The penalties for possession of an assault weapon in California depend on how the prosecutor charges the case. Unlawful possession is a wobbler: as a misdemeanor it carries up to one year in county jail, and as a felony it carries a state prison term of 16 months, two years, or three years.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30605 A narrow exception can drop the offense to a $500 fine, but only if you meet every one of its conditions. And if you did more than just possess the weapon, the numbers get worse quickly.
Misdemeanor or Felony: How Prosecutors Choose
Because possession of an unregistered assault weapon is a wobbler, the district attorney decides whether to file it as a misdemeanor or a felony based on the circumstances of the case and your criminal history.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30605
A misdemeanor conviction can send you to county jail for up to a year. A felony conviction sends you to state prison under the standard triad of 16 months, two years, or three years.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30605 The felony sits on your record permanently unless it’s later reduced or expunged, and it carries collateral consequences well beyond the sentence itself.
The $500 Fine Exception
One narrow provision softens the penalty for people who genuinely missed their registration deadline. The offense drops to a $500 fine if all of the following are true:
- You lawfully owned the firearm before it was reclassified as an assault weapon.
- You have never been convicted of an assault weapon violation before.
- You were caught within one year after the registration period ended.
- You surrender the weapon for destruction.
1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30605 The exception is short-lived and requires you to permanently give up the gun. If more than a year has passed since the relevant registration window closed, this option isn’t on the table.
Each Weapon Is a Separate Offense
Penalties do not merge when more than one firearm is involved. Each assault weapon in your possession counts as a separate offense, and the sentences can stack.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600 A person caught with three unregistered assault weapons is not facing one charge, but three.
If You Sold, Imported, Loaned, or Gave It Away
Simple possession is treated less harshly than any form of transfer or distribution. Manufacturing, distributing, importing, selling, or giving away an assault weapon is a straight felony, not a wobbler, and it carries four, six, or eight years in state prison. If the weapon is transferred to a minor, an additional consecutive year is added.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30600
This trips up people who think of themselves as ordinary owners. Buying an assault weapon in another state and driving it home to California is importing, not possession. Handing an assault weapon to a friend for the weekend is a transfer. Even a registered owner cannot legally sell, gift, or bequeath the firearm within California; when the owner dies, the gun has to leave the state, go to law enforcement, or be permanently disabled.
What a Felony Conviction Costs You Federally
A California felony conviction strips your right to possess any firearm under federal law. If you’re later caught with any gun, even a bolt-action hunting rifle, federal prosecutors can charge you under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g), which carries up to 10 years in federal prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The state and federal exposures compound: one conviction closes a door that a second offense then opens onto a much longer sentence.
Why “But I Was Going to Register It” Isn’t a Defense
Registration with the California Department of Justice is the primary way to lawfully possess an assault weapon, and every registration window is now closed.4State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Assault Weapons and .50 BMG Frequently Asked Questions The deadlines ran as each category was added to the law:
- Original named weapons: registration closed March 31, 1992.
- Court-declared weapons: registration closed January 23, 2001.
- Feature-based weapons: registration closed December 31, 2000.
- Firearms reclassified under the 2017 fixed-magazine rule: registration closed July 1, 2018.
- “Other” category firearms: registration closed December 31, 2021.
4State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Assault Weapons and .50 BMG Frequently Asked Questions Outside those windows, there is no general path to register an assault weapon. The only remaining exceptions cover law enforcement agencies, military personnel acting in an official capacity, and licensed dealers or manufacturers engaged in authorized activities.
Registered owners also face limits on where they can keep and use the firearm. It can only be possessed at your own property, on someone else’s property with permission, at licensed shooting ranges, at approved firearms exhibitions, or on public land where the managing agency has specifically authorized assault weapons. Taking a registered assault weapon anywhere else, or transporting it without unloading it and locking it in a container, is a violation even if the registration itself is valid.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30945
Whether Your Firearm Even Qualifies
California’s definition of “assault weapon” is broader than most people expect, so the same gun that raises no eyebrows in another state can support a felony charge here. A firearm can qualify three different ways.
The Penal Code names dozens of specific rifles, pistols, and shotguns by make and model, including all AK-series rifles, the Colt AR-15 series, UZI rifles and pistols, and the Intratec TEC-9. Variants of those weapons are also covered, even with different model names or cosmetic changes.6Justia Law. California Penal Code 30510 – Assault Weapons
A semi-automatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine also qualifies if it has any one of these features: a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously below the action, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, or a forward pistol grip. Semi-automatic pistols and shotguns have their own feature lists, and separate rules cover fixed-magazine rifles and pistols that hold more than 10 rounds.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30515
One feature can be enough. If you’re not sure whether your rifle qualifies, get a straight answer from a California firearms attorney before assuming it doesn’t.
A Note on .50 BMG Rifles
California treats .50 BMG rifles under a parallel but separate statute. Possession of an unregistered .50 BMG rifle is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 30610 The registration window for .50 BMG rifles closed on April 30, 2006.
Pending Court Cases Won’t Save You Today
California’s assault weapon ban is being challenged in federal court. Miller v. Bonta is pending before the Ninth Circuit, with supplemental briefs filed in January 2026, and two petitions challenging Connecticut’s similar ban, National Association for Gun Rights v. Lamont and Grant v. Higgins, have been relisted for consideration by the Supreme Court. A district court initially struck down California’s ban, but the case was stayed and remanded after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
None of that changes what a California court can do to you right now. The ban remains fully in effect and enforceable. Anticipating a favorable ruling is not a legal defense to a possession charge filed today, and a conviction entered before any court rules doesn’t disappear if the law is later struck down.