California regulates firearms in vehicles more tightly than most states. Two separate crimes control what you may do: carrying a concealed firearm...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
California regulates firearms in vehicles more tightly than most states. Two separate crimes control what you may do: carrying a concealed firearm (California Penal Code 25400) and carrying a loaded firearm in public (California Penal Code 25850). A vehicle counts as a public place for both. Unless you hold a valid California carry license or fit a statutory exemption, a firearm in your car must be unloaded and handled under the narrow transport rules described below.
This is one of the most heavily litigated areas of California firearm law. The rules below state what the statutes say. Where a provision has been challenged in court, that is flagged. Confirm the current status of any contested provision before you rely on it.
Under California Penal Code section 25400, a person carries a concealed firearm when the person does any of the following:
A firearm carried openly in a belt holster is not "concealed" within the meaning of this section (Penal Code 25400(b)). Section 25400 reaches only firearms "capable of being concealed upon the person," which California defines as handguns and other firearms with a barrel under 16 inches. Ordinary rifles and shotguns are not concealable firearms for purposes of this section.
A violation is generally a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. It becomes a felony or a wobbler in the circumstances listed in Penal Code 25400(c), including where the person has a prior felony conviction, the firearm is stolen and the person knew it, the person is an active participant in a criminal street gang, or the person is prohibited from possessing firearms. It is also chargeable as a felony or wobbler where the firearm is loaded or readily loadable and the person is not listed with the California Department of Justice as the registered owner (Penal Code 25400(c)(6)).
Under California Penal Code section 25850, a person is guilty of carrying a loaded firearm when the person carries a loaded firearm on the person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an incorporated city, or in any public place or on any public street in a prohibited area of an unincorporated area. This applies to handguns and long guns alike.
Section 25850 also authorizes a peace officer to inspect any firearm carried on the person or in a vehicle in these locations to determine whether it is loaded; refusal to allow the inspection is probable cause for arrest (Penal Code 25850(b)).
A violation is generally a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, and rises to a felony or wobbler in the circumstances listed in Penal Code 25850(c) (prior felony, stolen firearm, gang participation, prohibited person, or owner not on record with the Department of Justice).
If you do not hold a California carry license, California Penal Code section 25610 is the exemption that lets you move a handgun by vehicle. It provides that Section 25400 does not prohibit any United States citizen over 18 years of age who resides or is temporarily within California, and who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law, from transporting or carrying a handgun for any purpose specified in Penal Code sections 25510 to 25595 (which include moving a firearm to or from a place of business, residence, gun shop, target range, hunting, or a licensed event), provided that either of the following applies:
Note that Section 25610 is an exemption from the concealed-carry crime in 25400. Because a vehicle is a public place, the firearm must also be unloaded to avoid the separate loaded-carry crime in 25850. Read together, the practical rule for transporting a handgun without a carry license is: unloaded, and either locked in the trunk or in a locked container.
California Penal Code section 16850 defines a "locked container" as a secure container that is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar locking device. The statute expressly states that a "locked container" does not include the utility or glove compartment of a motor vehicle.
A common pipeline error is to say that Section 16850 defines the trunk as a "locked container." It does not. Section 16850 describes only the locked container itself. The vehicle's trunk is a separate, independently authorized location named in Penal Code 25610(a) as an alternative to a locked container. Either the trunk or a qualifying locked container satisfies the transport rule; the glove box and utility compartment satisfy neither, even if they lock.
A stricter rule applies the moment you step away from the car. California Penal Code section 25140 provides that, when leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle, a person must do one of the following:
A vehicle is "unattended" when a person who is lawfully carrying or transporting a handgun in the vehicle is not close enough to it to reasonably prevent unauthorized access to the vehicle or its contents (Penal Code 25140(d)(2)). "Plain view" includes any area of the vehicle visible by peering through the windows, including tinted windows, with or without illumination (Penal Code 25140(d)(3)).
