Prohibited Places for Concealed Carry in California

Even with a valid California concealed carry weapon (CCW) license, you cannot carry a firearm everywhere. A license issued under Penal Code 26150 (county sheriff) or Penal Code 26155 (city police chief) authorizes concealed carry, but a long list of "sensitive places" in Penal Code 26230 is off limits to licensees, on top of separate state and federal location bans. Several parts of Penal Code 26230 have been challenged in court and the enforceable scope has shifted more than once, so you must confirm the current status before you rely on any single rule below.

This section is about where a licensee may not carry. It is not legal advice. California firearm law changes often and is heavily litigated. Verify the current status of any restriction with the California Department of Justice and a qualified attorney before you carry.

How California Got Here: Bruen and SB 2

In 2022 the U.S. Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1, which struck down discretionary "proper cause" or "good cause" permit standards and set out a history-and-tradition test for firearm regulations. California responded with Senate Bill 2 (Portantino), signed September 26, 2023. SB 2 removed the old "good cause" requirement, raised and tightened licensing standards, and added Penal Code 26230, a long list of sensitive places where a licensee may not carry. Penal Code 26230 took effect January 1, 2024.

Penal Code 26230 was promptly challenged. The result is that the precise list of places where the ban is currently enforceable has changed over time and is still being litigated. Read the litigation status below carefully.

Sensitive Places Under Penal Code 26230

Penal Code 26230, subdivision (a), lists the sensitive places. Paragraphs (1) through (26) name specific categories, and paragraphs (27) through (29) are catch-alls for any other place barred by state, federal, or local law. The categories in subdivision (a) are:

1. School zones, as defined in Penal Code 626.9, and the area within 1,000 feet of school grounds (paragraph (1)).
2. Preschools and childcare facilities, including the real property and parking area (paragraph (2)).
3. Buildings and parking areas controlled by an officer of the state executive or legislative branch, with a narrow exception under Penal Code 171c (paragraph (3)).
4. Buildings designated for court proceedings, including superior courts, courts of appeal, and the California Supreme Court (paragraph (4)).
5. Local government buildings and parking areas, unless the firearm is carried for training under Penal Code 26165 (paragraph (5)).
6. Adult and juvenile detention or correctional facilities, prisons, and jails (paragraph (6)).
7. Hospitals, mental health facilities, nursing homes, medical offices, urgent care facilities, and similar places where medical services are provided (paragraph (7)).
8. Public transit, meaning a bus, train, or other publicly funded transportation, and property controlled by a publicly funded transportation authority (paragraph (8)).
9. Buildings, real property, and parking areas controlled by a vendor or establishment where alcohol is sold for on-premises consumption, meaning bars and restaurants that serve alcohol (paragraph (9)).
10. Public gatherings and special events that require a government permit, plus the immediately adjacent street or sidewalk within 1,000 feet, with an exception for a licensee who must walk through to reach a residence, business, or vehicle (paragraph (10)).
11. Playgrounds and public or private youth centers, as defined in Penal Code 626.95, and the immediately adjacent street or sidewalk (paragraph (11)).
12. Parks, athletic areas, and athletic facilities open to the public, and the immediately adjacent street or sidewalk (paragraph (12)).
13. Real property controlled by the Department of Parks and Recreation or the Department of Fish and Wildlife, except areas designated for hunting or shooting (paragraph (13)).
14. Areas controlled by a community college, college, or university, including buildings, classrooms, venues, athletic fields, parking areas, sidewalks, and common areas (paragraph (14)).
15. Casinos, gambling establishments, gaming clubs, bingo operations, horse racing facilities, and similar gambling venues (paragraph (15)).
16. Stadiums, arenas, and the real property or parking area of a stadium, arena, or collegiate or professional sporting or eSporting event (paragraph (16)).
17. Public libraries, including real property and parking areas (paragraph (17)).
18. Airports and passenger vessel terminals, as defined in Penal Code 171.5 (paragraph (18)).
19. Amusement parks, including real property and parking areas (paragraph (19)).
20. Zoos and museums, including real property and parking areas (paragraph (20)).
21. Nuclear energy, storage, weapons, or development sites regulated by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (paragraph (21)).
22. Places of worship such as churches, synagogues, and mosques, and any immediately adjacent parking area, unless the operator clearly and conspicuously posts a sign permitting licensees to carry (paragraph (22)).
23. Financial institutions and their parking areas (paragraph (23)).
24. Police, sheriff, or highway patrol stations and law enforcement parking areas (paragraph (24)).
25. Polling places, voting centers, precincts, and other locations where votes are cast, returned, or counted, and the immediately adjacent streets or sidewalks (paragraph (25)).
26. Any other privately owned commercial establishment open to the public, unless the operator clearly and conspicuously posts a sign permitting licensees to carry (paragraph (26)).

