California Pepper Spray and Stun Gun Laws (2026)

Pepper spray and a stun gun are both legal in California for personal self-defense, and the two devices share much of the same framework: the same felony, assault-conviction, and narcotic-addiction bars, and the same age floor of sixteen, though the consent rule differs, a minor may get pepper spray by having a parent along or written consent, while a stun gun requires written consent either way. Pepper spray is capped at 2.5 ounces net weight and must release as an aerosol spray, not a projectile; a stun gun has no size or voltage limit but is separately barred from K-12 school grounds, a college or university campus without written permission, state and local public buildings, and the sterile area of an airport.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers California state law only, principally Penal Code §§ 22810, 22815, 22610, 22615, 22620, 22625, 22900, 22905, 22910, 22840, 23000, 244.5, 626.10, 171b, 171.5, and 1170(h). It does not cover California's concealed-carry handgun permit statutes or local municipal ordinances.

Is pepper spray legal in California?

Yes, for self-defense, within limits the statute sets precisely. Penal Code § 22810 states: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person may purchase, possess, or use tear gas or any tear gas weapon for the projection or release of tear gas if the tear gas or tear gas weapon is used solely for self-defense purposes, subject to the following requirements." Subdivision (e)(1) then sets the device limit: "No person shall purchase, possess, or use any tear gas weapon that expels a projectile, or that expels the tear gas by any method other than an aerosol spray, or that contains more than 2.5 ounces net weight of aerosol spray." A projectile-firing tear gas device, or a spray heavier than 2.5 ounces net weight, is not covered by this exemption, but it is not simply contraband either: Chapter 3 of the same division, Penal Code §§ 23000 through 23025, lets the Department of Justice issue a permit for possessing and transporting tear gas or a tear gas weapon that is not intended or certified for personal self-defense, on proof of good cause, with its own application, fee, renewal, carry, and revocation rules.

Two groups of people are barred outright: subdivision (a) bars "[n]o person convicted of a felony or any crime involving an assault under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, government, or country, or convicted of misuse of tear gas" from purchasing, possessing, or using it, and subdivision (b) bars anyone "addicted to any narcotic drug." California's age floor for pepper spray is sixteen, not eighteen. Section 22810(c) and (d) bar selling tear gas to a minor and bar a minor from purchasing or possessing it, but § 22815(a) reverses that bar for "a minor who has attained the age of 16 years," who "may purchase and possess tear gas or a tear gas weapon pursuant to this division if the minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian, or has the written consent of a parent or guardian," and § 22815(b) lets a person sell or furnish tear gas to such a minor on the same accompanied-or-consenting basis. Section 22815(c) makes the consenting or accompanying parent or guardian "jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages proximately resulting from the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the minor" for any use of the tear gas other than self-defense. Every lawfully sold unit must carry a warning label and, since January 1, 1984, a label disclosing the date on which the tear gas weapon's useful life expires, plus printed use instructions at the time of purchase, and since March 1, 1994, an insert with first aid, safety, storage, and legal-ramifications information.

Is a stun gun legal in California?

Yes, and its age and disqualification rules run nearly identical to pepper spray's, though it carries no size or voltage limit. Penal Code § 22610 states: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person may purchase, possess, or use a stun gun, subject to the following requirements." The same felony, assault-conviction, and narcotic-addiction bars that apply to pepper spray apply here too, plus a bar on anyone previously convicted of misusing a stun gun under Penal Code § 244.5.

California's age floor for a stun gun is sixteen, the same number as pepper spray, but the consent rule is stricter: written consent is always required, with no accompanied-by-a-parent alternative. Section 22610(c)(1) states: "No person shall sell or furnish any stun gun to a minor unless the minor is at least 16 years of age and has the written consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian," and § 22610(d) applies the same 16-and-written-consent standard to a minor's own possession. A sixteen-year-old accompanied by a parent, with no signed consent, may buy pepper spray under § 22815 but may not buy a stun gun under § 22610. Section 22610(c)(2) makes a first violation of the sale rule "a public offense punishable by a fifty-dollar ($50) fine," and "[a]ny subsequent violation... a misdemeanor." No permit, license, or additional age requirement applies to an adult buying, owning, or carrying a stun gun. A sold stun gun must carry the manufacturer's name and serial number under § 22615, a requirement that specifies no penalty of its own, so § 22620's catch-all applies, "[u]nless otherwise specified, any violation of this division is a misdemeanor." A stun gun sold without the instruction booklet § 22625 requires draws a flat $50 fine "for each weapon sold without the booklet," regardless of how many times the seller has violated it before.

