Gun Laws in California
Gun Friendliness Score
How We Calculate Gun Friendliness Scores
The Gun Friendliness Score ranges from 0 to 100 and represents how favorable a state's laws are toward gun ownership and use. We evaluate each state across 50 key gun policies, assigning points based on how these policies affect gun owners:
- Policies that support gun rights, reduce restrictions, or expand legal protections for gun owners receive positive points
- Policies that restrict firearm ownership, limit purchase options, or add regulatory burdens receive negative points
California's low score of 12 reflects the state's extensive restrictions on firearm ownership, including strict "assault weapon" bans, magazine capacity limits, handgun roster requirements, mandatory waiting periods, and numerous other regulations that limit gun rights.
California Gun Laws Summary
California has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the United States. The state imposes numerous regulations on firearms, ammunition, and related accessories that go well beyond federal requirements.
California is a may-issue state for concealed weapons permits, with issuance varying significantly by county. Local sheriffs or police chiefs have substantial discretion in determining whether applicants have "good cause" to receive a permit. This has created a patchwork of permit accessibility across the state, with some counties issuing very few permits while others are more permissive.
Since January 1, 2023, when SB 918 became effective, California has further tightened restrictions on where concealed carry permit holders may carry firearms, designating numerous "sensitive places" as off-limits. California does not recognize concealed carry permits from any other state, and non-residents generally cannot obtain California carry permits.
Permitting, Sales and Transfers
California requires all firearm purchasers to obtain a Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) before buying any firearm. All firearm transfers must be conducted through a licensed dealer (FFL), including private party transfers, and are subject to a 10-day waiting period. California also maintains a database of all handgun and "assault weapon" owners.
Background checks are required for all firearm and ammunition purchases. California operates its own background check system (DROS) and prohibits certain people from owning firearms beyond federal restrictions. The state also maintains a handgun roster that limits which new handgun models can be sold in the state.
Firearms in Public and in the Home
California prohibits open carry of firearms in most circumstances. Concealed carry requires a permit issued by local authorities, who have significant discretion in determining who qualifies. Permit applicants must complete 8-16 hours of training, demonstrate "good moral character," establish "good cause" (in some counties), and pass a background check.
Carrying restrictions are extensive, with numerous "sensitive places" where firearms are prohibited even for permit holders. These include government buildings, schools, universities, parks, playgrounds, public transit, bars, hospitals, polling places, and many other locations. California law also requires all firearms in the home to be stored in a locked container or disabled with a locking device when not in use if children might have access.
Firearm, Feature and Accessory Bans
California maintains a comprehensive "assault weapons" ban that prohibits semi-automatic firearms with specific features, including detachable magazines combined with pistol grips, thumbhole stocks, flash suppressors, or folding stocks. Magazine capacity is limited to 10 rounds, and magazines that can hold more are prohibited. Certain NFA items, including short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and suppressors are prohibited for civilian ownership. California also bans .50 BMG rifles and requires microstamping technology for new handgun models to be added to the state's roster of approved handguns.
Local Laws
California allows local governments to enact firearm regulations that are more restrictive than state law in many cases. This has resulted in a patchwork of local ordinances across the state. Several cities and counties have enacted their own restrictions on where firearms can be carried, additional permit requirements, zoning restrictions for gun dealers, and other measures. This creates significant complexity for gun owners who travel between different jurisdictions within the state.
2025 Gun Law Checklist
California Gun Policy Profile: 50 Key Legislative Points
Purchasing and Sales Regulations
Background Check for Any Firearm Sale
State requires any firearm sale to go through a licensed dealer (FFL) and be subject to a background check. (Federal law requires those "engaged in the business" of buying/selling firearms to perform a background check during a sale). A private sale or transfer of any firearm between individuals (non-family members) must be also conducted through an FFL.
Background Check for Any Handgun Sale (Including Private Sales)
All handgun sales and most transfers are subject to a background check. Private sales of handguns between individuals (non-family members) must be conducted through an FFL.
Background Check Extensions
State will halt the transfer of a firearm if a background check is delayed. Some states will halt the process indefinitely, some for a set amount of time.
Failed Background Check Reported to Law Enforcement
The firearm dealer (or state agency conducting the background check) has a responsibility to notify local law enforcement of a failed background check.
Must be 21 or Older to Purchase
Most firearms–including rifles, shotguns, and handguns–cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 21. (Federal laws permit long guns to be sold to those over the age of 18.)
Permit to Purchase
State requires a permit (single-use or renewable) for all firearms or specifically for handguns. States typically charge a fee for the permit and a background check is performed during the application.
