Firearms Prohibiting Categories

State and federal law make it unlawful for certain persons to own and/or possess firearms, including:

 

  • Any person who has been convicted of, or has an outstanding warrant for, a felony under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, government, or country, or of an offense enumerated in subdivision (a), (b), or (d) of Section 23515, or who is addicted to the use of any narcotic drug
  • Any person who has been convicted of an offense enumerated in Penal Code sections 29900 or 29905
  • Any person who is ordered to not possess firearms as a condition of probation or other court order listed in Penal Code section 29815, subdivisions (a) and (b)
  • Any person who has been convicted of, or has an outstanding warrant for, a misdemeanor listed in Penal Code section 29805 (refer to List of Prohibiting Misdemeanors)
  • Any person who is adjudged a ward of the juvenile court because he or she committed an offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707(b), an offense described in Penal Code section 1203.073(b), or any offense enumerated in Penal Code section 29805
  • Any person who is subject to a temporary restraining order or an injunction issued pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 6 or 527.8, a protective order as defined in Family Code section 6218, a protective order issued pursuant to Penal Code sections 136.2 or 646.91, a protective order issued pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03, or by a valid order issued by an out-of-state jurisdiction that is similar or equivalent to a temporary restraining order, injunction, or protective order, as specified above, that includes a prohibition from owning or possessing a firearm
  • Any person who is subject to a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO)
  • Any person who is found by a court to be a danger to himself, herself, or others because of a mental illness
  • Any person who is found by a court to be mentally incompetent to stand trial
  • Any person who is found by a court to be not guilty by reason of insanity
  • Any person who is adjudicated to be a mentally disordered sex offender
  • Any person who is placed on a conservatorship because he or she is gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder, or an impairment by chronic alcoholism
  • Any person who communicates a threat to a licensed psychotherapist against a reasonably identifiable victim that has been reported by the psychotherapist to law enforcement
  • Any person who is taken into custody as a danger to self or others under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150, assessed under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5151, and admitted to a mental health facility under Welfare and Institutions Code sections 5151, 5152, or certified under Welfare and Institutions Code sections 5250, 5260, and 5270.15
  • Any person who is addicted to the use of narcotics (state and federal)
  • Any person who has been convicted of, or is under indictment or information in any court for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (federal)
  • Any person who has been discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions (federal)
  • Any person who is an illegal alien (federal)
  • Any person who has renounced his or her US Citizenship (federal)
  • Any person who is a fugitive from justice (federal)

 

Convictions of, or outstanding warrants for, a misdemeanor violation of any the offenses listed below will generally result in a firearm prohibition for ten years. All statutory references are to the California Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated.

 

  • Threatening public officers, employees, and school officials (Pen. Code, § 71 )
  • Threatening certain public officers, appointees, judges, staff or their families with the intent and apparent ability to carry out the threat (Pen. Code, § 76 )
  • Intimidating witnesses or victims (Pen. Code, § 136.1.)
  • Possessing a deadly weapon with the intent to intimidate a witness (Pen. Code, § 136.5.)
  • Threatening witnesses, victims, or informants (Pen. Code, § 140)
  • Attempting to remove or take a firearm from the person or immediate presence of a public or peace officer (Pen. Code, § 148(d).)
  • A person who reports to a person that a firearm has been lost or stolen, knowing the report to be false (Pen. Code, § 148.5(f).)
  • Unauthorized possession of a weapon in a courtroom, courthouse, or court building, or at a public meeting (Pen. Code, § 171b.)
  • Bringing into or possessing a loaded firearm within the state capitol, legislative offices, etc. (Pen. Code, § 171c. )
  • Taking into or possessing loaded firearms within the Governor's Mansion or residence of other constitutional officers (Pen. Code, 171d.)
  • Supplying, selling or giving possession of a firearm to a person for participation in criminal street gangs (Pen. Code, § 186.28.)
  • Assault (Pen. Code, §§ 240, 241)
  • Battery (Pen. Code, §§ 242, 243)
  • Sexual Battery (Pen. Code, § 243.4.)
  • Assault with a stun gun or taser weapon (Pen. Code, § 244.5.)
  • Assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, or with force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245)
  • Assault with a deadly weapon or instrument; by any means likely to produce great bodily injury or with a stun gun or taser on a school employee engaged in performance of duties (Pen. Code, § 245.5.)
  • Discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner (Pen. Code, § 246.3.)
  • Shooting at an unoccupied aircraft, motor vehicle, or uninhabited building or dwelling house (Pen. Code, § 247)
  • Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or significant other (Pen. Code, § 273.5.) (Convictions on or before 12/31/2018.)
  • Willfully violating a domestic protective order (Pen. Code, § 273.6.)
  • Drawing, exhibiting, or using a deadly weapon other than a firearm (Pen. Code, § 417)
  • Inflicting serious bodily injury as a result of brandishing (Pen. Code, § 417.6.)
  • Making threats to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person (Pen. Code, § 422)
  • Interference with the exercise of civil rights because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim (Pen. Code, § 422.6.)
  • Bringing into or possessing firearms upon or within public schools and grounds (Pen. Code, § 626.9.)
  • Stalking (Pen. Code, § 646.9.)

