s Pardon
For felonies that are not wobblers, the only route is a Certificate of Rehabilitation followed by a governor’s pardon. The certificate itself is a formal application to the governor for a pardon.
To be eligible, you must meet all of the following:7California Courts. Certificate of Rehabilitation
- Continuous California residency for at least five years before filing.
- A waiting period of at least seven years total after release from custody, probation, or parole. Depending on the offense, the full wait runs seven to ten years.
- No incarceration since release and no current felony probation.
Certain sex offenses involving minors, mandatory life parole sentences, and death sentences disqualify a person entirely.
Even with the certificate in hand, gun rights don’t come back until the governor grants a full and unconditional pardon. And there’s a firm limit built into state law: if the underlying felony involved the use of a dangerous weapon, the pardon does not restore firearm rights.8California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 4852.17 Governors grant relatively few pardons, so this pathway takes years and offers no guarantee.
Expungement Does Not Restore Gun Rights
This is the single most common misconception, and it puts people in prison. Having a felony expunged under Penal Code 1203.4 does not restore your right to own a firearm. The statute says so directly: dismissal of the case does not permit a person to own or possess a firearm and does not prevent prosecution under the felon-in-possession law.9California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4
Expungement withdraws the guilty plea, dismisses the case, and helps with employment, housing, and licensing. The firearm prohibition survives it completely. If you got your felony expunged and then bought a gun assuming you were clear, you have committed a new felony.
Federal Law Can Still Prohibit You
Clearing California’s ban is only half the picture. Federal law separately prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing any firearm or ammunition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 Unlawful Acts The ATF enforces this under 18 U.S.C. 922(g).11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
This matters most for people who successfully reduce a wobbler to a misdemeanor. California no longer treats them as felons, so the state ban is gone. Federal law, however, looks at whether the offense was originally punishable by more than a year, not at how California later reclassified it. If the wobbler carried potential state prison time when charged as a felony, federal authorities can still treat it as disqualifying. You can be entirely legal under California law and still committing a federal crime by possessing a gun.
Penalties If You’re Caught
Possessing a firearm as a prohibited person is itself a felony, punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison or county jail.1California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 2980012California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1170 The firearm is forfeited, and you pick up a new felony that makes any future case worse.
Ammunition possession as a prohibited person is a separate offense carrying up to one year in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or state prison time.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 30305 Prosecutors regularly file both charges from a single incident, meaning one search of one home can produce two felony counts.