Buying Ammunition in California
Ammunition is the part of a California order that surprises people. It cannot be posted to your house. It has to be delivered to a licensed ammunition vendor, and you pass a background check when you collect it. Here is how we handle that.
The rule
Proposition 63 and the legislation that followed it made every ammunition sale in California a face-to-face transaction through a licensed ammunition vendor, with an eligibility check run against the DOJ's records at the point of sale. Online orders are allowed — the delivery address just has to be a vendor rather than a residence.
The background check requirement has been through the courts repeatedly. A Ninth Circuit panel ruled against it in July 2025, the state won rehearing en banc, and the requirement stays in force while that plays out. We follow whatever is actually in force on the day you order, and this page gets updated when that changes.
What happens to your order
- You order ammunition here and tell us which dealer you want it sent to.
- We ship it to that licensed ammunition vendor.
- You collect it in person with your ID. The vendor runs the eligibility check — usually a dollar if your details already match the DOJ's Automated Firearms System, more if you need the full check.
The other limits
- You must be 21 to buy handgun ammunition, or 18 with a hunting licence for long-gun ammunition.
- You cannot bring ammunition into California yourself from out of state — that route was closed deliberately.
- Magazines are not ammunition, and magazines over ten rounds cannot come into the state at all.
Reloading components
Primers and loaded ammunition are treated as ammunition. Bullets, brass, powder and dies are components and are not subject to the vendor rule, so those come to your address like any other parts order.
Related: how firearm delivery works in California.