 

  • Carrying a concealed or loaded firearm or other deadly weapon or wearing a peace officer uniform while picketing (Pen. Code, §§ 830.95, 17510).
  • Possessing a deadly weapon with intent to commit an assault (Pen. Code, § 17500)
  • Criminal possession of a firearm (Pen. Code, § 25300)
  • Armed criminal action (Pen. Code, § 25800.)
  • Possession of ammunition designed to penetrate metal or armor (Pen. Code, § 30315)
  • Unauthorized possession/transportation of a machine gun (Pen. Code, § 32625)
  • Driver of any vehicle who knowingly permits another person to discharge a firearm from the vehicle or any person who willfully and maliciously discharges a firearm from a motor vehicle (Pen. Code, § 26100, subd. (b) or (d).)
  • Firearms dealer who sells, transfers, or gives possession of any firearm to a minor or a handgun to a person under 21 (Pen. Code, § 27510)
  • Purchase, possession, or receipt of a firearm or deadly weapon by a person receiving in-patient treatment for a mental disorder, or by a person who has communicated to a licensed psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence against an identifiable victim (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8100)
  • Providing a firearm or deadly weapon to a person described in Welfare and Institutions Code sections 8100 or 8103 (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8101)
  • Purchase, possession, or receipt of a firearm or deadly weapon by a person who has been adjudicated to be a mentally disordered sex offender or found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial, or not guilty by reason of insanity, and individuals placed under conservatorship (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8103.)
  • Bringing firearm related contraband into juvenile hall (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 871.5.)
  • Bringing firearm related contraband into a youth authority institution (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 1001.5.)
  • Theft of a firearm (Pen. Code, § 487)
  • Criminal storage of a firearm (Pen. Code, §§ 25100, 25135 or 25200)
  • Various violations involving sales and transfers of firearms (Pen. Code, § 27590, subd. (c).)

 

The following misdemeanor conviction results in a five year prohibition:

  • Every person who owns or possesses a firearm or ammunition with knowledge that he or she is prohibited from doing so as a result of a gun violence restraining order (Pen. Code, § 18205).

 

The following misdemeanor convictions result in a lifetime prohibition:

  • Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or significant other (Pen. Code, § 273.5 for convictions on or after 1/1/2019, per Pen. Code, § 29805(b), and a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" (18 U.S.C., § 921(a)(33)(A), 922(g)(9).)
  • Assault with a firearm (Pen. Code, §§ 29800, subd. (a)(1), 23515, subd. (a).)
  • Shooting at an inhabited or occupied dwelling house, building, vehicle, aircraft, housecar, or camper (Pen. Code, §§ 246, 29800, subd. (a)(1), 17510, 23515, subd. (b).)
  • Brandishing a firearm in presence of a peace officer (Pen. Code § 417, subd. (c), 23515, subd. (d), 29800, subd. (a)(1).)
  • Two or more convictions of Penal Code section 417, subdivision (a)(2) (Pen. Code § 29800, subd. (a)(2).)

 

Note: The Department of Justice provides this document for informational purposes only. This list may not be inclusive of all firearms prohibitions. For specific legal advice, please consult with an attorney licensed to practice law in California.