California Disorderly Conduct, Disturbing the Peace and Trespass Laws

California splits what most states call disorderly conduct across two statutes. Fighting in a public place, malicious loud noise and offensive words likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction are "disturbing the peace" under Penal Code 415, punishable by up to 90 days in county jail, a $400 fine, or both, while Penal Code 647, the section actually titled "disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor," covers public lewd conduct, begging, lodging without permission, public intoxication that endangers safety or blocks a public way, and prowling on private property.

Criminal trespass is Penal Code 602, a list of specific acts that are misdemeanors unless a subdivision sets its own penalty, with a separate offense for homes (Penal Code 602.5), a graduated farm-land offense (Penal Code 602.8) and posted-property rules for utilities, railroads and schools. For other states, see our guide to disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers California's state criminal statutes on disturbing the peace (Penal Code 415, 415.5), disorderly conduct (Penal Code 647), related public-order offenses in the Penal Code and Government Code 8665, and criminal trespass (Penal Code 602 to 602.13, 553 to 555.3, 626.2 to 627.7, 369i and Fish and Game Code 2016). It does not cover local noise ordinances and quiet hours (see California noise laws), the procedure for removing squatters (see California squatters' rights), use of force against an intruder (see California self-defense laws), civil trespass lawsuits, or federal property rules.

Disturbing the peace under Penal Code 415

Penal Code 415 is the statute behind most California charges for public fights and noise. It names three groups of people and sets the penalty in the section itself:

"Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than 90 days, a fine of not more than four hundred dollars ($400), or both such imprisonment and fine: (1) Any person who unlawfully fights in a public place or challenges another person in a public place to fight. (2) Any person who maliciously and willfully disturbs another person by loud and unreasonable noise. (3) Any person who uses offensive words in a public place which are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction." (Penal Code 415)

In plain terms, the three forms are:

• Fighting or challenging someone to fight in a public place (415(1)).
• Loud and unreasonable noise that maliciously and willfully disturbs another person (415(2)). Quiet hours and decibel limits are local rules; see California noise ordinance laws.
• Offensive words in a public place that are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction (415(3)).

The noise clause requires conduct that is both malicious and willful, and the words clause is limited by its own text: the words must be spoken in a public place and be inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.

Infraction or misdemeanor

Penal Code 415 can be charged two ways. Penal Code 19.8 lists section 415 among the offenses subject to Penal Code 17(d), and a violation charged as an infraction is "punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250)." Under Penal Code 17(d), the offense is an infraction when "the prosecutor files a complaint charging the offense as an infraction unless the defendant, at the time they are arraigned, after being informed of their rights, elects to have the case proceed as a misdemeanor," or when the court, with the defendant's consent, determines it is an infraction.

How the California Supreme Court read the earlier statute

In In re Bushman, 1 Cal.3d 767 (1970), the California Supreme Court construed an earlier version of section 415 that reached "tumultuous" or "offensive" conduct. The court wrote that "the terms 'disturb the peace' and 'breach of the peace,' which are substantially synonymous, have long been understood to mean disruption of public order by acts that are themselves violent or that tend to incite others to violence." Section 415 took its current form in a 1983 amendment (Statutes 1983, chapter 1092), operative January 1, 1984, so Bushman describes the older wording, not the current subsections.

Disturbing the peace at schools and colleges (Penal Code 415.5)

Penal Code 415.5 repeats the three clauses for anyone who fights, makes malicious loud noise or uses provoking words "within any building or upon the grounds of any school, community college, university, or state university." Section 415.5(a) makes it a misdemeanor and sets the base penalty: a fine of up to $400, up to 90 days in county jail, or both. With one prior conviction under 415.5 or the school-trespass chapter (Penal Code 626 and following), 415.5(b) requires at least 10 days and up to six months in county jail, with a fine of up to $1,000; with two or more priors, 415.5(c) requires at least 90 days and up to six months. Section 415.5(f) states that the section "shall not apply to any person who is a registered student of the school, or to any person who is engaged in any otherwise lawful employee concerted activity."

