A new California carry license requires a training course of at least 16 hours. A renewal requires at least 8. Both floors come from Penal Code Section...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
A new California carry license requires a training course of at least 16 hours. A renewal requires at least 8. Both floors come from Penal Code Section 26165, both courses have to be taught by a Department of Justice certified firearms instructor except for the mental health component, and both include a written examination and live fire on a range. The Firearm Safety Certificate most buyers need in order to buy a gun is a different program and does not satisfy either one.
Section 26165 sets the minimum, not your class. Your licensing authority (the county sheriff under Section 26150, or a municipal police chief under Section 26155) decides which specific courses it accepts, and it may require the course to come from its own approved vendor list, as San Diego County does.
The version of Section 26165 in force was rewritten by SB 2 and carries the footer "(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 249, Sec. 13. (SB 2) Effective January 1, 2024.)". Hour counts predating that date describe the repealed version.
Section 26165(a) begins: "For new license applicants, the course of training for issuance of a license under Section 26150 or 26155 may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority that meets all of the following minimum criteria:". Paragraph (a)(1) then sets the length: "The course shall be no less than 16 hours in length."
That is a floor and a gate. No licensing authority may accept a shorter course from a new applicant, and clearing 16 hours does not by itself make a course acceptable.
Paragraph (a)(2) requires that the course:
shall include instruction on firearm safety, firearm handling, shooting technique, safe storage, legal methods to transport firearms and securing firearms in vehicles, laws governing where permitholders may carry firearms, laws regarding the permissible use of a firearm, and laws regarding the permissible use of lethal force in self-defense.
Paragraph (a)(3) carves out a separate block inside the course: "The course shall include a component, no less than one hour in length, on mental health and mental health resources." That hour is part of the 16, not an addition to it, and it is the one component that Section 26165(a)(4) does not require a certified firearms instructor to teach.
Paragraph (a)(5): "The course shall require students to pass a written examination to demonstrate their understanding of the covered topics."
Paragraph (a)(6): "The course shall include live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range and shall include a demonstration by the applicant of safe handling of, and shooting proficiency with, each firearm that the applicant is applying to be licensed to carry."
Read "each firearm" literally. A California license lists the specific weapons you may carry: Section 26175(i)(1) requires the license to contain "a description of the weapon or weapons authorized to be carried, detailing the name of the manufacturer, the model, the serial number, and the caliber." If you want three handguns on the license, you shoot all three.
Round counts and passing scores are set locally. Section 26165(b) puts that duty on the issuing agency: "A licensing authority shall establish, and make available to the public, the standards it uses when issuing licenses with regards to the required live-fire shooting exercises, including, but not limited to, a minimum number of rounds to be fired and minimum passing scores from specified firing distances."
The San Diego County Sheriff, for example, publishes a course of fire requiring 100 rounds for the initial class, 50 rounds for the renewal class, and 30 rounds for each additional firearm, with a 15-round qualification string in which 13 rounds must hit on the line of, or inside, the target.
Section 26165(c) gives the licensing authority one substitution: "Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the licensing authority may require a community college course certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, up to a maximum of 24 hours, but only if required uniformly of all license applicants without exception."
This route is imposed by the agency rather than chosen by you.
Renewals run on Section 26165(d): "For license renewal applicants, the course of training may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority, shall be no less than eight hours, and shall satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (a). No course of training shall be required for any person certified by the licensing authority as a trainer for purposes of this section, in order for that person to renew a license issued pursuant to this chapter."
That cross-reference keeps almost everything. The renewal course still has to cover the subject matter in (a)(2), the mental health hour under (a)(3), the certified instructor rule in (a)(4), the written examination in (a)(5), and live fire with a proficiency demonstration for each listed firearm under (a)(6). The only requirement that changes is the length in (a)(1), which drops from 16 hours to eight.
The last sentence of subdivision (d) is a narrow exemption. A person the licensing authority has certified as a trainer for purposes of Section 26165 does not have to take a renewal course to renew their own license.
Time the renewal course against your license term. Under Section 26220(a), a license issued under Section 26150 or 26155 is valid for a period "not to exceed two years from the date of the license," with longer terms under Section 26220(c) and (d).
Section 26165(e) protects your money: "The applicant shall not be required to pay for any training courses prior to the initial determination of whether the applicant is a disqualified person pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 26202."
Section 26202(d) is the other half. Within 90 days of receiving a completed application for a new license or a renewal, the licensing authority has to give the applicant written notice of its initial determination. If that determination is favorable, subdivision (d)(1)(A) provides that "the notice shall inform the applicant to proceed with the training requirements specified in Section 26165." Section 26202 was most recently amended by AB 1078, effective January 1, 2026.
