I’m moving to California with guns – What do I need to know?

If you move to California with guns, you must know three essential pools of information regarding the State’s firearms laws. These pertain to the transportation of firearms, the possession of firearms, and compliance with state firearm reporting requirements.

In general, California gun laws provide that if you are transporting a firearm, you must ensure that it is both unloaded and stored in a locked container inside the vehicle (such as a trunk). Non-concealable firearms generally only have to be unloaded when in transport.

Per Penal Code 17000 and 27560, if you are moving into California with a firearm, you are considered a “personal firearm importer” and are required by law to:

• complete and submit a New Resident Report of Firearm Ownership (BOF 4010A) to California’s Department of Justice, and
• do so with a payment of $19.00.

In the alternative, you can sell or transfer your firearms to either:

• a California licensed firearms dealer, or
• a California police department.

A violation of a State gun law can lead to either misdemeanor or felony charges. In addition, a crime under these laws can be punished with either:

• imprisonment in the county jail, or
• custody in the state prison.

Note that carrying guns in most public places is prohibited under SB 2 even with a CCW permit. Learn more about California gun laws.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will answer these 3 key questions in this article:

• 1. How do I legally transport a gun in California?
• 2. Am I prohibited from possessing a gun in California?
• 3. As a new resident, how do I properly report my gun(s)?
• Additional resources

1. How do I legally transport a gun in California?

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution gives you the right to bear arms. State laws limit this right and some requirements to exercise it lawfully.

For example, California law imposes several requirements for how guns must be transported. These requirements, though, differ a bit depending on whether the gun is:

• a handgun that can be concealed,
• a firearm that cannot be concealed, or
• an assault rifle.

Note that many of the rules regarding the transportation of firearms in California can be found on the State of California’s Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) website.

Handguns

To lawfully transport a handgun in a vehicle, you must ensure that it is:

1. unloaded,
2. locked in the vehicle’s trunk or in a locked container inside the vehicle (other than the vehicle’s glove compartment or utility compartment), and
3. apparent, or not concealed inside the vehicle.¹

Gun ammo can be stored in either:

• the locked container, or
• some other carrying device.

You have to follow these rules no matter if you are:

• the driver of the vehicle, or
• a passenger inside the car.

Note that a “handgun” includes items like:

• revolvers,
• semiautomatic pistols, and
• most firearms equipped with a pistol grip.

Non-concealable firearms

The State of California says that firearms that cannot be concealed must be unloaded when in transport.²

Typically, local laws say that non-concealable firearms do not have to be in a locked container. However, United States federal law says that some types of firearms have to be in a locked container or in a gun rack when in a school zone.³ “School zones” are the areas within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a K-12 school.⁴

Note that firearms that cannot be concealed include:

• shotguns,
• long guns,
• rifles,
• carbines,
• centerfire rifles, and
• submachine guns.

Assault weapons

In general, it is illegal to bring assault weapons into California.⁵ Large-capacity magazines are also illegal in California.⁶

2. Am I prohibited from possessing a gun in California?

California law says you are prohibited from firearm ownership and possession if you:

1. are a felon (that is, convicted of any felony offense in any jurisdiction),⁷
2. are addicted to narcotics,⁸
3. have two or more convictions under Penal Code Section 417, California’s law against brandishing a weapon,⁹
4. have been convicted of certain misdemeanor offenses (such as a violation of Penal Code 273.5),
5. suffer from mental illness (if you are placed on two involuntary psychiatric holds in a year, you get a lifetime gun ban),¹⁰ or
6. are under 18 (if you are under 21, you may not purchase a gun).¹¹

California law also prohibits the following:

• openly carrying a firearm (this is an “open carry” offense per Penal Code 26350 PC),
• carrying a concealed weapon without a CCW permit.

Note that per California’s Bureau of Firearms, the DOJ has up to 30 days to complete background checks on you if you purchase a gun.¹²

Note that California’s red flag law allows coworkers, employers, and teachers to seek restraining orders to remove guns from your possession if you are potentially dangerous.

3. How does a new resident properly report of his/her gun(s)?

Per Penal Code 17000 and 27560, if you are moving into California with a firearm, you are considered a “personal firearm importer” and are required by law to do one of the following within 60 days:

• complete and submit a New Resident Report of Firearm Ownership (BOF 4010A), along with $19.00 to the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Firearms, or
• sell or transfer the firearm to a California licensed firearms dealer, or
• sell or transfer the firearm to a California police department.¹³

If you choose this last option, contact the law enforcement agency for instructions prior to transporting the gun to the agency.

If you choose to keep your firearms, you must obtain a California Firearm Safety Certificate.

Additional resources

For more information, refer to the following:

• Gun Safety Rules – National Rifle Association
• Firearms Q&As – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Handguns Certified for Sale – California Attorney General
• Bureau of Firearms – California Department of Justice
• National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) – Federal Bureau of Investigation

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