Penal Code 647: the offense California calls disorderly conduct

Penal Code 647 opens: "Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) and in subdivisions (k) and (l), a person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor." The subdivisions that fit this page are:

• 647(a), lewd conduct: soliciting or engaging in "lewd or dissolute conduct in a public place or in a place open to the public or exposed to public view."
• 647(c), begging: accosting other persons in a public place or a place open to the public "for the purpose of begging or soliciting alms."
• 647(d), loitering at a public toilet: loitering in or about a toilet open to the public "for the purpose of engaging in or soliciting a lewd or lascivious or an unlawful act."
• 647(e), lodging without permission: lodging "in a building, structure, vehicle, or place, whether public or private, without the permission of the owner or person entitled to the possession or in control of it." Section 647 itself has no separate public-camping subdivision; (e) is the lodging rule.
• 647(f), public intoxication: being found in a public place under the influence of alcohol, a drug, a controlled substance or toluene in a condition that the person is "unable to exercise care for their own safety or the safety of others," or, because of that influence, interfering with or obstructing "the free use of a street, sidewalk, or other public way."
• 647(h), loitering or prowling: loitering, prowling or wandering on another's private property "without visible or lawful business with the owner or occupant." For this subdivision, "loiter" means "to delay or linger without a lawful purpose for being on the property and for the purpose of committing a crime as opportunity may be discovered."
• 647(i), peeking while prowling: while loitering, prowling or wandering on another's private property, peeking "in the door or window of an inhabited building or structure" without visible or lawful business with the owner or occupant.

Section 647 has other subdivisions on subjects outside this page. Section 647 does not state its own jail term or fine for these forms, so Penal Code 19 supplies it: "Except in cases where a different punishment is prescribed by any law of this state, every offense declared to be a misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both."

Public intoxication and civil protective custody

Penal Code 647(g) gives officers an alternative to prosecution for 647(f). A peace officer, "if reasonably able to do so, shall place the person, or cause the person to be placed, in civil protective custody," at a facility designated for "the 72-hour treatment and evaluation of inebriates." A person placed in civil protective custody "shall not thereafter be subject to criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding based on the facts giving rise to this placement."

That rule does not apply to a person under the influence of a drug or of alcohol combined with a drug, a person the officer has probable cause to believe committed a felony or who committed another misdemeanor besides 647(f), or a person the officer in good faith believes will try to escape or will be unreasonably difficult for medical personnel to control (647(g)(1) to (3)).

Penal Code 647d adds a repeat-offender rule that operates county by county. It "shall become operative in a county only if the board of supervisors adopts" it by ordinance. Where adopted, a defendant with two or more prior 647(f) convictions within the previous 12 months, found true or admitted, "shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not less than 90 days."

Obstructing sidewalks and public places (Penal Code 647c)

Penal Code 647c makes it a misdemeanor to "willfully and maliciously" obstruct "the free movement of any person on any street, sidewalk, or other public place or on or in any place open to the public." The section adds that it does not affect "the power of a county or a city to regulate conduct upon a street, sidewalk, or other public place," so cities and counties may also have their own rules for those places.

Riots, unlawful assemblies and other public-order offenses

California's riot family sits in Title 11 of the Penal Code (Crimes Against the Public Peace). Title 11 has no section named affray; a public fight is charged under Penal Code 415(1), and assault and battery have their own statutes (see California assault and battery laws).