Nobody can make you pay before that determination arrives, though nothing stops you from booking earlier.
Section 26165(a)(4): "Except for the component on mental health and mental health resources, the course shall be taught and supervised by firearms instructors certified by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 31635, or in a manner to be prescribed by regulation."
DOJ has used that regulatory authority to build a dedicated CCW Program certified instructor track, described by the Bureau of Firearms and codified at California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 4410 through 4412. Per the Bureau, applicants must:
The Bureau states that a CCW Program DOJ Certified Instructor certification is valid for four years so long as the instructor keeps a valid COE (section 4410, subd. (e)). Per the Bureau, Section 4411 sets out revocation grounds that map directly onto the statute: false statements on the application, a course that falls short of the hour floors in Section 26165(a)(1) or (d), a course that omits the topics in Section 26165(a)(2), failure to require the written examination, failure to include the live-fire exercises and proficiency demonstration required by Section 26165(a)(6), or a finding that public safety would be endangered.
Per the Bureau, Section 4412 supplies an exemption from the application process. An active or honorably retired peace officer who is certified as a firearms instructor by POST may provide the Section 26165 course without going through the CCW instructor application, and reserve peace officers appointed under Penal Code Section 830.6 do not qualify for that exemption.
Nonresidents take a different route through the same statute. Section 26150(b)(4), as amended by AB 1078 effective January 1, 2026, requires proof that the applicant "has completed a course of training that meets the criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 26165 and subdivision (d) of Section 26165, as it pertains to the licensing authority to which the application is submitted." The same paragraph adds that if the licensing authority you applied to has approved no online training courses, you may complete an online course approved by any other licensing authority that issues licenses under that section. Section 26155(b)(4) carries parallel language for municipal police chiefs.
Live fire is handled separately for nonresidents. Section 26150(b)(5) requires that the applicant "has completed live-fire shooting exercises, as required by paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 26165, for each pistol, revolver, or other firearm for which the applicant is applying to be licensed to carry in California," and the same paragraph requires you to tell the licensing authority which live-fire course you intend to take, after which the authority either approves that course or suggests an acceptable alternative within 75 miles of your residence.
DOJ states the rule differently. Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-10, dated April 11, 2025, guides licensing authorities through the preliminary injunction that first opened California licenses to nonresidents, and it tells them a nonresident applicant must complete a course meeting the criteria in Section 26165, subdivision (a)(1) to (3) and (5) to (6), and subdivision (b). Those are not the paragraphs Sections 26150(b)(4) and 26155(b)(4) name. Ask the licensing authority you are applying to which cross-reference it is using.
Section 26170 governs licenses issued to persons deputized or appointed as reserve peace officers under Penal Code Section 830.6(a) or (b). Its proof elements in Section 26170(a) are non-disqualification under Section 26202, age of at least 21 with clear evidence of identity and age, the reserve appointment itself, and recorded ownership of (or agency authorization to carry) the firearm. Completion of a Section 26165 course is not among them, unlike Section 26150(a)(4) and Section 26155(a)(4), which do list it.
The FSC lives in a separate article of the Penal Code. Section 31615(a)(1) makes it unlawful to "Purchase or receive any firearm, except an antique firearm, without a valid firearm safety certificate, except that in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be used." Section 31615(a)(2) applies the mirror-image rule to the person selling, delivering, loaning, or transferring. Under Section 31615(b), "Any person who violates subdivision (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor."
According to the Bureau of Firearms FSC program FAQs, the certificate is earned by scoring at least 75 percent (23 correct out of 30 questions) on a written test administered by a DOJ certified instructor, the fee is twenty-five dollars, that fee covers a second attempt from the same instructor after 24 hours have elapsed, and the certificate is valid for five years from issuance.
Three points keep the two regimes straight:
| Item | Initial applicant | Renewal applicant |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum hours (Pen. Code 26165) | 16 hours, per (a)(1) | 8 hours, per (d) |
| Topics under (a)(2) | Required | Required |
| Mental health component under (a)(3) | At least one hour | At least one hour |
| DOJ certified instructor under (a)(4) | Required except the mental health component | Required except the mental health component |
| Written examination under (a)(5) | Required | Required |
| Live fire and proficiency per firearm under (a)(6) | Required | Required |
| Round counts and passing scores | Published by the licensing authority under (b) | Published by the licensing authority under (b) |
| Community college option under (c) | Up to 24 hours, only if required of all applicants | Not addressed by (d) |
Before booking, pull your licensing authority's approved course list and its published live-fire standard under Section 26165(b), then check the current text of Section 26165 on the California Legislative Information site.
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