Gun laws in California regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the state of California in the United States. The gun laws of California are widely regarded as among the most restrictive in the United States.
A buyer of any firearm must hold a five-year Firearm Safety Certificate, obtained by paying a $25 fee and passing a written test proctored by a DOJ Certified Instructor.Senate Bill No. 683, Official California Legislative Information. Retrieved April 1, 2017.Assembly Bill AB809, Official California Legislative Information. Retrieved December 24, 2013. New handguns sold by dealers must appear on the state's Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale; the roster's requirements have grown steadily more stringent, and a 2013 federal civil rights lawsuit alleged the newer regulations amounted to a de facto ban on new handgun models. Private sales must go through a licensed dealer, every transfer is recorded by the state, and all firearm purchases are subject to a ten-day waiting period.
Unlike most other states, California has no provision in its constitution that explicitly guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms, and the California Supreme Court has largely upheld the state's restrictions on that basis. The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Heller (2008) and McDonald (2010) applied the Second Amendment to the states, however, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022) has since produced a sustained wave of federal-court challenges to California statutes on carry, sensitive places, purchase quantity, and the handgun roster. California law also heavily restricts other items regarded as dangerous weapons, including certain knives, swords, clubs, explosives, fireworks, bows and arrows, slingshots, spears, and nunchucks.
Semi-automatic firearms that the state has classified as assault weapons, .50 BMG caliber rifles, and large-capacity magazines (magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition) may not be sold in California. The ban on large-capacity magazines was ruled unconstitutional March 29, 2019 but the ruling was put on hold while the case was under appeal. On August 14, 2020, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the ban was unconstitutional. However, this decision was vacated by the Ninth Circuit Court on February 25, 2021, until the case can be reheard en banc. On June 4, 2021, Roger Benitez, a senior judge of the Southern District of California, ruled the assault weapons ban unconstitutional, though he permitted a 30-day stay of appeal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently extended the stay indefinitely. Possession of automatic firearms, and of short-barreled shotguns and rifles, is prohibited without a Dangerous Weapons Permit, that is received from the California Department of Justice pending a good reason for their possession such as: manufacture, repair, collecting in limited cases (pre-1990), movie prop guns or dealing to police/military. California Penal Code §25850 defines what constitutes a loaded weapon.
California is a "shall-issue" state for concealed carry permits after a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the "good cause" requirement. This means that if the applicant meets the eligibility requirements, the sheriff's office or police chief is required to issue a license, although they can still impose some restrictions. Additionally, the issuing authority can also impose restrictions on the CCW permit-holder, such as limiting concealed carry only to the purposes listed on the approved CCW permit application. However, concealed carry permits are valid statewide, regardless of where they were issued. This creates a situation where residents in presumptively No Issue locations such as Los Angeles and San Francisco cannot lawfully carry a concealed firearm, but residents from other counties with more permissive CCW issuance policies can lawfully carry within these same jurisdictions. California does not recognize concealed carry permits issued by other states, and non-residents are generally forbidden from obtaining a California concealed carry permit. Those eligible to carry a rifle, shotgun, or handgun under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act are not subject to some California laws.
California has state preemption for many, but not all, firearms laws. Actual enforcement of California's firearms laws also varies widely across the state. Urban areas, such as the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas strictly enforce firearms laws, and some communities within these areas have passed local ordinances that make legally owning a firearm difficult. Meanwhile, some rural jurisdictions narrowly enforce the same firearms laws by prosecuting only those who demonstrate malicious intent or by not enforcing portions of the state's firearms laws at all. State law enforcement agencies, such as the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Justice, and the California Department of Fish and Game, strictly enforce state firearms law everywhere in California.
Key events Year Event Description 1989 Roberti–Roos Assault Weapons Control Act Defines certain semiautomatic firearms as assault weapons and bans their ownership and transfer 2001 Unsafe Handgun Act Prohibits dealers from selling any new handgun unless it is listed in the state Department of Justice roster of handguns certified for sale 2016 Proposition 63 Ballot measure approved by voters that outlaws the possession of magazines holding more than 10 rounds, requires background checks for all ammunition sales, and mandates the reporting of lost or stolen firearms 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that "proper cause" requirements for concealed carry permits violate the Second Amendment and that gun regulations must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. 2023 Senate Bill 2 Designated a wide range of locations as sensitive places where concealed carry is prohibited 2025 Nguyen v. Bonta Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court, striking down California's one-firearm-per-30-days purchase limit as applied to handguns and semi-automatic centerfire rifles. 2026 Assembly Bill 1078 Raised the 30-day purchase limit from one firearm to three
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