• Riot (Penal Code 404, 405). A riot is "any use of force or violence, disturbing the public peace, or any threat to use force or violence, if accompanied by immediate power of execution, by two or more persons acting together, and without authority of law." Participating is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both (405).
• Incitement to riot (Penal Code 404.6). Acting "with the intent to cause a riot" by urging a riot or acts of force, violence or burning, "under circumstances that produce a clear and present and immediate danger" of those acts. Up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both. Inciting a riot in a state prison or county jail that results in serious bodily injury is punishable by up to one year in county jail or by imprisonment under Penal Code 1170(h) (404.6(c)).
• Taking a person from police custody by riot (Penal Code 405a). A felony, punishable under Penal Code 1170(h) by two, three or four years.
• Rout and unlawful assembly (Penal Code 406, 407, 408). A rout is two or more people acting together who attempt or advance toward an act that would be a riot. An unlawful assembly is two or more people who "assemble together to do an unlawful act, or do a lawful act in a violent, boisterous, or tumultuous manner." Participating in either is a misdemeanor (408).
• Remaining after a dispersal order (Penal Code 409, 416(a)). Remaining at a riot, rout or unlawful assembly "after the same has been lawfully warned to disperse" is a misdemeanor, except for public officers and those assisting them (409). Under 416(a), two or more people who assemble to disturb the public peace or commit an unlawful act and "do not disperse on being desired or commanded so to do by a public officer" are each guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Entering a closed emergency area (Penal Code 409.5(c)). An unauthorized person who willfully and knowingly enters an area closed for a calamity, a command post or a riot and "willfully remains within the area after receiving notice to evacuate or leave" commits a misdemeanor. Under Penal Code 409.7, a duly authorized news representative in a closed area described in that section "shall not be cited for the failure to disperse, a violation of a curfew," or a violation of 148(a)(1) "for gathering, receiving, or processing information."
• Disobeying emergency orders (Government Code 8665). Under the California Emergency Services Act, a person who violates the act or "refuses or willfully neglects to obey any lawful order or regulation promulgated or issued as provided in this chapter" commits a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months, or both.
• Disturbing a meeting (Penal Code 403). Willfully disturbing or breaking up "any assembly or meeting that is not unlawful in its character," other than religious meetings and election meetings covered elsewhere, is a misdemeanor.
• Disturbing worship (Penal Code 302(a)). Intentionally disturbing a religious assembly at a tax-exempt place of worship "by profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior, or by any unnecessary noise" is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.
• Disturbing a funeral (Penal Code 594.35(d)). Maliciously disturbing, obstructing, detaining or interfering with anyone carrying or accompanying human remains to a cemetery or funeral establishment, or engaged in a funeral service or interment, is a wobbler: up to one year in county jail, or as a felony 16 months, two or three years under Penal Code 1170(h).
• Funeral picketing (Penal Code 594.37). Except on private property, picketing targeted at a funeral, meaning protest activities within 300 feet of a burial site, mortuary or place of worship directed at the deceased or attendees, from one hour before the funeral until one hour after it ends, is punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
• Blocking a clinic, place of worship or school (Penal Code 602.11). Intentionally preventing someone from entering or exiting a health care facility, place of worship or school "by physically detaining the individual or physically obstructing the individual's passage." "Physically" does not include speech. A first offense carries county jail, a fine of up to $250, or both; a second carries at least five days and a fine of up to $500; a third or later carries at least 30 days and a fine of up to $2,000.
• Brandishing a weapon other than a firearm (Penal Code 417(a)(1)). Drawing or exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm "in a rude, angry, or threatening manner," except in self-defense, or unlawfully using one in a fight or quarrel, is a misdemeanor punishable by "not less than 30 days" in county jail.
• Prize fights (Penal Code 413). Being willfully present as a spectator at a fight prohibited by Penal Code 412 is a misdemeanor.
• Blocking an easement (Penal Code 420.1). Willfully and knowingly preventing a person from entering, crossing or leaving land where that person holds an easement or similar right is an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $500, provided the easement or other interest has been duly recorded with the county recorder's office.

Federal law separately governs conduct on federal property and at the U.S. Capitol; the disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state hub covers that layer.

False reports, false alarms and threats

These offenses sit outside Penal Code 415 and 647 but often arise from the same incidents. The list covers the main sections; it is not every threat or false-statement crime in California law.

