Holding a California license to carry does not mean you can carry everywhere. The place restrictions for licensees live mainly in Cal. Penal Code...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Holding a California license to carry does not mean you can carry everywhere. The place restrictions for licensees live mainly in Cal. Penal Code Section 26230, which tells a person licensed under Section 26150, 26155, or 26170 that they "shall not carry a firearm on or into any of the following", followed by a long list. Other statutes bar places on their own, including Section 626.9, the Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1995; Section 171b, covering state and local public buildings; and the airport, Capitol, official residence, and playground statutes set out below.
Section 26230 was amended by AB 1078 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 570, Sec. 12), effective January 1, 2026, and subdivision (a) has been the subject of active federal litigation.
Subdivision (a) reaches these locations in statutory order, paraphrased. Read the statute itself for exact wording.
The Gun-Free School Zone Act defines a "School zone" as "an area in, or on the grounds of, a public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of the public or private school." Possessing a firearm in a place you know or reasonably should know is a school zone is punished under subdivision (f) of that section.
Under subdivision (c)(5), the prohibition does not reach a Chapter 4 licensee carrying within 1,000 feet of school grounds, but that exception stops at any building, real property, or parking area under the control of a K-12 school and does not cover a street or sidewalk immediately adjacent to school-controlled property. The same paragraph then preserves the licensee path: nothing in it prohibits a Chapter 4 licensee from carrying in accordance with that license as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), or (e) of Section 26230, which are the vehicle lock-box route, the parking-area extension of it, and the rule on which lock box counts, all set out below.
Possession in or on the grounds of a K-12 school draws imprisonment under subdivision (h) of Section 1170 "for two, three, or five years." Possession inside the 1,000-foot ring is up to one year in county jail or that same term, and the felony term alone where the person has a prior felony or a conviction of a crime made punishable by a provision listed in Section 16580, is in a prohibited class, or carries a concealable firearm and the offense is punished as a felony under Section 25400. Subdivisions (h) and (i) reach college and university campuses: without written permission from the president or an equivalent authority, a loaded firearm on a covered campus carries two, three, or four years and a firearm carries one, two, or three years.
Do not wait for a posted warning. Subdivision (k) states that "This section does not require that notice be posted regarding the proscribed conduct," so the prohibition binds whether or not a sign is up. Subdivisions (h) and (i) carve themselves out of that rule: each says that notwithstanding subdivision (k), a university or college shall post a prominent notice at primary entrances on noncontiguous property stating that firearms are prohibited there. That duty runs to the school, and a missing sign does not make carrying lawful.
Section 171b makes it an offense to bring or possess a firearm, along with other listed weapons, "within any state or local public building or at any meeting required to be open to the public" under the open meeting laws subdivision (a) cites. It is a public offense "punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison".
None of the exemptions in subdivision (b) turns on holding a CCW license alone. Subdivision (b)(3) exempts a Chapter 4 licensee inside a court building only where the licensee is a justice, judge, or commissioner of that court, and subdivision (b)(4) exempts a person with written permission from the official in charge of building security. Subdivision (c) defines a state or local public building as one owned or leased by state or local government where public employees are regularly present for official duties, and excludes buildings covered by Sections 171c, 171d, 626.9, 626.95, and 626.10 and Elections Code Section 18544.
Section 171.5(b) makes it "unlawful for any person to knowingly possess any firearm in any building, real property, or parking area under the control of an airport, except as provided for in subdivision (b), (c), or (e) of Section 26230." Section 171.5, subdivision (f) grades a violation at up to six months in county jail, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.
Section 171.7(b) makes it "unlawful for a person to knowingly possess" a firearm "in a public transit facility", which subdivision (a)(1) defines to include a station on a public transportation route. Subdivision (c)(1) exemptions run to peace officers, qualifying retired and out-of-state officers, transit security, and checked baggage, not to a Chapter 4 licensee. The licensee's only path is subdivision (c)(3), which spares a person transporting "an unloaded firearm locked in a lock box" in compliance with Section 26230, paragraph (a)(8). Subdivision (d) grades a violation at up to six months in county jail, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.
Section 171c(a)(1) reaches a loaded firearm brought into or possessed within the State Capitol and its grounds, a legislative office, an office of the Governor or another constitutional officer, or a committee hearing room. Section 171d reaches a firearm brought into or possessed in, or upon the grounds of, a residence of the Governor, another constitutional officer, or a Member of the Legislature. Each carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, or imprisonment under Section 1170(h). Section 171c(b)(2), which Section 26230, paragraph (a)(3) cross-references, exempts a Chapter 4 licensee only with permission from the Chief Sergeants at Arms.
Section 626.95(a) reaches a Section 25400 or Section 25850 violation on the grounds of or within a playground, or within a public or private youth center while it is open or while minors are using it, knowing you are on those grounds. It is punishable by imprisonment under Section 1170(h) for one, two, or three years, or in county jail not exceeding one year.
Section 26230, subdivision (b) lets a licensee transport a firearm and ammunition in their vehicle when the firearm is locked in a lock box meeting the regulatory definition and listed on the Department of Justice Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Certified for Sale. Subdivision (c) of that section extends comparable treatment to a prohibited parking area: moving the locked firearm in and out, storing it out of plain view, and carrying it around the vehicle only long enough to store or retrieve it. Both allowances exclude paragraphs (a)(21) and (a)(28), and subdivision (b) does not preempt stricter local vehicle storage rules. Subdivision (e) grandfathers the box: for subdivisions (b) and (c), a lock box that was on the Roster at the time the licensee purchased it counts as compliant, so a later delisting does not strand a box you already own.
