California - CA Gun Laws

A Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) is required before purchasing any firearm in California, obtained by passing a short written safety test. Every purchase, from a dealer or private party, requires a background check through both the federal NICS system and California DOJ. A mandatory 10-day waiting period applies to every purchase, running concurrently with the background check, the firearm can't be released until both the check clears and the 10 days pass, no exceptions for concealed carry license holders or law enforcement. Buyers are also limited to one handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle purchase per 30-day period. You must be 21 to purchase a handgun or a long gun

All private-party transfers must go through a licensed dealer, who runs the same background check and waiting period as a retail sale. A narrow family exemption exists for parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, and spouse or registered domestic partner transfers, done infrequently and not to evade the law, but even exempt transfers require filing a Report of Operation of Law or Intra-Familial Firearm Transaction (form BOF 4544A) with the California DOJ. Siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins are not covered by the family exemption and must go through a dealer like any other private sale.

On top of the standard federal categories, California allows a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO), the state's red flag law, to be petitioned by law enforcement, family members, employers, co-workers, or school employees against anyone found by a court to pose a significant danger to themselves or others. A person subject to a GVRO must surrender any firearms and ammunition they already own, either to law enforcement or a licensed dealer, and is barred from purchasing or possessing for the order's duration. California recognizes nine separate categories of protective orders that can trigger a firearms prohibition, not just domestic violence orders specifically.

Not legal for the overwhelming majority of the state. California has banned open carry of handguns statewide since 2012 (AB 144), with only a narrow exception for unloaded long guns in a small number of rural counties under specific conditions. For practical purposes, if you're carrying in California, it's concealed under a license, not open.

California became a shall-issue state only after Bruen (2022) struck down the old "good cause" discretionary standard that let local sheriffs deny licenses to otherwise-qualified applicants. Licensing is now based on objective criteria: disqualification status, age, residency, and training, under Penal Code §§ 26150-26155 and § 26202. Sensitive-places restrictions under Penal Code § 26230 and SB 2 are extensive, covering schools, government buildings, courts, detention facilities, colleges, playgrounds, and businesses serving alcohol, among many others. One of SB 2's most contested pieces flips the default for ordinary private businesses open to the public: carrying there is presumed off-limits unless the owner posts a sign explicitly allowing it, the opposite of the default that just got struck down in New York, New Jersey, and nationally in Wolford v. Lopez. As of this writing, California's version of that default-no rule has not been struck down and remains in effect, unlike its neighbors on the ranking, this is one to watch closely given the direction the same argument has gone everywhere else it's been challenged. Litigation continues refining the sensitive-places boundaries (a preliminary injunction issued January 2025 in California Rifle & Pistol Association v. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department), and a federal court struck down California's ban on non-resident CCW applicants in July 2025 (Hoffman v. Bonta).

A firearm in a vehicle generally must be unloaded and locked in the trunk or a locked container, a locked container means fully enclosed with a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar device, the glove compartment doesn't count. Rifles and shotguns don't have to be in a locked container the way handguns do, but must still be unloaded while being transported. Valid CCW license holders may carry a loaded, concealed handgun on their person or in the vehicle under the terms of their license.

California's sensitive-places list under SB 2 is one of the most extensive in the country: schools and school zones, childcare facilities, government and court buildings, detention facilities, colleges and universities, polling places, airport sterile areas, businesses serving alcohol, playgrounds, and youth centers, among many others. As noted above, private businesses open to the public are also presumptively off-limits absent a posted sign allowing carry, a rule that has been struck down in several other states we cover but remains in effect here.

No one under 18 may possess a handgun, a semi-automatic centerfire rifle, or, as of a 2023 update, virtually any type of firearm, under Penal Code § 29610. Selling, loaning, or transferring a firearm to anyone under 18 is generally prohibited, with narrow exceptions for supervised hunting, target shooting, or organized competition with parental permission. Dealers cannot sell any firearm to anyone under 21. Ammunition cannot be sold to anyone under 18.

California bans magazines over 10 rounds; the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld this ban in March 2025 (Duncan v. Bonta), finding it consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation. California's separate assault weapons ban is being challenged in a companion case, Miller v. Bonta, which was resubmitted to the Ninth Circuit for decision after Duncan came down and remains pending as of this writing. Both restrictions are currently in full effect.

California has no formal stand-your-ground statute, but under CALCRIM 505 and case law, a person who is not the initial aggressor and has not provoked the confrontation has no duty to retreat before using force, provided they reasonably believe deadly force is immediately necessary (Penal Code § 198's objective reasonableness standard still applies). Practically, this functions as a de facto stand-your-ground rule despite the absence of a specific statute. Castle Doctrine is codified at Penal Code § 198.5, creating a presumption of reasonable fear for someone defending their residence against an unlawful, forcible intruder, allowing deadly force without a duty to retreat.

California has no state preemption of local firearms law. A 2022 law went further than just leaving the door open, it declared that local gun safety regulations can only be preempted by an explicit statement in state law, and even then only if the local rule isn't at least as strict as the state requirement. In practice, this means cities and counties are free to pass their own additional restrictions on top of state law, and many do.

• California Department of Justice, Bureau of Firearms: oag.ca.gov/firearms
• California DOJ Firearms Eligibility and FSC information: oag.ca.gov
• Your local Police Department or County Sheriff for CCW licensing (county-administered)
• ATF: for federal NFA questions, note California bans civilian suppressor possession outright at the state level under Penal Code § 33410, so this mostly doesn't apply here regardless of federal status