Restricted places and penalties

California bars a stun gun or taser, defined by cross-reference to Penal Code § 244.5(a) as "any item, except a less lethal weapon, as defined in Section 16780, used or intended to be used as either an offensive or defensive weapon that is capable of temporarily immobilizing a person by the infliction of an electrical charge," from a K-12 campus under § 626.10(a)(1), alongside a dirk, dagger, ice pick, a knife with a blade over two and one-half inches, a folding knife that locks into place, a razor with an unguarded blade, and an air- or spring-powered BB or pellet device; that same list does not include tear gas or pepper spray. Section 626.10(i) separately bars a stun gun from a public or private college or university campus without the written permission of the college or university president, chancellor, or a designee, a misdemeanor; § 626.10(b), the college-and-university subsection that covers a dirk, dagger, ice pick, or fixed-blade knife over two and one-half inches, does not itself name a stun gun, but § 626.10(i) reaches one anyway. Tear gas and pepper spray are not named in any part of § 626.10.

Two further place statutes reach both devices by name, outside § 626.10 entirely. Penal Code § 171b(a) bars "[a]ny unauthorized tear gas weapon" and "[a]ny taser or stun gun as defined in Section 244.5" from a state or local public building, or from an open public meeting under the Brown Act or the Bagley-Keene Act, a public offense punishable by "imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison." Subdivision (b)(4) exempts a person who has written permission to possess the weapon from a duly authorized official in charge of the building's security, along with several other listed exceptions, and subdivision (c) limits "state or local public building" to a building where state or local public employees are regularly present that is not already covered by Section 171c, 171d, 626.9, 626.95, or 626.10. Penal Code § 171.5(c) bars the same two items, again by name, from the sterile area of an airport or a passenger vessel terminal, punishable by up to six months in county jail or a fine up to $1,000, or both. Penal Code § 22840 bars possessing tear gas "in any institution described in Section 4574, or within the grounds belonging or adjacent to any institution described in Section 4574," a state prison or similar correctional facility, unless the person in charge of the institution authorizes it.

Penalties for misusing either device track each other closely but are not identical. Using tear gas or pepper spray for anything other than self-defense is a wobbler under § 22810(g)(1): county jail not to exceed one year, or imprisonment under § 1170(h) for 16 months, two, or three years, or a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both. A term imposed under § 1170(h) is served in county jail, not state prison, unless a § 1170(h)(3) exception applies, meaning the defendant has a qualifying prior or current serious or violent felony conviction, a qualifying out-of-state conviction, a Section 290 sex-offender registration requirement, or a Section 186.11 enhancement. If the person knows or reasonably should know the victim is a peace officer engaged in official duties, § 22810(g)(2) drops the county-jail alternative and fixes the fine at exactly $1,000 rather than a ceiling, keeping the same 16-month-to-three-year range. Assault with a stun gun under § 244.5(b) carries a similar base range, county jail up to a year or a § 1170(h) term of 16 months, two, or three years; § 244.5(c) raises the § 1170(h) range to two, three, or four years if the victim is a peace officer or firefighter the person knows or reasonably should know is performing official duties, and § 244.5(d) preserves a separate assault-with-a-deadly-weapon charge under § 245 for the same conduct.

Separately, unlawfully selling, offering for sale, possessing, or transporting tear gas outside § 22810's terms is its own offense under § 22900: county jail not exceeding one year, a fine up to $2,000, or both. Altering, removing, or obliterating a tear gas weapon's manufacturer name, serial number, or other mark of identification is a § 22910 offense, punishable under § 1170(h) or a fine up to $2,000, or both; possessing a weapon with altered markings is presumptive evidence that the possessor did the altering.

Federal law: what it does and does not reach

No federal statute regulates a civilian's purchase or possession of pepper spray or a stun gun. Federal law matters in three places.

Federal buildings. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), whoever knowingly possesses or causes to be present "a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility (other than a Federal court facility)" faces a fine, imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both. Subsection (e) sets up to 2 years for a federal court facility, and subsection (b) up to 5 years where the weapon is intended to be used in a crime. Section 930(g)(2) defines the term:

The term "dangerous weapon" means a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2½ inches in length.

The definition names neither device. Whether a particular spray or stun gun is "readily capable of" causing serious bodily injury is a question of fact the statute does not answer. Subsection (d)(3) exempts "the lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes," and subsection (h) requires notice of the ban to be posted at each public entrance. A "Federal facility" is "a building or part thereof owned or leased by the Federal Government, where Federal employees are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties."

Air travel. The Transportation Security Administration's screening rules, which are agency policy rather than statute, bar both devices from carry-on bags. One 4 fl. oz. (118 ml) container of mace or pepper spray is permitted in checked baggage if it has a safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge, and sprays containing more than 2 percent by mass of tear gas (CS or CN) are prohibited in checked baggage. Tasers, stun guns and other electro-shock weapons may travel in checked baggage only if transported so the device cannot discharge accidentally. Airlines may set stricter rules.

National parks. National Park Service regulations prohibit possessing, carrying or using a "weapon" in a park area except as the regulations provide (36 CFR 2.4(b)(1)). 36 CFR 1.4 defines "weapon" to include an "irritant gas device" and any "weapon the possession of which is prohibited under the laws of the State in which the park area or portion thereof is located."

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about California's pepper spray and stun gun laws as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer licensed in California for advice about a specific situation.

For a state-by-state comparison, see pepper spray and stun gun laws by state. California's self-defense statutes are covered separately on the California self-defense laws page.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-19.