Neither allowance displaces Section 30310, which bars carrying ammunition or reloaded ammunition onto school grounds without written permission of the school district superintendent, a designee, or equivalent school authority, and grades a violation at up to six months in county jail, a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. Paragraph (b)(10) of that section spares ammunition that is in the motor vehicle at all times and within a locked container or the locked trunk, so ammunition on school grounds cannot ride loose in the car even when the firearm is locked in a lock box.
Subdivision (f) of Section 26230 covers sidewalks. Except for paragraph (a)(14), colleges and universities, a licensee does not violate the section while "traveling along a public right-of-way that touches or crosses any of the premises identified in subdivision (a)" if the firearm is carried or transported in accordance with law. It adds: "This section does not allow a person to loiter or remain in a place longer than necessary to complete their travel."
Places of worship in paragraph (a)(22) and privately owned commercial establishments open to the public in paragraph (a)(26) run opposite to the rest. Paragraph (a)(22) bars carry unless "the operator of the place of worship clearly and conspicuously posts a sign at the entrance of the building or on the premises indicating that licenseholders are permitted to carry firearms on the property." Paragraph (a)(26) uses the same sentence for "the operator of the establishment" instead. Both add that "Signs shall be of a uniform design as prescribed by the Department of Justice and shall be at least four inches by six inches in size." On covered property, the absence of a sign is the prohibition, not permission.
Section 25605 exempts a qualifying resident carrying a handgun, openly or concealed, in their own residence or place of business or on private property they own or lawfully possess from Section 25400 and the open carry chapter beginning at Section 26350, and no license is needed there.
The controlling Ninth Circuit decision is Wolford v. Lopez, one published opinion deciding the Hawaii appeal together with the California appeals in May v. Bonta and Carralero v. Bonta. It reviewed a December 20, 2023 preliminary injunction from the United States District Court for the Central District of California, affirming in part and reversing in large part, and on January 15, 2025 the panel denied the appellees' petitions for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc. California DOJ Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-06, dated 03/27/2025, is the Department's implementation guidance for that result and reports the reversal as effective January 23, 2025.
The court affirmed the injunction "insofar as it enjoins Defendant from implementing or enforcing California Penal Code sections 26230(a)(7), (8), (10), (22), (23), and (26)." The injunction as to paragraph (a)(8) does not reach Section 171.7, which independently bars firearms in a public transit facility as set out above. The court reversed as to sections "26230(a)(9), (11), (12), (13), (15), (16), (17), (19), and (20)" and as to subdivision (a) "with respect to parking areas connected to sensitive places." Subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(6), (a)(14), (a)(18), (a)(21), (a)(24), and (a)(25) were never enjoined, and the bulletin lists them as in effect.
Both documents address subdivision (a) as it read before AB 1078. The paragraph numbers they use still identify the same categories in the section as it now reads, with one difference that matters here: operative subdivision (a)(8) ends with the lock box allowance described above, while the text quoted for it in March 2025 stopped at "supported in whole or in part with public funds." Neither speaks to the amended wording.
Treat the posture as preliminary. The panel called its place-of-worship ruling "merely a prediction of Plaintiffs' likelihood of success" and reserved "the constitutional analysis once the parties have had a full opportunity to present and brief the issue." An injunction is also not permission to carry: it "means only that the State cannot ban firearms from places of worship where the owner or operator wishes to allow firearms at the place of worship", and the owner stays free to prohibit them. Status can change as the cases move, so check the current bulletins at oag.ca.gov before relying on any subdivision being enjoined or enforceable.
Section 26200 adds its own place restriction: a licensee shall not "Be in a place having a primary purpose of dispensing alcoholic beverages for onsite consumption." Its subdivision (b) lets the licensing authority add restrictions on time, place, manner, and circumstances, which subdivision (c) requires to be shown on the license. Breach of any condition imposed under Section 26200 is a mandatory ground for revocation under Section 26195(b)(1)(A).
Section 26230 states no punishment of its own for violating subdivision (a), and Section 26235 is a Department of Justice contracting provision rather than a penalty.
The exposure comes from surrounding statutes. Section 25655 lifts Section 25400 only for a person "who is authorized to carry that weapon in a concealed manner pursuant to Chapter 4" (commencing with Section 26150), and Section 26010 lifts Section 25850 only for carrying "as authorized pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 26150) of Division 5." Section 26230 sits inside that same chapter. Whether a particular carry in a listed place falls outside those exemptions, and so exposes you to a charge under Section 25400 for a concealed firearm or Section 25850 for a loaded firearm in public, is a question for the prosecutor and the courts on the facts.
Paragraph (c)(7) of Section 25850 grades the residual case as a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. Paragraph (c)(7) of Section 25400 sets the same punishment for its residual case but does not use the word misdemeanor. Both make it a felony where the person has a prior felony conviction or a conviction of a crime made punishable by a provision listed in Section 16580, where the firearm is stolen and the person knew or had reasonable cause to believe that, where the person is an active participant in a criminal street gang, or where the person is not in lawful possession or falls within a prohibited class.
Paragraph (a)(28) pulls federal prohibitions into the state prohibition, and federal rules bind on federal property regardless of your California license. Other federal agencies set their own site rules, so confirm those before carrying. On Postal Service property, 39 C.F.R. 232.1(l) provides that "no person while on postal property may carry firearms, other dangerous or deadly weapons, or explosives, either openly or concealed, or store the same on postal property, except for official purposes." Under 39 C.F.R. 232.1(p)(2), a person found guilty of violating those rules on Postal Service property faces a fine under 18 U.S.C. 3571 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both.
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