Pen. Code, § 18205 · Chapter 5. Offenses
Pen. Code, § 18205
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Every person who owns or possesses a firearm or ammunition with knowledge that they are prohibited from doing so by a temporary emergency gun violence restraining order issued pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 18125), an ex parte gun violence restraining order issued pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 18150), a gun violence restraining order issued after notice and a hearing issued pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18170), or by a valid order issued by an out-of-state jurisdiction that is similar or equivalent to a gun violence restraining order described in this division, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be prohibited from having custody or control of, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, a firearm or ammunition for a five-year period, to commence upon the expiration of the existing gun violence restraining order.
(b) For purposes of this section, a valid order issued by an out-of-state jurisdiction that is similar or equivalent to a gun violence restraining order described in this section must be issued upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that the person poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to themselves or another because of owning or possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 286, Sec. 2. (AB 2617) Effective January 1, 2021.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=18205.
- Text hash
- sha256 fe1b4ed1080395373383acd77f73f116e3dc334e69082d46b8aeee85ccbfb27a
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, pt. 6, tit. 2, div. 3.2, ch. 2Temporary Emergency Gun Violence Restraining OrderPrinted as Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 18125)
- Pen. Code, pt. 6, tit. 2, div. 3.2, ch. 3Ex Parte Gun Violence Restraining OrderPrinted as Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 18150)
- Pen. Code, pt. 6, tit. 2, div. 3.2, ch. 4Gun Violence Restraining Order Issued After Notice and HearingPrinted as Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18170)
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 18205. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.