• False bomb report (Penal Code 148.1). Reporting to a listed recipient (including peace officers, fire department employees, prosecutors, news outlets, airline, airport, railroad and bus line employees, telephone company employees and a building's occupants) that a bomb or other explosive "has been or will be placed or secreted" somewhere, knowing the report is false, is punishable by up to one year in county jail or by imprisonment under Penal Code 1170(h). The same penalty applies to maliciously telling any other person such false information, and to sending, placing or maliciously possessing a false or facsimile bomb "with the intent to cause another to fear" for their safety or the safety of others (148.1(c), (d)).
• False report of an emergency (Penal Code 148.3). Reporting, or causing a report, to a state or local agency that an "emergency" exists, knowing the report is false, is a misdemeanor: up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. It is a felony, punishable under Penal Code 1170(h), by a fine of up to $10,000, or both, if the person also "knows or should know that the response to the report is likely to cause death or great bodily injury" and someone is killed or suffers great bodily injury as a result (148.3(b)). An "emergency" includes any condition that results in, or could result in, a response by an emergency vehicle, aircraft or vessel, an evacuation, or an Emergency Alert System activation (148.3(c)). A person convicted on a report that produced an emergency response is liable to the agency for the reasonable costs of the response (148.3(e)).
• False fire alarm (Penal Code 148.4). Willfully and maliciously sounding a false alarm of fire by any means, or tampering with or breaking fire protection equipment or alarms, is a misdemeanor: up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A false fire alarm that results in great bodily injury or death is a felony: imprisonment under Penal Code 1170(h), a fine of $500 to $10,000, or both (148.4(b)).
• False report of a crime (Penal Code 148.5). Knowingly falsely reporting that a felony or misdemeanor was committed is a misdemeanor when the report is made to a recipient the section lists (certain peace officers, the Attorney General, a district attorney or their deputies, an agency employee assigned to take reports, or a grand jury), on the conditions each subdivision sets. It also reaches a knowingly false report that a firearm was lost or stolen (148.5(f)). Section 148.5(e) provides that it "does not apply to reports made by persons who are required by statute to report known or suspected instances of child abuse, dependent adult abuse, or elder abuse."
• Hoax and threatened weapons of mass destruction (Penal Code 11418.1, 11418.5). Sending, placing or possessing a false or facsimile weapon of mass destruction with intent to cause another person to fear for their safety is a misdemeanor; if the conduct places someone in "sustained fear," it is punishable by up to one year in county jail or 16 months, two or three years in state prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 (11418.1). Knowingly threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction, in a threat specific and immediate enough to convey a gravity of purpose that causes the person reasonably to be in sustained fear, carries up to one year in county jail or three, four or six years in state prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 (11418.5(a)). Under 11418.5(b), sustained fear can be shown by conduct such as the evacuation of a building, school or home.
• Criminal threats (Penal Code 422). Willfully threatening to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury, with the specific intent that the statement be taken as a threat, where the threat is "so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific" as to convey an immediate prospect of execution and causes the person reasonably to be in sustained fear for their own or their immediate family's safety, is punishable by up to one year in county jail or by state prison. Penal Code 18(a) sets 16 months, two or three years for a felony with no term of its own.
• Threats to school employees and public officers (Penal Code 71). Trying to make an officer or employee of a public or private educational institution, or a public officer or employee, do or refrain from doing an act in the performance of their duties through a directly communicated threat to inflict an unlawful injury, where it reasonably appears the threat could be carried out, is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment under Penal Code 1170(h) or up to one year in county jail, or both. With a prior conviction under the section, the punishment is imprisonment under 1170(h).
• Misusing 911 (Penal Code 653x, 653y). Calling or messaging 911 with intent to annoy or harass is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, and the person is liable for the costs of any unnecessary emergency response; repeated calls that are unreasonable under the circumstances establish the intent (653x). Knowingly using 911 for a non-emergency is an infraction: a written warning for a first violation, then fines of $50, $100 and $250 (653y(a)). Using 911 to harass another person is, for a first violation, an infraction with a $250 fine or a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, and a misdemeanor after that; if the act is one described in Penal Code 422.55 or 422.85, it is punishable by up to one year, a fine of $500 to $2,000, or both (653y(b), (c)).

Where these sections say "pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170" with no term of their own, Penal Code 1170(h)(1) sets 16 months, two or three years in county jail.

Criminal trespass in California

California does not grade trespass in degrees. Penal Code 602 opens: "Except as provided in subdivisions (u), (v), and (x), and Section 602.8, a person who willfully commits a trespass by any of the following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor." It then lists subdivisions (a) through (y), each a distinct act. Unless a subdivision sets its own penalty, Penal Code 19 caps the punishment at six months in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.

