This FAQ explains how California licenses concealed carry and the major state rules that affect anyone who carries or buys a firearm here. California...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
This FAQ explains how California licenses concealed carry and the major state rules that affect anyone who carries or buys a firearm here. California is a licensed-carry state, not a permitless or constitutional-carry state. Many of the carry-location rules are the subject of active federal litigation, so treat anything described as "enjoined" as a moving target and confirm the current status before you rely on it.
Yes. Carrying a concealable firearm concealed on your person or in a vehicle is a crime under Penal Code 25400 unless you fall within an exemption such as holding a valid carry license. Carrying a loaded firearm in public is a separate crime under Penal Code 25850. Both offenses are normally chargeable as a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both, but each statute lists conditions (for example, a prior felony conviction, a stolen firearm, gang participation, or being a prohibited person) that elevate the offense to a felony. The license that lets you lawfully carry concealed is issued under Penal Code 26150 (county sheriff) or Penal Code 26155 (city police chief).
California regulates carry licenses in Penal Code 26150 through 26235. Since Senate Bill 2 took effect on January 1, 2024, California is a shall-issue state. Under Penal Code 26150(a) and Penal Code 26155(a), the issuing authority "shall issue or renew" a license to an applicant who proves all of the statutory requirements and who is not a "disqualified person" under the standards in Penal Code 26202. The pre-Bruen "good cause" and "good moral character" discretionary tests no longer apply (see the good-cause question below).
Under Penal Code 26150 and Penal Code 26155, an applicant must show all of the following:
The applicant also undergoes a background investigation, including character-reference interviews and a review of state and federal records, conducted by the licensing authority under Penal Code 26202(b).
Penal Code 26202(a) lists eleven categories that disqualify an applicant unless a court rules otherwise under Penal Code 26206. The main ones are:
Note: the older pipeline version of this guide described Penal Code 26202(a)(2) as a "two or more DUI" disqualifier. That is incorrect. Subdivision (a)(2) addresses contempt of court. The alcohol and controlled-substance grounds are in subdivisions (a)(7), (a)(8), and (a)(9).
Penal Code 26165 sets the minimum training. For a new license the course must be at least 16 hours and must cover firearm safety and handling, shooting technique, safe storage, legal transport, the laws on where a licensee may carry, and the laws on the permissible use of force in self-defense. It must include a mental-health component of at least one hour, a written examination, and live-fire shooting exercises demonstrating safe handling and proficiency with each handgun to be carried (Penal Code 26165(a)). A renewal course must be at least 8 hours and meet most of the same criteria (Penal Code 26165(d)). The course must be taught by instructors certified by the Department of Justice under Penal Code 31635. A licensing authority may instead require a certified community-college course of up to 24 hours if it does so uniformly for all applicants (Penal Code 26165(c)).
SB 2, signed September 26, 2023 and effective January 1, 2024, rewrote the licensing standard to respond to New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). It removed "good cause," set a statewide minimum age of 21, replaced the licensing standard with the objective "disqualified person" test in Penal Code 26202, strengthened the training requirements in Penal Code 26165, and added a long list of "sensitive places" where a licensee may not carry in Penal Code 26230.
Penal Code 26230(a) prohibits a licensee from carrying in a long list of locations, including schools and school zones, preschools and childcare facilities, state and local government buildings, courthouses, jails and detention facilities, colleges and universities, airports and passenger vessel terminals, police stations, polling places, parks and athletic facilities, playgrounds and youth centers, bars and places that serve alcohol for onsite consumption, casinos, stadiums and arenas, libraries, amusement parks, zoos and museums, hospitals and medical facilities, public transit, public gatherings requiring a permit, places of worship, financial institutions, and privately owned commercial establishments open to the public (the last category prohibits carry unless the operator posts a sign permitting it). Do not read this as a flat list that is fully in force. As the litigation caveat below explains, six of these categories are currently enjoined and are not being enforced, while the rest are in effect.