The definitions in Section 25140 track those used elsewhere. A "locked container" does not include the utility or glove compartment, and a "trunk" does not include the rear of a hatchback, station wagon, or sport utility vehicle, any compartment with a window, or a toolbox or utility box attached to a pickup bed. A violation of subdivision (a) is an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 (Penal Code 25140(c)). This unattended-vehicle rule is more demanding than the general transport rule in 25610: a bare locked container left sitting in plain view satisfies 25610 while you are present but does not satisfy 25140 once you walk away, because 25140 also requires the container to be out of plain view. A limited peace-officer accommodation in subdivision (b) lets an on- or off-duty officer use a locked center console in a vehicle that has no trunk, and the section does not supersede a stricter local ordinance in effect before September 26, 2016.
Rifles and shotguns are not "firearms capable of being concealed upon the person," so the concealed-carry crime in Penal Code 25400 and the locked-container transport rule in Penal Code 25610 do not apply to them. California law does not require an ordinary rifle or shotgun to be carried in a locked container while in a vehicle.
A long gun must still be unloaded in the vehicle while in public, because carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle in public is a crime under Penal Code 25850. Separately, openly carrying an unloaded firearm that is not a handgun is restricted in public under Penal Code 26400, though that section as written reaches carry "outside a vehicle." Assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles carry their own transport rules, described below.
A person who has registered an assault weapon or a .50 BMG rifle may possess it only under the limited conditions in California Penal Code section 30945, which include possession at the person's residence or place of business, at a licensed or organized target range, at a licensed shooting club, at an approved firearms exhibition, and on certain publicly owned land where permitted.
Under Penal Code 30945(g), the registrant may transport the registered weapon between the places listed in Section 30945, or to a licensed gun dealer for servicing or repair, only if it is transported as required by Penal Code sections 16850 and 25610. In practical terms that means unloaded, and locked in the trunk or in a locked container. Possession, registration, and the assault-weapon definition itself (Penal Code 30515 and related sections) remain the subject of ongoing litigation in Miller v. Bonta; confirm the current state of California's assault-weapon framework before relying on it.
A valid California carry license authorizes the licensee to carry a loaded, concealed handgun listed on the license, including in a vehicle, subject to the restrictions on where carry is allowed. A county sheriff issues licenses under Penal Code 26150 and a city police chief issues them under Penal Code 26155. As restructured by Assembly Bill 1078 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 570), effective January 1, 2026, each statute now sets out a California-resident application pathway in subdivision (a) and a separate non-California-resident application pathway in subdivision (b). California therefore has a general non-resident license pathway: an out-of-state visitor who meets the qualifications may apply for and hold a California license. Subdivision (c) sets the license format. Most licenses are issued under (c)(1) to carry concealed; in a county with a population under 200,000 the licensing authority may instead issue a (c)(2) license to carry loaded and exposed within that county.
Senate Bill 2 (2023) added California Penal Code section 26230, effective January 1, 2024, which bars a licensee from carrying a firearm into a long list of "sensitive places," many of which include the parking areas under the control of the listed location (for example, schools and the area regulated by Penal Code 626.9, childcare facilities, government and court buildings, and many others). SB 2 also created a default rule treating private property open to the public as off-limits to licensed carry unless the owner posts a sign or otherwise gives permission.
Section 26230 does not strip a licensee of the ability to keep a firearm in the vehicle near a sensitive place. Under Penal Code 26230(b), a licensee may transport a firearm and ammunition within their vehicle so long as the firearm is locked in a lock box that meets the statute's specifications (this does not apply at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission site or a place prohibited by federal law). Penal Code 26230(c) further lets a licensee who cannot carry into a prohibited parking area transport a concealed firearm into and out of that parking area in a lock box and store it in a locked lock box out of plain view within the vehicle.
Section 26230 was challenged in May v. Bonta and Carralero v. Bonta. A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction on December 20, 2023 blocking enforcement of many categories. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed that preliminary injunction in large part, and its mandate took effect January 23, 2025. The Ninth Circuit did not merely stay the injunction; it reversed it as to most categories, which restored enforcement of those provisions. Following that decision, 20 of the 26 sensitive-place categories in Section 26230(a) are in effect, and six remain enjoined and are not being enforced pending further appeal.