The main forms of trespass under Penal Code 602

• Entering to damage property or interfere with a business, 602(k): entering lands, fenced or not, "for the purpose of injuring property or property rights or with the intention of interfering with, obstructing, or injuring a lawful business or occupation" carried on by the owner, agent or person in lawful possession.
• Rural land plus a further act, 602(l): entering cultivated or fenced land, or uncultivated land posted with signs at intervals of not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails, "without the written permission" of the owner, agent or person in lawful possession, and then refusing to leave immediately when asked, tearing down a no-trespassing or no-hunting sign, tampering with a gate lock, or discharging a firearm. Entry alone does not complete 602(l); one of the four further acts is required.
• Entering and occupying, 602(m): "Entering and occupying real property or structures of any kind without the consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession." This is the criminal provision that reaches occupation of someone else's property; eviction and removal procedure is covered on our California squatters' rights page.
• Driving onto private land, 602(n): driving a vehicle onto property "known not to be open to the general public" without consent, with an exception for a registered process server who proceeds directly to serve papers and leaves when done or when asked.
• Refusing to leave property not open to the public, 602(o): refusing or failing to leave land, real property or structures "not open to the general public" when asked by the owner, the owner's agent, the person in lawful possession, or a peace officer acting at their request who says so. Section 19.8 lists 602(o) among the offenses that can be charged as an infraction.
• Return after a conviction on the property, 602(t): entering private property after a peace officer, at the owner's request, informs a person that the property "is not open to the particular person." It applies "only to a person who has been convicted of a crime committed upon the particular private property," and the notice lasts until rescinded, for no set limit after a violent felony conviction, up to five years after another felony, up to two years after a misdemeanor, and up to one year after a Penal Code 490.1 infraction.

Two older sections in Title 11 also reach land. Penal Code 419 makes it a misdemeanor for a person "removed from any lands by process of law," or under a court's lawful adjudication or direction, who "afterwards unlawfully returns to settle, reside upon, or take possession of such lands." Penal Code 418 makes it a misdemeanor to use, or procure, encourage or assist another to use, "any force or violence in entering upon or detaining any lands or other possessions of another, except in the cases and in the manner allowed by law."

Trespass in a home: Penal Code 602.5

Penal Code 602.5(a) makes it a misdemeanor for anyone other than a public officer or employee acting within the scope of a legal duty to enter or remain "in any noncommercial dwelling house, apartment, or other residential place without consent of the owner, his or her agent, or the person in lawful possession thereof."

The same act becomes aggravated trespass under 602.5(b) when it happens "while a resident, or another person authorized to be in the dwelling, is present at any time during the course of the incident." Aggravated trespass is punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Questions about what a resident may do in response belong to the California self-defense laws page; this page covers only the offense.

Farm and posted land: Penal Code 602.8

Penal Code 602.8 is California's graduated trespass offense. It applies to anyone who, without the written permission of the landowner, agent or person in lawful possession, "willfully enters any lands under cultivation or enclosed by fence," or enters uncultivated or unenclosed land posted with signs at intervals of not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails. The penalties step up:

• First offense: an infraction, a fine of $75.
• Second offense on the same land or contiguous land of the same owner: an infraction, a fine of $250.
• Third or later offense on that land: a misdemeanor.

Section 602.8(c) states that it does not apply to lawful labor union activity permitted by the Agricultural Labor Relations Act or the National Labor Relations Act, to activities "protected by the California or United States Constitution," to a registered process server making a lawful service of process, or to a licensed land surveyor lawfully surveying.

What counts as notice, and is there a purple paint law?

California's trespass statutes tie notice to signs, requests to leave and, for some offenses, written permission. They contain no paint-mark (purple paint) provision. The posting rules in the statutes covered here are:

When a business or owner tells you to leave

The statutes treat property open to the public differently from private property. Penal Code 602(o), the general refusal-to-leave offense, covers property "not open to the general public." It requires a separate request to the peace officer each time an owner seeks police help, unless the owner files "a notarized writing on a form provided by the law enforcement agency" covering a set period of up to 12 months (or shorter if a local ordinance says so) during a fire hazard or the owner's absence, or a period of up to 12 months while the property is closed to the public and posted as closed. A request may be submitted electronically, and it expires when ownership of the property transfers or the person in lawful possession changes (602(o)(2), (3)). Section 602(o) does not apply to lawful labor union activity permitted by the Agricultural Labor Relations Act or the National Labor Relations Act.

