In vehicles:
- Handguns must be carried unloaded in a locked container that is not the glove box.
- An unloaded long gun (shotgun or rifle) must be either carried openly or meet the locked container requirement if it is not visible.
- Unloaded long guns can be on the seat, floor, or in a rack.
- If any firearm is not visible, it must meet the locked container requirement for concealed weapons.
- Handguns may only be transported from exempted place to exempted place and cannot be carried around "just in case."
- Long guns in vehicles do not have a destination requirement and can be carried "just in case;" this changes if you take the gun out of the vehicle.
- School zones are more restrictive.
- Handguns must be locked away out of sight if the vehicle is unattended.
For those traveling through California (not to, as a destination), California prohibited firearms are permitted to pass through under federal law. However, the firearms must not be destined for California, they must be unloaded and locked away, and no unnecessary stops are permitted along the route. Read more about interstate travelers' protections on the FOPA page.
Air Travel
You cannot fly while armed. TSA permits the transport of firearms as baggage by passenger aircraft if the firearm is unloaded and in a hard-sided case that is not easily opened. Exact procedures will vary from airline to airline and airport to airport. Contact your airline and review the TSA webpage.
Leaving California
Going out of state? Check out our sister websites for the Intermountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming); FrontierCarry.org and NevadaCarry.org. If you permanently move out of California, remember to vote Republican. Voting for Democrats and the same policies that pass in California are what ruined the greatest state and is ruining the rest of them.