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Effective

PC 29900:
Violent Offense Firearm Prohibition

Penalties

California Penal Code Section 29900[1] creates an enhanced firearms prohibition for persons convicted of specific violent crimes. While PC 29800 generally covers felony convictions, subject to its limits on federal convictions and exceptions for certain out-of-state convictions, PC 29900 targets a narrow set of particularly serious offenses and imposes consequences that are more difficult to reverse.

Enumerated Offenses

PC 29900(a)(1) makes it a felony to own, possess, or have custody or control of a firearm after a conviction of an offense listed in Section 29905, including the following offenses:

  • Murder or voluntary manslaughter (PC 187, 192(a))
  • Mayhem (PC 203)
  • Rape (PC 261)
  • Sodomy by force (PC 286(c))
  • Oral copulation by force (PC 287(c))
  • Kidnapping (PC 207, 209, 209.5)
  • Robbery (PC 211)
  • Carjacking (PC 215)
  • Assault with intent to commit rape or robbery
  • Assault with a deadly weapon by an inmate (PC 4500, 4501)

Distinction from PC 29800

The critical difference between PC 29900 and the general felon prohibition in PC 29800 is that a PC 29900 prohibition is considered absolute. While PC 29800 convictions for wobbler offenses may potentially be reduced to misdemeanors under PC 17(b), restoring state firearms rights, the PC 29900 prohibition turns on a prior conviction for an offense listed in PC 29905. A person subject to PC 29900 is barred even if the conviction occurred in another jurisdiction, provided the offense would qualify as one of the enumerated crimes under California law.

Penalties

A person who violates PC 29900 is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison[2]. Unlike most non-violent felonies that are served in county jail under PC 1170(h) following realignment, a PC 29900 conviction may qualify for state prison commitment because the underlying offenses are serious or violent felonies. A PC 29900 conviction is subject to Three Strikes sentencing when qualifying prior serious or violent felony convictions are pleaded and proved under PC 667.

No Restoration Pathway

A governor's pardon can restore firearm rights in limited cases, with federal approval, if the conviction did not involve the use of a dangerous weapon. A certificate of rehabilitation, expungement, or completion of probation will not restore rights for persons subject to PC 29900.

Verification

18 of 18 factual claims on this page were matched to their source text as of 2026-10-16.

Show the claims
Factual claims on this page and their verification status
ClaimTypeStatusSourceChecked
PC 29900Source text: # § 29900 ## (a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 29800, any person who has been previously convicted of any of the offenses listed in Section 2STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
Penal Code Section 29900Source text: # § 29900 ## (a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 29800, any person who has been previously convicted of any of the offenses listed in Section 2STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 29800Source text: # § 29800 ## (a) (1) Any person who has been convicted of a felony under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, governmenSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
California Penal Code Section 29900Source text: # § 29900 ## (a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 29800, any person who has been previously convicted of any of the offenses listed in Section 2STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 29900(a)(1)Source text: # § 29900 ## (a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 29800, any person who has been previously convicted of any of the offenses listed in Section 2STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 187Source text: # § 187 ## (a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought. ## (b) This section shall not apply to any person who STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 203Source text: # § 203 Every person who unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables, disfigures, or renders it useless, or cuts or STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 261Source text: # § 261 ## (a) Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished under any of the following circumstances: (1) (A) If a person is at the time incapable, becaSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 286(c)Source text: # § 286 ## (a) Sodomy is sexual conduct consisting of contact between the penis of one person and the anus of another person. Any sexual penetration, however STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 287(c)Source text: # § 287 ## (a) Oral copulation is the act of copulating the mouth of one person with the sexual organ or anus of another person. ## (b) (1) Except as providSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 207Source text: # § 207 ## (a) Every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, steals or takes, or holds, detains, or arrests any person in this state, aSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 211Source text: # § 211 Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 215Source text: # § 215 ## (a) “Carjacking” is the felonious taking of a motor vehicle in the possession of another, from his or her person or immediate presence, or from theSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 4500Source text: # § 4500 Every person while undergoing a life sentence, who is sentenced to state prison within this state, and who, with malice aforethought, commits an assauSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 17(b)Source text: # § 17 ## (a) A felony is a crime that is punishable with death, by imprisonment in the state prison, or, notwithstanding any other law, by imprisonment in a STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 29905Source text: # § 29905 ## (a) As used in this chapter, a violent offense includes any of the following: (1) Murder or voluntary manslaughter. (2) Mayhem. (3) Rape. (4)STATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 1170(h)Source text: # § 1170 ## (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of sentencing is public safety and to reduce recidivism achieved through punishment, rSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16
PC 667Source text: # § 667 ## (a) (1) A person convicted of a serious felony who previously has been convicted of a serious felony in this state or of any offense committed in aSTATverified against sourceNone2026-10-16

Sources

[1] California Legislature. Penal Code Section 29900

Part 6, Title 4, Section 29900

[2] California Legislature. Penal Code Section 29900 (penalties)

Part 6, Title 4, Section 29900

Related

Research Methodology