For a business open to the public, the refusal-to-leave offense is Penal Code 602.1. It requires intentionally interfering with the business "by obstructing or intimidating those attempting to carry on business, or their customers," and then refusing to leave after the owner, the owner's agent or a peace officer acting at their request asks; the penalty is up to 90 days in county jail, a fine of up to $400, or both. A parallel rule covers public agency offices (602.1(b)), and knowingly misrepresenting the law to people doing business with a public agency and refusing to leave is an infraction with a fine of up to $400 (602.1(c)). The section does not apply to lawful labor union activity permitted by state or federal law or to "activities protected by the California Constitution or the United States Constitution." Penal Code 602(t) adds a longer-lasting notice, but only for a person convicted of a crime committed on that particular property.

In In re Cox, 3 Cal.3d 205 (1970), a case about a San Rafael shopping-center ordinance, the California Supreme Court held that, because the ordinance incorporated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, "the act does not sanction any such arbitrary exclusion of a customer, although the center may, of course, establish reasonable regulations for its operation." Cox interpreted a San Rafael city ordinance together with the Unruh Civil Rights Act; it did not construe Penal Code 602 or 602.1.

Other trespass offenses

The table below gives each penalty where the section sets one.

• Food-animal land, 602(h): entering land or buildings where animals are raised for human food and signs forbidding trespass are displayed "at intervals not less than three per mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the land."
• Closed fire-hazard lands, 602(p): entering lands closed to entry under Public Resources Code 4256 when posted "at intervals not greater than one mile along the exterior boundaries or along roads and trails passing through the lands."
• Public buildings after hours, 602(q): refusing to leave a public agency building during hours it is regularly closed, when asked by its guard, watchperson or custodian, "if the surrounding circumstances would indicate to a reasonable person that the person has no apparent lawful business to pursue."
• Airports, passenger vessel terminals and transit facilities, 602(u): knowingly entering a restricted area posted "not greater than every 150 feet along the exterior boundary."
• Avoiding security screening, 602(v) and 602(y): intentionally avoiding screening to enter a posted sterile area of an airport, passenger vessel terminal or transit facility (602(v)), or a posted courthouse or city, county or state building (602(y)).
• Domestic violence shelters, 602(w): refusing to leave a shelter-based program after being asked by its managing authority.
• Hospital maternity and neonatal units, 602(x): knowingly entering or remaining in a posted unit without lawful business.
• Fairgrounds, 602.6: remaining on closed fair buildings or grounds after an order to leave from a peace officer or fair manager, and failing to identify oneself and account for one's presence; a misdemeanor.
• Lodgers, 602.3: a lodger subject to Civil Code 1946.5 who stays in an owner-occupied dwelling after a termination notice and the notice period expire; an infraction.
• Renting out a home without the owner's consent, 602.9: claiming ownership or taking possession of a residential dwelling without the owner's consent "for the purpose of renting that dwelling to another"; each violation is a separate offense.
• Obstructing classes, 602.10: using physical force, with intent to prevent attendance or instruction, to obstruct a student or teacher at a University of California, California State University or community college campus.
• Academic researchers' homes, 602.12: entering a researcher's residential property to chill or interfere with academic freedom is "trespass, a misdemeanor."