Important litigation caveat: Penal Code 26230 has been heavily litigated in May v. Bonta and Carralero v. Bonta. A federal district court enjoined many provisions in December 2023, and the Ninth Circuit reversed that injunction in substantial part, with its mandate effective January 23, 2025 (consolidated with Wolford v. Lopez). According to California Department of Justice Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-06 (March 27, 2025), about 20 of the 26 enumerated sensitive places were enforceable as of that date. Six categories remained enjoined and were not being enforced pending further appeal: hospitals and medical facilities (Penal Code 26230(a)(7)), public transit (a)(8), permitted public gatherings and special events (a)(10), places of worship (a)(22), financial institutions (a)(23), and the default "privately owned commercial establishment open to the public" rule (a)(26). The other categories were in effect, including bars and places that serve alcohol (a)(9), playgrounds and youth centers (a)(11), parks and athletic areas (a)(12), casinos (a)(15), stadiums and arenas (a)(16), libraries (a)(17), airports (a)(18), amusement parks (a)(19), and zoos and museums (a)(20). The Ninth Circuit reversed, rather than merely stayed, the December 2023 injunction, so the bars-and-alcohol prohibition in subdivision (a)(9) is currently enforceable. This status can change as appeals proceed. Verify the current enforceable scope at oag.ca.gov/firearms before relying on any single provision.
Under Penal Code 26220(a), a standard license issued under Penal Code 26150 or 26155 is valid for up to two years from the date of issuance. A license based on a place of employment or business may be limited to 90 days (Penal Code 26220(b)). Longer terms apply to narrow categories: up to three years for judges and certain court officers (Penal Code 26220(c)) and up to four years for certain sheriff's custodial officers (Penal Code 26220(d)).
Fees are governed by Penal Code 26190 and vary by jurisdiction. The applicant pays a Department of Justice fee set to cover the department's processing costs (Penal Code 26190(a)), plus an additional local fee equal to the issuing authority's reasonable costs to process, issue, and enforce the license (Penal Code 26190(b)). The first 50 percent of the local fee may be collected at filing and the balance only on issuance. If the licensing authority requires a psychological assessment, the applicant may be charged the actual cost, capped at the authority's reasonable cost (Penal Code 26190(e)). Fingerprint (Live Scan) and training costs are separate. Because amounts differ by county and city, confirm the exact fees with your issuing authority.
Penal Code 26205(a) requires the licensing authority to give written notice of approval or denial within 120 days of receiving a complete application, or within 30 days after it receives the Department of Justice background information, whichever is later. Separately, Penal Code 26202(d) requires an initial determination of whether the applicant is a disqualified person within 90 days. Real-world timelines vary with Live Scan scheduling, the authority's backlog, and any required psychological assessment.
Yes. Penal Code 26150(b) and Penal Code 26155(b) expressly provide a path for non-California residents. A non-resident applicant must not be a disqualified person under Penal Code 26202 (and under the comparable laws of their home state), must be at least 21, must present a valid driver's license or state ID from their state of residence, and must attest under oath that the California jurisdiction where they applied is the primary place in California they intend to travel or spend time. They must complete the Penal Code 26165 training and live-fire requirements and identify each handgun by make, model, caliber, and serial number. (An earlier version of this guide tied non-resident eligibility to membership in four specific organizations under a 2025 preliminary injunction. The statute itself now provides the non-resident path, so that framing is outdated.)
You may carry only handguns identified on the license by make, model, caliber, and serial number (Penal Code 26150(a) and (b)(6); Penal Code 26155(a) and (b)(6)). Identifying a firearm that cannot lawfully be carried or possessed in California is cause for denial as to that firearm. A licensee may not carry more than two firearms at one time (Penal Code 26200(d)). California assault weapons, as defined in Penal Code 30515, generally cannot be possessed or carried by ordinary licensees.
Penal Code 26200(a) bars a licensee, while carrying, from consuming or being under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, being in a place having a primary purpose of dispensing alcoholic beverages for onsite consumption, carrying a firearm not listed on the license, falsely claiming to be a peace officer, making an unjustified display of a deadly weapon, failing to carry the license, or refusing to display the license or present the firearm to a peace officer on demand. The license may also carry additional time, place, and manner restrictions the authority deems warranted (Penal Code 26200(b)).
No. California formerly required applicants to show "good cause" to carry. That requirement was held unconstitutional in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), and was removed by SB 2. The licensing standard is now the objective "disqualified person" test in Penal Code 26202. The older Peruta v. County of San Diego "good cause" litigation is of historical interest only.
