How to Buy Guns in California

Maybe you are just curious about California gun laws or maybe you are ready to buy your first gun in the Golden State. Here you will find all the information you need to buy a gun in California.

How to Buy a Handgun in California

Here are the requirements for legally purchasing a handgun in California:

You must be 21 years of age or older
Complete your Firearm Safety Certificate
Provide ID (see details below)
Have a background check performed by a Gun Dealer with an FFL
Provide proof of residency

Proper Identification and Restrictions

Bring your California’s drivers license when purchasing a firearm. If your ID has the statement “FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY”, you must also provide proof of legal status in the United States by providing an official copy of your birth certificate, a valid passport, a valid green card, or naturalization certificate. Extensions, expired cards and “they’re (The DMV) mailing me my new one” does not work. Active Duty Military with current DODID and Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders placing you in California is the only exception; unfortunately, this exemption does not extend to attached spouses.

Select Approved Handgun From DOJ Roster

If you didn’t know, you cannot just buy any handgun in California. Only approved handguns listed on the DOJ Handgun Roster (available here) can be purchased by us Californians. Basically, CA has strict rules on what can be added to the list making it a headache for gun makers. In the end, they don’t submit new guns as it’s not worth their trouble.

For this reason, you will see mostly older generation handguns rather than the new ones.

If you are buying your pistol from a CA gun shop they should all be approved. If you purchase a handgun from a website out of state you have to be careful that the handgun you buy is on this roster otherwise the FFL that receives your handgun will have to send it back and you will eat the cost of shipping and restocking.

Complete Firearm Safety Certificate

Since January 1, 2015, the state of California requires firearms buyers to obtain the Firearms Safety Certificate (FSC) prior to the transfer of a firearm. It must be renewed every 5 years.

In order to obtain the FSC, you must pass a written test on firearm safety and laws as specified by CA State Law. The test is not very difficult and more a common sense test. Once you pass they provide a small card that you keep for future gun purchases. See practice test here.

You can take the exam at any local gun store, and need to score at least 75% to pass. On the 30 question test, you can only get 7 questions wrong. If you fail the test, you will need to wait 24 hours before you can take it again.

Background Check

Once you decide on the handgun you want to purchase you will be required to have a background check. This happens regardless of where or whom you buy your handgun.

If you buy your pistol from a store, they will run the check there. If you want to buy a gun from someone on craigslist you will have to arrange the sale through a third party individual or business with a Federal Firearms License (FFL). Most gun stores will do this; it is called a private party transfer.

The background check also allows the firearms dealer to record the sale, more commonly known as the Dealer Record of Sale or DROS.

(See what makes you ineligible for gun ownership below)

Proof of Residency

This is required for your background check. What documentation is acceptable proof of residency for handgun purchasers?

Current DMV registrations.
Electricity, gas, cable bill with purchaser’s name on it from within the last 3 months.
Signed, dated and notarized rental agreement/contract.

Examples of documents that are NOT acceptable proof of residency:

Hunting or fishing license (these documents are not issued by the government).
Cellular phone bill.

Wait 10 Days Then Complete Safety Demonstration

After you have waited 10 days (same for all gun purchases, no exceptions), you will return to pick up your handgun and complete a safety demonstration. Don’t worry, all that is happening here is that you are showing how to load and unload your handgun.

What if you don’t know? It’s okay, the clerk or dealer will show you how to do it correctly. The point is nobody wants you taking a gun home without knowing how to load and unload it safely.

The Safety demonstration involves:

Unloading the firearm
Visually inspecting to verify the handgun is unloaded
Remove any locking devices
Load a single dummy round into the handgun
Unload the dummy round
Place any locking devices back on the firearm if necessary

You Need a Safety Device!

All firearms purchased in California must have a CA DOJ-approved safety device. This is either a trigger lock, cable lock or some other type of lock that makes the firearm unusable when the device is engaged.

Note that every firearm purchased has to have a locking device. If you are buying a gun through a private sale, however, you will need to either have a locking device from the seller, or provide your own.

Unless you can provide evidence of an approved gun safe, you’ll need to show that you purchased a firearm safety device in the last 30 days. Otherwise you will have to buy one from your gun store on the spot.

Okay! Now you are ready to take your new handgun home! Click here to see my post on transporting guns legally in California.

How to Buy Rifles and Shotguns (Long Guns) in California

Long guns include shotguns and rifles, including AR-15’s. To buy a long gun, you must:

Be 21 years of age or older starting 2019, unless you go through a hunters safety course then you can purchase long guns at 18 years of age
Have valid Identification (see Proper Identification and Restrictions top of article)
Have a background check performed by a licensed firearms dealer
Provide a Firearms Safety Certificate

The main difference between a long gun purchase and a handgun purchase is that you do not need to provide proof of residency. You must be 21 to purchase a long gun unless you complete a hunters safety course then you only need to be 18.

Starting July 2021, rifle purchases will be limited to 1 every 30 days.

What Makes You Ineligible for Gun Ownership in California?

If you have a squeaky clean record, you can pass this section as you will likely pass your background check no problem. If you have some “stuff” in your past consider the following that makes you ineligible for gun ownership:

Have been convicted of a felony, or is addicted to narcotic drugs
Under Assembly Bill 3129, anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence going forward will lose his or her right to own a firearm
Have been convicted of specified crimes, both felonies and misdemeanors, involving violence, hate crime offenses, or the unlawful use of firearms. (People convicted of these specified misdemeanor offenses are generally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms for 10 years after conviction.)
Subject to an outstanding arrest warrant for a firearm-prohibiting offense
As an express condition of probation is prohibited or restricted from owning, possessing, controlling, receiving, or purchasing a firearm
Is adjudged a ward of the juvenile court because the person committed an offense involving violence, drugs or firearms (including the carrying of a concealed firearm, the carrying of a loaded firearm in public or the possession of a firearm in a vehicle, regardless of whether the firearm was concealed or loaded). The prohibition stays in effect only until the person reaches age 30
You have been subject to a protective order, restraining order, temporary restraining order or injunction issued by a court pursuant to state law
Is prohibited because of a history of severe mental illness or chronic alcoholism.

Conclusion

Now you are ready to purchase your first handgun in California, as always please be safe and have fun!