• Zoo and circus enclosures, 602.13: entering a posted animal enclosure at a licensed zoo, circus or traveling animal exhibit without consent is "an infraction or a misdemeanor, subject to Section 19.8."
• K-12 schools, 626.8: a person who comes onto school grounds or an adjacent street or sidewalk without lawful business, and whose presence or acts disrupt the school, commits a misdemeanor if the person stays after being asked to leave by a school administrator or listed officer, returns within seven days, has "established a continued pattern of unauthorized entry," or willfully creates a disruption intended to threaten the immediate physical safety of pupils in preschool through grade 8.
• School outsiders, 627.7: an outsider who fails to leave school grounds promptly when asked by the principal, a designee or a school security officer, or fails to stay off the grounds for 7 days afterward, commits a misdemeanor if the outsider entered or remained without registering as Penal Code 627.2 requires, or after registration was denied or revoked; up to six months, a $500 fine, or both.
• College campuses, 626.6: a person who is not a student, officer or employee and who appears to be interfering with campus activities may be directed to leave; failing to leave, or willfully and knowingly returning within seven days, is a misdemeanor of up to six months, a $500 fine, or both. The section "shall not be utilized to impinge upon the lawful exercise of constitutionally protected rights of freedom of speech or assembly."
• Suspended or dismissed students and employees, 626.2: after written notice of a suspension or dismissal that denies campus access, knowingly entering without the chief administrator's express written permission; a misdemeanor of up to six months, $500, or both.
• Utilities, pipelines, railroads and similar posted property, 553 to 555.3: owners may post listed property, including oil and gas facilities and pipelines, electric, telephone, broadcast and water facilities, explosives plants, railroad rights-of-way and yards, sewage plants and quarries, "against trespassing and loitering," except any portion open to the general public (Penal Code 554), with signs meeting sections 553 and 554.1. It is then unlawful "to enter or remain upon any posted property without the written permission of the owner, tenant, or occupant in legal possession or control thereof," each day is a separate offense (555), and a violation is a misdemeanor (555.3) that 19.8 lets be charged as an infraction. The same article makes it unlawful to loiter in the immediate vicinity of posted property, except picketing or informing the public of a labor dispute (555.2), or to tear down, deface or destroy a posted sign without authority (555.1).
• Railroad and transit property, 369i: entering or remaining on railroad property without permission when the person's presence or conduct "interferes with, interrupts, or hinders, or which, if allowed to continue, would interfere with, interrupt, or hinder the safe and efficient operation of any locomotive, railway car, or train" is a misdemeanor (369i(a)). Railroad property means land with track on it and the adjacent land within 20 feet on either side (369i(a)(2)), and 369i(b) sets a separate misdemeanor for transit-related property.
• Hunting on private land, Fish and Game Code 2016: entering land "for the purpose of discharging a firearm or taking or destroying a mammal or bird" without the written permission of the owner, agent or person in lawful possession, if the land is cultivated or fenced, or if signs "of any size and wording" forbidding trespass or hunting stand along all exterior boundaries at intervals not less than three to the mile and at all roads and trails entering the land, signs that "fairly advise a person about to enter the land that the use of the land is so restricted." Fish and Game Code 2018 makes it unlawful to post such signs without the owner's authority or to maliciously tear them down, and a Fish and Game Code misdemeanor without its own penalty is punishable by up to six months in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both (Fish and Game Code 12000(a), 12002(a)).

