If you have a felony conviction, you cannot legally buy a gun in California. Penal Code 29800 imposes a lifetime ban on owning, buying, receiving, or possessing any firearm after a felony conviction, and federal law layers an independent prohibition on top of the state one.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 Restoration of firearm rights is possible in narrow situations, but the most common record-clearing tool people reach for, expungement under Penal Code 1203.4, does not restore them.
California’s Lifetime Ban Under Penal Code 29800
Penal Code 29800 makes it a crime for anyone convicted of a felony to own, buy, receive, or possess a firearm. The prohibition is permanent. There is no waiting period after which it expires on its own, and the type of felony does not matter. A nonviolent drug felony carries the same lifetime bar as a violent one.
Where the conviction happened is also irrelevant. A felony from another state, from federal court, or even from a foreign country triggers the California ban just as a California felony does.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800
Wobbler offenses, meaning crimes a prosecutor can file as either a felony or a misdemeanor, follow how they were charged and resolved. If the case ended in a felony conviction, the lifetime prohibition applies in full.
There is one narrow out-of-state exception. If a nonviolent felony from another state was later vacated, expunged, or dismissed under that state’s law in a way that specifically restored your firearm rights there, California will not apply Penal Code 29800 to that conviction.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 The exception is limited to nonviolent offenses, and the other state’s relief has to reach firearm rights specifically.
The Federal Ban Is a Separate Problem
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing a firearm or ammunition.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts That covers virtually every felony. Because the federal prohibition is independent of California’s, clearing one does not clear the other. A person who somehow lifts the state ban but remains prohibited federally still commits a federal crime by buying or possessing a gun.
The federal ban also extends to ammunition. California runs background checks on ammunition purchases, and those checks catch federal prohibitions along with state ones, so a felon flagged in either system will be denied at the counter.
Guns You Already Own Have to Go
If you owned firearms before the felony conviction, California requires you to give them up. Penal Code 29810 directs the sentencing court to tell newly convicted defendants that they can no longer possess firearms, ammunition, or ammunition feeding devices, and to order relinquishment of anything they own or control. Your options are to surrender the firearms to law enforcement, sell them to a licensed dealer, or transfer them to a dealer for storage.
This is where people quietly get into trouble. Leaving firearms in the house because they technically belong to a spouse or roommate can support a “constructive possession” charge if you have access to them. After a qualifying conviction, the safe move is to get every firearm out of any space you live in or can reach.
What Happens If You Buy or Possess a Gun Anyway
A violation of Penal Code 29800 is a new felony. It carries 16 months, two years, or three years in prison and fines up to $10,000.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 A judge can grant formal probation in some cases, but the conviction still lands on your record as another felony.
Federal exposure is steeper. Under 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8), a felon caught with a firearm or ammunition faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses trigger the Armed Career Criminal Act’s mandatory minimum of 15 years with no parole.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties State and federal prosecutors can pursue the same incident in parallel, so a single arrest for possession can produce convictions in both systems.
Ways to Restore Firearm Rights After a Felony
Restoring the right to own a gun after a California felony is possible in limited situations. Three paths come up most often. One of them, the one most people ask about first, does not work.
Reducing a Wobbler to a Misdemeanor
If your felony was a wobbler, you can ask the court to reduce it to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b). Once reduced, the offense is treated as “a misdemeanor for all purposes.”4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 That is broad enough to lift the state felony firearm ban under Penal Code 29800, because you no longer have a felony conviction for state-law purposes.
Two catches. If the misdemeanor version of the offense sits on the Penal Code 29805 list, a 10-year state ban replaces the lifetime one. And federal law is not bound by California’s reclassification. If the original crime was punishable by more than a year at the time of conviction, the federal prohibition typically stays in place.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A 17(b) reduction helps with state law and rarely finishes the job.
Certificate of Rehabilitation and Governor’s Pardon
The fullest state-side path runs through a Governor’s pardon, which usually starts with a Certificate of Rehabilitation. When a court grants that certificate, it automatically functions as an application for a pardon and is forwarded to the Governor’s Office.5Governor of California. Pardons
Eligibility for a Certificate of Rehabilitation involves both a waiting period and a residency requirement. The minimum wait is generally seven years after release from custody, with longer periods for certain sex offenses. You also need five continuous years of California residency leading up to the petition. People who received probation instead of prison typically need a Penal Code 1203.4 dismissal before applying.
A Governor’s pardon can restore firearm rights, but not in every case. Pardons are rare and fully discretionary. Even when granted, a pardon will not restore firearm rights if the conviction involved the use of a dangerous weapon.6Judicial Branch of California. Pardon from the Governor For convictions that did not involve a dangerous weapon, a full and unconditional pardon can lift the state ban.
Federal relief is a harder problem. Congress has not funded the ATF’s program for granting individual relief from federal firearms disabilities for decades, which has effectively closed that route for most applicants. The Department of Justice published a proposed rule in July 2025 on the application process for relief from federal firearms disabilities, but as of early 2026 the status of that rulemaking remains uncertain.7Federal Register. Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms
Expungement Does Not Restore Gun Rights
This is the point people most often get wrong. A dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4, commonly called an expungement, does not restore the right to possess a firearm. The statute itself says the dismissal “does not permit a person to own, possess, or have custody or control of a firearm.”8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4 Expungement can help with employment background checks and similar issues, but the firearm prohibition survives it intact. Someone who reads their expungement paperwork as a green light and buys a gun is committing a new felony.