--- title: "PC 25610 - Transporting a Firearm in Your Vehicle (Locked Container Exception)" description: "PC 25610 explains how to legally drive with a handgun in California: unloaded, locked, four conditions. Miss one and you're facing a 25400 charge instead." url: "https://www.thehfirm.com/penal-codes/pc-25610-transporting-a-firearm-in-a-vehicle" site: "H Law Group" --- # PC 25610 - Transporting a Firearm in Your Vehicle (Locked Container Exception) PC 25610 explains how to legally drive with a handgun in California: unloaded, locked, four conditions. Miss one and you're facing a 25400 charge instead. Topics: Gun Crimes, Penal Code, Firearm Transport, Concealed Carry Penal Code 25610 isn't a crime you get charged with. It's the exception that keeps a trip to the range from turning into a concealed-carry charge. If you drive around California with a handgun in your car and you've never actually read this section, you're relying on it whether you realize it or not. The statute spells out the only way a private citizen can legally move an unloaded handgun through a vehicle without a carry permit: locked in the trunk, or locked in a container. Miss one condition and the exception disappears. What happens next depends on exactly how the gun was carried, not on what you meant to do or where you were headed. ## What Penal Code 25610 Actually Requires [Penal Code ยง 25610](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=25610&lawCode=PEN) lets a person transport a handgun by car without a California concealed-carry permit, but only if every one of these is true: - You're 18 or older - You reside in California, or you're temporarily present in the state - You're not barred from owning or possessing a firearm under state or federal law - The firearm is unloaded - It's locked in the vehicle's trunk, or locked in a container inside the vehicle That last condition has two versions. Under subsection (a), the gun can sit locked in the trunk for the whole drive. Under subsection (b), you can carry it in a locked container to or from the car, meaning you can walk it from your house to the vehicle, or from the vehicle into a gun store, as long as the container stays locked the entire time it's in your hands. ## The Locked-Container Rule Trips People Up More Than the Loaded/Unloaded Rule Most people already know a gun in the car needs to be unloaded to fall under this exception. Fewer know what actually counts as a "locked container." [The California DOJ's guidance](https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/travel) on transporting firearms lays it out plainly: a locked container has to be fully enclosed and secured with a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar device. The trunk qualifies on its own. The glove compartment and the center console do not, no matter how well they latch. If an officer finds the handgun in an unlocked console during a stop, PC 25610 doesn't apply, and the fact that the gun happened to be unloaded won't save the charge. ## What You're Actually Charged With If 25610 Doesn't Apply Losing the 25610 exception doesn't mean you get charged with 25610. There's no such crime. Instead you get charged with whatever the underlying carrying offense is, based on how the gun was actually found: - Unloaded handgun, concealed, but not properly locked away: usually charged under PC 25400 (carrying a concealed firearm). Misdemeanor by default, up to a year in county jail and up to $1,000 in fines. It becomes a wobbler, chargeable as a felony carrying 16 months, 2, or 3 years, if you have a prior felony or firearm conviction, the gun was stolen and you knew or should have known it, you're a documented gang member, or you didn't lawfully possess the firearm. - Loaded handgun anywhere in the car, locked or not: PC 25850 (carrying a loaded firearm), with the same misdemeanor default and the same wobbler triggers as 25400. - Handgun carried openly and unloaded outside a vehicle, without a locked container: PC 26350 (open carry of an unloaded handgun), a separate misdemeanor. - Already barred from possessing any firearm: PC 29800 (felon in possession). The container and loaded status don't matter here. 25610 was never available to you in the first place, and this charge is a straight felony. Which of these applies usually turns on where the gun was when the officer found it and whether it was loaded, not on how careful you thought you were being. ## A 2023 Law Changed the Landscape Around This Section Section 25610 was last amended effective January 1, 2024, through Senate Bill 2, the law that rewrote much of California's concealed-carry framework in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen decision. SB 2 added a long list of "sensitive places," including parks, hospitals, libraries, and places of worship, where even a valid CCW permit doesn't let you carry. SB 2's sensitive-places provisions have been through repeated court challenges since 2023, including a federal injunction that was later lifted on appeal. Whether a given location currently counts as a sensitive place isn't something to guess at