Trespass, burglary and felony exposure

None of the penalties in Penal Code 602, 602.5 or 602.8 is a felony; the longest terms in those sections are one year in county jail. The line to burglary is intent: Penal Code 459(a) makes it burglary to enter a house, room, apartment, shop, store, other building or other listed place "with intent to commit grand or petit larceny or any felony." For anyone wondering how to report a trespass, our general guide on how to charge someone with trespassing explains the process.

Penalties at a glance

Where a row shows up to six months and $1,000 and the section sets no penalty of its own, the default in Penal Code 19 applies. Penal Code 19.2 caps county jail confinement on a misdemeanor conviction at one year, and Penal Code 19.8 caps the fine for an offense charged as an infraction at $250 unless a lower maximum applies. For how California classifies misdemeanors, infractions and felonies generally, see California felony and misdemeanor classes.

Recent changes to these statutes

The dates below are when the current text of each section took effect:

• Penal Code 647 was last amended by Statutes 2025, chapter 82 (AB 379, "Crimes: prostitution"), effective January 1, 2026. The same act added Penal Code 653.25, which makes it unlawful to loiter in any public place with intent to purchase commercial sex, with a $1,000 fine in addition to any other punishment.
• Penal Code 422 (criminal threats) was last amended by Statutes 2025, chapter 554 (AB 352), effective January 1, 2026.
• Penal Code 17, which holds the infraction-filing rule in 17(d), was amended by Statutes 2025, chapter 611 (AB 321), effective January 1, 2026.
• Penal Code 459 (burglary) was amended by Statutes 2025, chapter 533 (AB 468), effective January 1, 2026, with language on disaster-damaged structures.
• Penal Code 19.8, the infraction list, was amended by Statutes 2024, chapter 226 (AB 3278), effective January 1, 2025.
• Fish and Game Code 2016 was amended by Statutes 2024, chapter 186 (SB 1226), effective January 1, 2025.
• Penal Code 602 was last amended by Statutes 2023, chapter 404 (SB 602), effective January 1, 2024, which extended the standing request for police help during a fire hazard or the owner's absence from 30 days to up to 12 months and allowed the request to be submitted electronically.
• Penal Code 409.7, the news-media rule for closed demonstration areas, was added by Statutes 2021, chapter 759 (SB 98), effective January 1, 2022.
• Penal Code 369i (railroad trespass) was amended by Statutes 2021, chapter 534 (AB 1337), effective January 1, 2022.

Related California and state-by-state guides

• Disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state
• California noise ordinance laws
• California felony and misdemeanor classes
• California squatters' rights
• California self-defense laws
• California assault and battery laws
• How to charge someone with trespassing

This article provides general legal information about California's disorderly conduct, disturbing-the-peace and criminal trespass statutes as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in California.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is disorderly conduct in California?

Penal Code 647 calls its offenses disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor: lewd public conduct, begging, lodging without permission, public intoxication that endangers safety or blocks a public way, and loitering or prowling on private property. Fights, loud noise and provoking words fall under a different section, Penal Code 415 (disturbing the peace).

Is disturbing the peace a misdemeanor in California?

Penal Code 415 punishes it by up to 90 days in county jail, a fine of up to $400, or both. Penal Code 19.8 lists section 415 among the offenses that can be filed as an infraction, with a fine of up to $250.

Can you be charged for cursing or yelling in California?

Penal Code 415(3) reaches only offensive words in a public place that are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction, and 415(2) reaches only malicious and willful disturbance of another person by loud and unreasonable noise. Neither clause names profanity or loudness alone; each carries the limits quoted.

Is public intoxication illegal in California?

Under Penal Code 647(f) it is a misdemeanor only if the person, in a public place, cannot care for their own or others' safety or obstructs a street, sidewalk or other public way. Section 647(g) directs officers, where reasonably able, to use civil protective custody instead, with listed exceptions.

Is a false 911 call or bomb threat a crime in California?

Yes. A knowingly false bomb report is punishable under Penal Code 148.1 by up to one year in county jail or as a felony, and a knowingly false emergency report under 148.3 is a misdemeanor, or a felony if the reporter knew or should have known the response was likely to cause death or great bodily injury and it did. Calling 911 to annoy or harass is a misdemeanor under 653x.

Is trespassing a felony in California?

None of the penalties in Penal Code 602, 602.5 or 602.8 is a felony. The most serious is aggravated trespass under 602.5(b), up to one year in county jail. Entering with intent to commit theft or a felony is burglary under Penal Code 459.

What is the penalty for trespassing in California?

Most acts listed in Penal Code 602 are misdemeanors, punishable under Penal Code 19 by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, unless the subdivision sets its own penalty. Entering posted or fenced farmland without written permission under 602.8 is a $75 infraction the first time, a $250 infraction the second time on the same owner's land, and a misdemeanor after that.

Does California have a purple paint law?

No. The Penal Code trespass sections and the Fish and Game Code posting rules contain no paint-mark provision; they use signs. Penal Code 602(l) and 602.8 count uncultivated land as posted when signs forbidding trespass stand at intervals of not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the land.

Can a store make you leave in California?

Penal Code 602.1 makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally interfere with a business open to the public by obstructing or intimidating people there and then refuse to leave when the owner, the owner's agent or a peace officer acting at their request asks. Penal Code 602(o), the general refusal-to-leave rule, applies to property not open to the general public.

Is squatting a crime in California?

Penal Code 602(m) makes entering and occupying real property or structures without the consent of the owner, the owner's agent or the person in lawful possession a misdemeanor trespass. Penal Code 602.9 separately punishes taking possession of a home without the owner's consent to rent it to someone else, by up to one year and $2,500. Under Penal Code 419, unlawfully returning to settle on or take possession of land after being removed by process of law is a misdemeanor.