Mandatory Waiting Periods
Prior to purchasing a firearm, an individual must wait a specified period (typically between 3-14 days) between initiating the purchase and taking possession of the firearm.
State Licenses All Gun Dealers
State has a licensing system for firearms merchants above and beyond the federal (FFL) system.
Purchase Rejected for Public Safety Reasons
State officials able to block sales of firearms if the purchaser is deemed to be a threat to themselves or to public safety (according to the judgment of the official)
Approved Handgun Roster
State controls what make and model handguns are sold; according to their own criteria. Often, this involves a "roster" of approved handguns with the right "safety" features, such as a loaded chamber indicator, or even the amount of metal in the firearm (Maryland). Often, LE are exempt from these requirements.
Strict Unfinished Frames and Receivers Laws
State sets a lower threshold for unfinished frames and receivers (beyond ATF rule 2021R-05F). Includes ban on 3D-printing of these parts in some states.
Ownership and Registration Requirements
Permit to Possess
Several states require a permit just to possess: a handgun (New York); any firearms or ammunition (Illinois).
State Firearm or Handgun Registry
State keeps a record of every firearm or handgun sold. Includes states with a permit to purchase and states that keep records of purchases.
Mandatory Firearms Training
Prior to purchasing a firearm, an individual must prove they completed the state ordered training. Often, this is part of the application process for a Permit to Purchase.
Secure Storage Requirement
Gun owners must lock up firearms in the home (or anywhere else a minor or prohibited person may have access).
Magazine Capacity Limits
State limits magazine capacity for some or all firearms.
"Assault Weapons" Ban
Magazine fed, semi-automatic, centerfire rifles cannot have other "features" (pistol grip, flash hider, etc.) or they are considered "assault weapons." New guns cannot be registered as "assault weapons." Possession is prohibited with limited exceptions.
Microstamping Law
State has a law banning the sale of a new pistol unless its firing can imprint its serial number somewhere on the cartridge case during firing. This technology is make-believe at present, but these laws will effectively ban the sale of new handguns in the state if/when they become effective
Penalties for Not Reporting a Lost or Stolen Firearm
Gun owners must report the loss or theft of firearms–usually within several days of the incident or first discovering the loss–or potentially face a criminal penalty.
Carry and Location Restrictions
Mandatory Permit for Concealed Carry
State requires a permit to carry a concealed pistol. This includes all states that "may issue" a permit (where officials may deny a permit for subjective reasons).
Officials Can Deny Carry Permit
State allows the carry permit officials to deny an application based on the state's own criteria.
Open Carry Limited or Banned
State restricts open carry to rifles and shotguns or bans open carry completely unless you are LE or special permit holder.
No Carry Mandate for College Campuses
State has not passed a blanket law permitting concealed carry on college campuses.
Gun Ban on Most Public Property
State limits or bans any type of carry in and around government facilities (state, county, municipal) and/or limits carry of firearms in parades and demonstrations
Guns Banned in Bars
State prohibits carry inside bars or consumption of alcohol while carrying.
No Guns in K-12 Schools
Only LE (and in some states, specially licensed school officials) may carry on school property.
Does Not Recognize Other States' Carry Permits
State doesn't consider concealed carry permits from other states valid
Prohibited Persons and Possession Restrictions
Felons are Also Prohibited Persons at State Level
State has a law prohibiting felons from owning guns and ammo, even though federal law already does this.
Fugitives are Also Prohibited Persons at State Level
State has a law prohibiting fugitives from justice from owning guns and ammo, even though federal law already does this.
Involuntarily Committed are Also Prohibited Persons at State Level
State has a law prohibiting those who have been involuntarily committed (to a psychiatric hospital or mental institution), or those found to be a danger to themselves or others from owning guns and ammo. Federal law already prohibits anyone found to be mentally defective or committed to a mental institution at 16 years or older.
Violent Offenders Cannot Possess
State will take away firearms, deny future possession, or at minimum deny future purchase of firearms for certain misdemeanor crimes of violence (besides domestic violence violence).
Domestic Violence Offenders Also Prohibited Persons at State Level
State has a law prohibiting those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from owning guns and ammo, even though federal law already does this
Stalkers are Prohibited Persons at the State Level
State has either made stalking a felony (instant prohibitor) or makes an individual convicted of misdemeanor stalking a prohibited person.
Intervention and Seizure Provisions
Red Flag Law
Law enforcement (and others, depending on the state) is allowed to request that firearms be taken away from others with limited due process.