from an old blog post. If you hold a CCW permit and your trip involves anywhere SB 2 might restrict, check the current status before you go, or ask an attorney who's tracking the litigation. ## Defenses Worth Knowing Most 25610-adjacent cases turn on one of a few fact patterns: - The gun actually met every condition. Officers sometimes charge first and sort out the trunk-versus-container distinction later. If the firearm was unloaded and properly locked away, that's a complete defense, not just a mitigating factor. - The stop or search itself was unlawful. If the firearm turned up through a search that violated the Fourth Amendment, a suppression motion can knock out the evidence before the underlying carrying charge is ever argued. - Momentary or transitory possession. Someone who briefly handled a gun to move it, secure it, or hand it to police has, in narrow circumstances, a defense separate from the 25610 conditions themselves. - Duress or necessity. Rare, but recognized when someone can show they carried the firearm only to avoid an immediate threat, not as an ordinary means of transport. None of these apply automatically. Which one fits, and whether it actually holds up, depends on the specific facts of the stop. ## Related Charges 25610 sits inside a cluster of firearm-carrying statutes that often get charged together or in the alternative: [PC 25400 (carrying a concealed firearm)](/penal-codes/pc-25400-carrying-a-concealed-firearm), [PC 25850 (carrying a loaded firearm in public)](/penal-codes/pc-25850-carrying-a-loaded-firearm-in-public), and [PC 29800 (felon in possession of a firearm)](/penal-codes/pc-29800-felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm). A single traffic stop can implicate more than one of these depending on where the gun was and who was driving. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Can I have a loaded gun locked in my trunk in California?** No. PC 25610 only protects an unloaded firearm. A loaded handgun in a vehicle, even locked in the trunk, falls under PC 25850 instead, and that's a separate charge with its own misdemeanor and felony structure. **Do I need a CCW permit to drive with a handgun locked in my trunk?** No, and that's the entire point of PC 25610. If you meet all five conditions (adult, California resident or temporarily present, not prohibited from possessing a firearm, unloaded, and locked in the trunk or a locked container) you don't need a concealed-carry permit for that trip. **What actually counts as a "locked container" under California law?** A container that's fully enclosed and secured with a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar device. The trunk qualifies by itself. The glove box and center console do not, regardless of how well they close. **Can I carry the gun in a locked box on the passenger seat instead of the trunk?** Yes, under subsection (b). The container just has to stay locked the entire time you're carrying it, including walking it from your house to the car or from the car into a building. **Does PC 25610 cover rifles and shotguns, or only handguns?** The section is written around pistols, revolvers, and other concealable firearms, in other words handguns. Long guns are governed by separate transport provisions, so don't assume the locked-trunk rule automatically covers a rifle the same way. ## If You've Been Charged A 25400 or 25850 charge that started as a "but it was locked in my trunk" situation is often more winnable than it first looks, but that depends entirely on the specifics of the stop, the container, and your record. Talk to a California gun crimes attorney before you say anything else to police or enter a plea. ## Related California penal codes - [PC 25400 - Carrying a Concealed Firearm](https://www.thehfirm.com/penal-codes/pc-25400-carrying-a-concealed-firearm) - [PC 25850 - Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public](https://www.thehfirm.com/penal-codes/pc-25850-carrying-a-loaded-firearm-in-public) - [PC 29800 - Felon in Possession of a Firearm](https://www.thehfirm.com/penal-codes/pc-29800-felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm) --- ## Contact H Law Group - Phone: (888) 499-4948 (phones answered 24/7) - Email: info@thehlawgroup.com - Free consultation: https://www.thehfirm.com/free-consultation - Contact form: https://www.thehfirm.com/contact-us ### Offices - Los Angeles Branch: 714 W Olympic Blvd Ste, 803, Los Angeles, CA 90015 -- (213) 985-4431 - San Diego Branch: 600 W Broadway, Suite 700, San Diego, CA 92101 -- (619) 716-0968 - San Jose Branch: 333 W San Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95110 -- (408) 869-6572 - Orange County Branch: 2030 Main St, # 1300, Irvine, CA 92614 -- (949) 832-8057 - Riverside County Office: 41593 Winchester Rd, Suite 200, Temecula, CA 92590 -- (951) 418-3576 - Santa Barbara Branch: 1117 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 -- (888) 499-4948 ### Disclaimer This website provides general legal information only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. 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