For places of worship and private commercial establishments open to the public (paragraphs (22) and (26)), the statute flips the usual default. Carry is barred unless the operator posts a sign affirmatively allowing it. The sign must follow a uniform design prescribed by the Department of Justice and be at least four inches by six inches. Both of these provisions are currently enjoined, so that statutory default is not being enforced. For now the pre-SB 2 rule applies: a licensee may carry in a place of worship or a private commercial establishment open to the public unless the owner or operator affirmatively prohibits firearms, which a private owner may always do under property law. See the litigation status below.

Litigation Status: What Is Currently Enforceable

Penal Code 26230 was challenged in May v. Bonta and Carralero v. Bonta. On December 20, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California preliminarily enjoined many of the sensitive-place categories. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit in Wolford v. Lopez (a consolidated California and Hawaii appeal, decided September 6, 2024) reversed the injunction in large part. Effective January 23, 2025, that reversal restored enforcement of most of the categories.

According to the California Department of Justice Division of Law Enforcement Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-06 (dated March 27, 2025), the status is as follows.

Eleven categories were never enjoined and have been enforceable the whole time: school zones; preschools and childcare facilities; state executive and legislative branch buildings; court buildings; local government buildings; detention and correctional facilities; colleges and universities; airports and passenger vessel terminals; Nuclear Regulatory Commission property; police stations; and polling places. (Penal Code 26230, subds. (a)(1) through (6), (14), (18), (21), (24), and (25).)

Nine more categories became enforceable again effective January 23, 2025, after the Ninth Circuit reversed the injunction as to them: bars and restaurants that serve alcohol; playgrounds and youth centers; parks, athletic areas, and athletic facilities; most Parks and Recreation and Fish and Wildlife land; casinos and gambling establishments; stadiums and arenas; public libraries; amusement parks; and zoos and museums. (Penal Code 26230, subds. (a)(9), (11) through (13), (15) through (17), (19), and (20).)

That makes 20 of the 26 enumerated sensitive places currently in effect.

Six categories remain enjoined under the December 20, 2023 preliminary injunction and are not currently enforceable against licensees:

• Hospitals and medical facilities (paragraph (7))
• Public transit (paragraph (8))
• Public gatherings and special events that require a permit (paragraph (10))
• Places of worship (paragraph (22))
• Financial institutions (paragraph (23))
• Privately owned commercial establishments open to the public, meaning the default-no-carry-unless-posted rule (paragraph (26))

This is a preliminary injunction, not a final ruling, and the case is ongoing. Enforcement of any of these six could change as the litigation continues. Do not treat an enjoined provision as permanently void, and do not treat a currently enforceable provision as settled forever. Confirm the current status with Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-06, any later bulletin, and the California Attorney General firearms page at oag.ca.gov/firearms before you carry.

A practical caution: even where paragraph (26) is enjoined, a private property owner can still bar firearms under ordinary property rights. If a business tells you to leave or posts a no-firearms sign, respect it. Refusing can support a trespass charge regardless of the carry statute.

Lock Box and Parking Area Exceptions

Penal Code 26230 itself builds in limited carve-outs for transport and parking, found in subdivisions (b) through (f) of the current version (as amended by AB 1078, effective January 1, 2026):

• A licensee may transport a firearm and ammunition inside a vehicle if the firearm is locked in a lock box that is a firearm safety device listed on the Department of Justice roster. This does not apply at Nuclear Regulatory Commission sites or places barred by federal law (paragraphs (21) and (28)), and local law may impose stricter vehicle storage rules. (Penal Code 26230, subd. (b).)
• A licensee barred from carrying into a sensitive place parking area may still transport a concealed firearm or ammunition through the parking area in a vehicle, store it in a locked lock box out of plain view, and carry it the short distance between the vehicle and the lock box to store or retrieve it. (Penal Code 26230, subd. (c).)
• A licensee does not violate the section merely by traveling along a public right-of-way that touches or crosses a listed premises, as long as travel is direct and the licensee does not loiter. This travel exception does not apply at colleges and universities (paragraph (14)). (Penal Code 26230, subds. (f).)

Other State Location Bans That Apply Regardless of SB 2

Several California prohibitions predate Penal Code 26230 and apply on their own terms.