Emergency Gun Seizure Before Restraining Orders
Similar to a red flag law, state will take away guns before an actual conviction. This is often during domestic disputes, before a restraining order takes effect, and in similar situations.
Guns Seized for Hate Crimes
State will take away all firearms from an individual in response to a misdemeanor hate crime conviction.
Guns Seized After Becoming Prohibited
State will quickly respond when an individual's status changes to prohibited and take away all firearms belonging to that person.
Guns Seized After Domestic Violence Conviction
State will quickly respond to take away firearms from an individual if they are convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.
Guns Seized Amid Restraining Orders
State will take away all firearms from anyone who is subject to a restraining order, even though federal law already does this.
No Stand Your Ground Law
State imposes a "duty to retreat" before using force or requires "proportional force" when responding to an attack or dangerous situation with force.
Monitoring and Threat Assessment
Mental Health Database
State maintains records of anyone that has been committed or involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals. They send this information to the FBI for use by the NICS (or when conducting a state background check, if applicable).
School Officials Conduct Threat Assessments
Teams of mostly school officials are empowered by law to refer children for mental health assessments or take more drastic action if they believe the child poses a threat to themselves or others.
Mandatory Tracing of "Crime Guns"
Law enforcement must use either a state system or the federal firearm tracing system to research any firearm recovered from a crime scene or used in a crime.
Law Enforcement Oversight and Accountability
No LE Officers Bill of Rights
Some states never passed (or passed and later repealed) a set of basic protections for public safety officers. These protections vary by state. They often include the right to engage in political activity and run for public office, and the right to refuse a lie detector test, among other things.
Heavy Restrictions on LE Use of Deadly Force
State laws severely limit the discharge of firearms to apprehend criminals, including against individuals suspected of murder or fleeing a felony in many cases.
Reports for LE Deadly Force Incidents
Law enforcement agencies are required to report any officer-involved shootings that result in serious injury or death. Monthly or annual reports are compiled using this data and made available to the public.
No Qualified Immunity Defense Laws
In civil court, LE officials may not use a defense of qualified immunity if they are accused of certain civil rights violations. This includes situations in which a firearm was used.
Prevention and Support Programs
Dedicated Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Some states have passed legislation creating gun violence prevention offices that target "community gun violence." Taxpayer funds are used to support these programs, which may have little to no effect on violent crime.
Funding for Services of Victims of Gun Violence
Some states maximize the use of federal money intended for victims of violent crime by increasing pool of eligible claimants. Money is paid out to families of convicted felons in many cases.
Local Control
Counties / Cities / Towns Can Pass Stricter Gun Laws
Local governments are free to pass their own gun control laws in addition to any existing laws at the federal and state levels. Some states prohibit local governments from passing laws about specific things-including guns. This is known as preemption.
Conclusion
California has a well-earned reputation for being one of the least permissive states in terms of buying, owning, and carrying firearms. Because of the sheer number of relevant laws, most of them prohibitions, bans, and limitations, this piece will focus mostly on those to help readers get a better sense of the laws in California that govern firearms and ammunition.
In addition to being home to some of the most restrictive ammo and gun laws in the country, the legal landscape in California is under current litigation. With that said, this piece should be considered neither legal advice nor the last word in the currently-evolving state of California’s gun laws. This piece aims to give an accurate sense of the laws in the state as they are today.
One good thing about California’s gun laws is that the state largely prevents localities from making their own gun laws that are stricter than those at the state level. Thus, once you get a sense of the gun laws within the state, as strict as they may be, those laws generally apply throughout the state as a whole (with limited exceptions).
Ammo Laws/Buying Ammo in California
First, we will cover the ammo laws of the state.
Buying ammunition in California is an arduous process. Before purchasing any ammunition or firearms in the state at all, current state laws require that a person has an active “Certificate of Eligibility.” It is, in effect, a first background check that issues you a certificate that allows the person to begin the process of buying firearms and ammunition in the state. Currently, the fee for this certificate is $71.00 and it can take up to eight weeks to process.
With that certificate in hand, every ammunition sale in the state requires a background check. It is the same background check that is run to get the certificate. Once that background check is complete (for an additional fee of up to $19.00, depending on precisely which kind of certificate one has with the state), and assuming all federal laws about age are met (18 to buy rifle and shotgun ammo, and 21 to buy handgun ammo), you can actually purchase the ammunition. It is very likely that buyers will be $90 and eight weeks into the process before actually purchasing any ammo.
Because a background check is required, all ammunition in the state has to be shipped to an FFL, or the buyer has to become an FFL themselves. The process is a lengthy and draconian one, so a flow chart can help with the process.