Open carry is generally not a lawful alternative. California prohibits openly carrying an exposed and unloaded handgun in most public places (Penal Code 26350) and carrying an unloaded firearm that is not a handgun, such as a long gun, on your person outside a vehicle in an incorporated city, whether openly or concealed (Penal Code 26400). Carrying any loaded firearm in public is separately barred by Penal Code 25850. A standard concealed-carry license does not authorize open carry, except that in counties with a population under 200,000 the issuing authority may issue a license to carry "loaded and exposed" within that county (Penal Code 26150(c)(2) and 26155(c)(2)). See the Open Carry section of this guide for detail.
Yes. Penal Code 26815 bars delivery of any firearm within 10 days of the application to purchase (or within 10 days of a later correction or required fee, whichever is later). The 10-day wait applies to every firearm transaction at a California dealer regardless of whether the buyer holds a carry license. There is no license-holder exemption.
No. California requires a Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) background check on every firearm transaction at a licensed dealer. Under Penal Code 28220, the Department of Justice checks its records and participates in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for each purchaser. The California carry license is not listed on the federal Brady permit chart, so it does not provide a federal NICS exemption under 18 U.S.C. 922(t)(3). The DROS fee is set by Department of Justice regulation and adjusted periodically, so verify the current amount at oag.ca.gov/firearms.
Yes. Under Penal Code 27545, when neither party to a firearm sale, loan, or transfer holds a dealer's license, the transaction must be completed through a licensed firearms dealer. This is California's universal background-check rule; the dealer runs the DROS check and the 10-day wait applies.
Yes. Under Penal Code 27535, as rewritten by Assembly Bill 1078 (Stats. 2025, ch. 570), a person may not apply to purchase firearms that would result in more than three firearms cumulatively within any 30-day period. This three-firearm cap took effect April 1, 2026, counts firearms of any type, and runs on a rolling 30-day window. (From January 1 through March 31, 2026, the limit was one firearm of any type per 30 days.) Holding a carry license does not exempt you. Penal Code 27535(b) lists specific exemptions, including law enforcement agencies, peace officers, licensed collectors with a certificate of eligibility, dealer exchanges, replacement of a firearm reported lost or stolen, return of a firearm to its owner, private-party sales where the seller is required to relinquish all firearms, and estate or trust transfers. There is no general exemption for private-party transfers, so an ordinary private-party purchase completed through a dealer counts against the limit. The Department of Justice summarizes the rule in Information Bulletin 2026-DLE-02.
Most buyers do. Penal Code 31610 and the following sections require a Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) to acquire a firearm. The FSC is earned by passing a written test administered by a Department of Justice certified instructor and is valid for five years. Limited exemptions exist, including for holders of a valid California carry license issued under Penal Code 26150 or 26155 (Penal Code 31700(a)(9)) and, for firearms other than handguns, buyers 18 or older with a valid unexpired hunting license (Penal Code 31700(c)). Confirm the current FSC fee and any exemptions at oag.ca.gov/firearms.
California restricts large-capacity magazines and "assault weapons," and both areas are in active litigation:
California treats a homicide as justifiable in defense of self or others under Penal Code 197 when the statutory conditions are met. Penal Code 198.5 creates a rebuttable presumption that a resident who uses force likely to cause death or great bodily injury against someone who unlawfully and forcibly enters the residence held a reasonable fear of imminent harm (California's "castle doctrine"). California has no separate statutory "stand your ground" law, but its standard jury instructions (CALCRIM 505 and 3470) tell jurors that a person who is lawfully present and not the aggressor has no duty to retreat and may stand their ground. See the Use of Force and Castle Doctrine sections for detail.
The 2023 legislative package that accompanied SB 2 included additional measures, such as Assembly Bill 28, which imposed an 11 percent state excise tax on firearm and ammunition dealers and manufacturers. Several 2023 and later measures, along with the roster and microstamping rules in Penal Code 31900 and following sections (litigated in Boland v. Bonta), continue to be challenged in court. Because these areas change quickly, verify the current law before relying on it.
Lautenberg Amendment - 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, meaning any misdemeanor that has as an element the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a deadly weapon committed against a current or former spouse, parent, guardian, person with a child in common, cohabitant, or similarly situated person, triggers a federal lifetime firearm-possession bar that is independent of state law. The federal bar applies even when the state conviction did not involve a firearm. The 2024 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Rahimi reaffirmed that firearm disabilities tied to domestic-violence findings remain constitutional under the Second Amendment.
This page covers one part of our California concealed carry guide.
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