Gun-Free School Zone Act, Penal Code 626.9. It is a crime to possess a firearm in a school zone, meaning on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of, a K-12 public or private school. A valid CCW licensee is exempt only in the 1,000-foot zone outside the actual school. The exemption does not let a licensee carry inside any building, real property, or parking area controlled by the school, or on the street or sidewalk immediately adjacent to it. (Penal Code 626.9, subds. (c)(5) and (e)(4).) Possession on the grounds of a K-12 school is punishable by imprisonment for two, three, or five years. Possession within 1,000 feet of school grounds is punishable by up to one year in county jail, or by two, three, or five years if aggravating factors apply. (Penal Code 626.9, subd. (f).) Penal Code 626.9 also separately bars bringing a loaded firearm onto a college or university campus without written permission from the institution.

Courtrooms and public meetings, Penal Code 171b. Unauthorized persons may not bring or possess a firearm in a courtroom, courthouse, court building, or any meeting required to be open to the public, including state and local public buildings where access is controlled.

State Capitol and government offices, Penal Code 171c (and 171d, 171e). Unauthorized persons may not bring or possess a loaded firearm in or on the grounds of the State Capitol, any legislative office, any office or residence of the Governor or another constitutional officer, any Senate or Assembly hearing room, or the Governor's Mansion. A firearm is treated as loaded when the firearm and its unexpended ammunition are in the same person's immediate possession.

Airport and transit sterile areas, Penal Code 171.5 and 171.7. It is a crime to possess a firearm or ammunition in a sterile or secured area of an airport (past TSA screening) or of a passenger vessel terminal or public transit facility. State and federal law generally bar carrying any firearm or ammunition aboard a commercial passenger aircraft, train, ship, or bus. Always arrange transport with the carrier in advance. (Penal Code 171.5, 171.7.)

Federal Location Bans

Federal prohibitions apply in California no matter what state litigation does to Penal Code 26230.

A note on the federal school zone: 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) exempts a person licensed by the state to carry, where the state verifies the person's qualifications. A California CCW license qualifies for that federal exemption. California's own Penal Code 626.9, however, is narrower, so a licensee remains barred from the actual school grounds and the immediately adjacent sidewalk under state law, as described above.

Possessing a firearm in a federal facility under 18 U.S.C. 930(a) is punishable by a fine and up to one year of imprisonment, and up to two years for a federal court facility under 18 U.S.C. 930(e). Carrying a concealed accessible weapon on or attempting to board an aircraft under 49 U.S.C. 46505(b) is a felony punishable by up to ten years of imprisonment.

Exemptions

Some people are not bound by the sensitive-place restrictions, generally including:

• Active sworn peace officers carrying within the course and scope of their duties (see Penal Code sections 830 and following for who qualifies)
• Qualified retired law enforcement officers carrying under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C
• Active and reserve military personnel acting within their duties
• Licensed security guards in the limited circumstances allowed while on duty

These exemptions are specific and narrow. Do not assume one applies to you. Confirm the exact statute that covers your situation.

Penalties for Carrying in a Prohibited Place

Penal Code 26230 does not itself set a separate criminal penalty for a licensee who carries in a sensitive place. Instead, carrying in a barred location is not authorized by the license, so the licensee loses the protection the license otherwise provides and may be prosecuted under the general unlawful-carry statutes: carrying a concealed firearm (Penal Code 25400) or carrying a loaded firearm in public (Penal Code 25850).

A first offense of carrying a concealed firearm under Penal Code 25400, with no aggravating factors, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. (Penal Code 25400, subd. (c)(7).) It becomes a felony when the firearm is stolen, the person is a prohibited person or a gang participant, or the person is otherwise not in lawful possession, and it can be charged as a wobbler in other listed circumstances. (Penal Code 25400, subd. (c)(1) through (6).) A violation in a federal facility or school zone, or aboard an aircraft, carries its own federal or state penalty as noted above. A licensee who violates Penal Code 26230 also risks revocation of the CCW license by the issuing authority.

Practical Guidance

1. Check the current status before you carry. The enforceable scope of Penal Code 26230 has changed during the litigation and can change again.
2. When in doubt, leave it secured. Even if you believe a provision is enjoined, prosecutors and courts may view the facts differently, and you can still face a charge.
3. Honor signage and verbal notice. Private owners can bar firearms under property law no matter what the carry statutes say.
4. Federal bans do not depend on state litigation. Post offices, federal buildings, airport secured areas, and aircraft remain off limits.
5. Use the lock box and parking carve-outs exactly as written. They are narrow and tied to a roster-listed lock box.
6. Read the source material. The full text of Penal Code 26230, the California Department of Justice Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-06, and any later bulletin are the controlling references before you make a carry decision.