PC 30510-30530:
Assault Weapon Definitions

California's assault weapon definition is among the most complex in the nation, built through three separate legislative acts spanning 15 years. Penal Code Section 30510 establishes the named model list,^[1] Section 30515 sets out the characteristics-based test,^[2] and Section 30530 addresses .50 BMG rifles.^[3]

Prong One: Roberti-Roos Named Model List (PC 30510)

The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (SB 292) created the original assault weapon ban by listing specific makes and models. Section 30510 enumerates these firearms by name, including models from manufacturers such as Colt (AR-15 series), Norinco, Bushmaster, and others. A firearm that appears on this list is an assault weapon regardless of its physical features. The Department of Justice also lists AK and AR-15 series weapons in California Code of Regulations, title 11, section 5499, and many of the named models are no longer manufactured. However, any surviving examples remain classified as assault weapons.

Prong Two: Characteristics Test (PC 30515)

SB 23 (1999, effective January 1, 2000) added a characteristics-based definition alongside the existing named-model list and the procedure for adding weapons to that list. Section 30515 defines an assault weapon as a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine and has any one of the following features: a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, or a forward pistol grip. The section applies similar but distinct criteria to semiautomatic centerfire pistols and semiautomatic shotguns.

Prong Three: .50 BMG Rifles (PC 30530)

AB 50 (2004) added .50 BMG rifles as a separate category. Section 30530 defines a ".50 BMG rifle" as a center fire rifle that can fire a .50 BMG cartridge and is not an assault weapon under Section 30510 or 30515, or a machinegun. This provision was enacted specifically to address the perceived threat of long-range .50 caliber rifles, which had not been captured by the prior two definitions.

Interaction Between Prongs

PC 30510 and PC 30515 define assault weapons, while PC 30530 defines a separate category of .50 BMG rifles. A .50 BMG rifle under PC 30530 is not already an assault weapon or a machinegun. Persons who lawfully possessed assault weapons during their respective registration periods may retain them if properly registered with the California DOJ, subject to the possession and transport conditions in Penal Code Section 30945. New acquisition of any firearm meeting any of these definitions is generally prohibited.^[4]

ATF Pistol Brace Rule and California Law

On May 6, 2026, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives published a proposal to remove the provisions added by its 2023 stabilizing-brace rule. The 2023 rule used factors to determine whether a firearm with a stabilizing brace was a rifle or short-barreled rifle subject to federal regulation, including National Firearms Act registration requirements. The proposal recounts that a federal district court vacated the 2023 rule in its entirety in June 2024.

Federal brace rulemaking does not change the tests in Penal Code Section 30515. California's assault weapon classification operates entirely independently of the federal NFA framework. Under Penal Code Section 30515, a semiautomatic centerfire pistol that accepts a detachable magazine and has any one of the following features is an assault weapon: a threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash suppressor or silencer, a second handgrip, a shroud that permits holding the firearm while firing to protect the hand, or the capacity to accept a detachable magazine outside of the pistol grip.

A stabilizing brace does not by itself trigger the PC 30515 characteristics test for pistols, because a brace is not one of the enumerated features. Under PC 30515(a)(4), a braced semiautomatic pistol without a fixed magazine that has a threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer, a second handgrip, or another listed feature meets the California assault weapon definition unless a statutory exemption applies. The practical guidance:

• A braced semiautomatic pistol without a fixed magazine is an assault weapon under PC 30515(a)(4) if it has one of that provision's listed features, unless a statutory exemption applies.
• The ATF's federal classification of the firearm as a pistol (not an SBR) does not override California's independent analysis under PC 30515.
• Federal brace rulemaking does not amend California's statutory assault weapon definitions.

Owners of braced pistols who moved to California under the assumption that federal law governs should consult the DOJ's assault weapon classification guidance or a licensed California attorney before bringing such firearms into the state.

See also: PC 30600: Assault Weapons Prohibition