Once the buyer has the ammunition in hand, there is also a ban on what kind of magazines that ammunition can be put into: anyone who has a magazine of more than ten rounds can face fines or jail time.
The ammunition laws in California are the strictest in the country and make buying any volume of ammunition a lengthy and expensive venture. It is, for all practical purposes, impossible to legally ship ammunition into the state to residential addresses unless the buyer becomes an FFL.
Gun Laws/Buying Guns in California
Buying and carrying firearms in California is even more restrictive than the process for buying ammunition. Again, one has to have an active Certificate of Eligibility to make any firearms-related transactions in the state.
With that certificate in hand, there are a number of laws restricting what one can buy. For example, the state has an assault weapons ban that outlaws many firearms by name, as well as including a list of “features” such as grips, socks, and flash suppressors that, in effect, outlaw most semi-automatic long guns, and many pistols, without major modifications to fix a magazine, render the semi-automatic functionality useless, or the like. We’ll speak more on the legal status of this ban below.
In addition to the assault weapons ban, there is a list of handguns that are allowable to be purchased in the state. While this list is drawn up for “safety” reasons, it is, in effect, a ban insomuch that it is nearly impossible to acquire a handgun in the state that is not on that list, as no other handguns can legally be sold in the state.
If a buyer has a Certificate and wants to buy a firearm from the small percentage of firearms that are legal in California, the process does not stop there. First, one has to fill out the usual Form 4473 in addition to a California-specific background check. Upon clearance of the background check and payments, there is a ten-day waiting period on all firearms sales in the state.
All of this also applies to private-party sales, since the state requires that those go through an FFL, too.
The state additionally creates a registration of every firearms transaction, meaning that there is a state-held list of every legal gun owner in California.
At the time of writing of this piece, a federal judge has ruled the assault weapons ban in California unconstitutional. It’s unclear what that means for the immediate enforcement and future of the ban in legal terms. What is certain is that there will be some challenges and changes in the coming years. It would be fairly likely for the issue to end up in front of the Supreme Court in 2024.
Carrying firearms adds further restrictions to this already lengthy and expensive process.
Open carry is generally illegal in the state, but exemptions can be granted by the country sheriff in more rural areas.
Concealed carry is by permit, issued by local law enforcement, and is may issue. In California’s laws, may issue means that the local law enforcement agency can deny a permit for effectively any reason, and they do not necessarily have to articulate this reason. For instance, the county sheriff could simply not have hours for an appointment or deny an application because they get a bad feeling about a person. The may-issue component of the permit makes it difficult to get a concealed carry permit in the state.
The state’s instance that an applicant has to have “good moral character” and “good cause for the issuance of the license” opens the door for people to be denied a concealed carry permit without having even been accused of a crime that would make them a prohibited person: these are among the strictest concealed carry laws in the country.
Additionally, the fees for said permit can reach $300 in some cases, and will likely take months to process, requiring classes, meetings, background checks, and lots of paperwork. Because California’s permitting process is so strict, the permit is widely reciprocal with other states.
Like most states, California maintains a list of places where no firearms are allowed, including:
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Within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school
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Colleges and Universities
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State and Local Public Buildings
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Courtrooms
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Public Meetings
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Federal Facilities
While this list is not unusual, there are, in some cases, borders that go well beyond the facility itself, making it legally perilous to carry in some places that might otherwise be allowable for concealed carry.
All things considered, the process for buying and carrying handguns in the state of California is a long, expensive process for people who are attempting to exercise their Second Amendment rights: California can be easily argued as the most restrictive state in the country in terms of its firearms laws.
While there aren’t many major gun manufacturers in the state, many manufacturers do make specific, CA-compliant models that make it at least somewhat possible for people to own firearms that comply with the extremely strict state laws.
Sales Tax on Guns/Ammo in California
California’s tax rates vary a good bit based on locality, generally between 7.25% and 10.25%.
There is additional bad news on the tax front in the state: there’s an extra 10% state tax on all firearms and ammunition sales in the state. This makes it one of the most expensive states in which to buy a firearm.
More Resources:
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The ATF maintains a list of all FFLs in every state, including in California. Generally, gun stores are Type 1 or 2 FFLs.
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Despite the legally hostile environment in the state, there are a number of gun stores to help facilitate the buying process.
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There are a good number of well-regarded shooting ranges in the state as well.
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CalGuns.net is a fairly active forum, with members doing their best to help each other understand the complex legal landscape that comes with owning and carrying firearms in CA.