The six categories that remain enjoined and are not currently enforceable are:
The remaining categories are currently enforceable. These include bars and businesses serving alcohol (a)(9), playgrounds and youth centers (a)(11), parks and athletic areas (a)(12), most Parks and Recreation and Fish and Wildlife land (a)(13), casinos and gambling establishments (a)(15), stadiums and arenas (a)(16), public libraries (a)(17), airports and passenger vessel terminals (a)(18), amusement parks (a)(19), zoos and museums (a)(20), and law enforcement stations (a)(24), along with the categories that were never enjoined, such as school zones, preschools and childcare facilities, state government and court buildings, local government buildings, detention facilities, colleges and universities, Nuclear Regulatory Commission sites, and polling places. A California licensee should still verify the current status of Section 26230 and the terms printed on the license, because the case remains on appeal.
A traveler who may lawfully possess a firearm at both the origin and the destination has a limited federal protection while passing through states such as California. 18 U.S.C. 926A entitles a person who is not federally prohibited to transport an unloaded firearm for any lawful purpose from a place where the person may lawfully possess it to another such place, provided that during transport the firearm is unloaded and neither it nor any ammunition is readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate compartment, the firearm or ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.
Section 926A is a defense for genuine through-travel; it does not authorize possession at a California destination of an item California bans (such as a magazine over 10 rounds or an unregistered assault weapon), and California's stricter container and ammunition-accessibility rules still apply to anyone whose trip begins or ends in the state.
California Penal Code section 26045 provides that nothing in Section 25850 precludes carrying a loaded firearm, where it would otherwise be lawful, by a person who reasonably believes that any person or property is in immediate, grave danger and that carrying the weapon is necessary for preservation of that person or property. The statute defines "immediate" narrowly as the brief interval before and after local law enforcement, when reasonably possible, has been notified and before its assistance arrives (Penal Code 26045(c)). This is a narrow, fact-specific justification decided by the trier of fact, not a general right to keep a loaded firearm in the car.
| Conduct | Statute | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Carrying a concealed firearm (including in a vehicle) | Penal Code 25400 | Misdemeanor up to 1 year and/or $1,000; felony or wobbler in 25400(c) circumstances |
| Carrying a loaded firearm in public or in a vehicle | Penal Code 25850 | Misdemeanor up to 1 year and/or $1,000; felony or wobbler in 25850(c) circumstances |
| Leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle without securing it as required | Penal Code 25140 | Infraction; fine up to $1,000 |
| Openly carrying an unloaded long gun in public | Penal Code 26400 | Misdemeanor; up to 1 year and/or $1,000 in the aggravated case in 26400(b)(2) |
| Statute | Subject |
|---|---|
| Penal Code 25400 | Crime of carrying a concealed firearm, including within a vehicle |
| Penal Code 25850 | Crime of carrying a loaded firearm in public or in a vehicle |
| Penal Code 25610 | Transport exemption for an unloaded handgun (trunk or locked container) |
| Penal Code 25140 | Securing a handgun left in an unattended vehicle (trunk or locked container out of plain view) |
| Penal Code 16850 | Definition of "locked container" (excludes utility and glove compartment) |
| Penal Code 26045 | Loaded-carry exception for immediate, grave danger |
| Penal Code 30945 | Possession and transport conditions for registered assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles |
| Penal Code 26150 / 26155 | Carry license issued by county sheriff or city police chief (resident pathway in subd. (a), non-resident pathway in subd. (b), format in subd. (c)) |
| Penal Code 26230 | Sensitive places where a licensee may not carry (most categories enforceable after May v. Bonta; six remain enjoined) |
| 18 U.S.C. 926A | Federal interstate safe-passage transport rule |
This page covers one part of our California concealed carry guide.
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