Is body armor legal to buy and own in California?

For Section 31360, body armor means "any bullet-resistant material intended to provide ballistic and trauma protection for the person wearing the body armor" (Penal Code 16288). The definition does not name protection levels, brands or product types.

Federal law uses different words. It defines body armor as a product sold or offered for sale in interstate or foreign commerce "as personal protective body covering intended to protect against gunfire" (18 U.S.C. 921(a)(35)).

Section 31360 creates two groups:

1. A person convicted of a violent felony under the laws of the United States, California, or any other state, government or country. Purchasing, owning or possessing body armor is a felony.
2. A person prohibited from possessing a firearm under California law. Purchasing, owning or possessing body armor is a misdemeanor. The statute carves out people whose only firearm prohibition is Section 29610, the section that bars minors from possessing firearms.

The second group was added by AB 92, which the Governor approved on September 26, 2023 (bill history). The amended section took effect January 1, 2024.

The same amendment added two duties. When a court advises a person of a firearm prohibition, it must also advise the person of the body armor prohibition, and the statute says the person "shall relinquish any body armor in their possession" (Penal Code 31360(b)(2)).

The Penal Code's body armor chapter, Sections 31310 to 31360, has two parts. Sections 31310 to 31355 deal with testing and certifying armor bought for state peace officers (Penal Code 31315). Section 31360 is the only section in the chapter that prohibits a person from buying, owning or possessing body armor, and it is limited to the two groups above.

The chapter sets no license, registration or background check for a body armor purchase by a person outside those groups. Sellers may have their own policies, which this article does not cover.

A prohibited person "whose employment, livelihood, or safety is dependent on the ability to legally possess and use body armor" may petition the chief of police or county sheriff of the jurisdiction where the person wants to possess and use it (Penal Code 31360(c)).

The chief or sheriff may reduce or eliminate the prohibition, or attach conditions, based on two findings:

• The petitioner is likely to use body armor in a safe and lawful manner.
• The petitioner has a reasonable need for this type of protection under the circumstances.

The statute gives the official "broad discretion" and says it does not require relief for any particular petitioner. A person who receives an exception must agree to carry a certified copy of the written permission, including any conditions (Penal Code 31360(d)).

• Sentencing. A person who wears a body vest while committing or attempting a violent offense faces an added term of one, two or five years. "Body vest" is defined in nearly the same words as body armor (Penal Code 12022.2).
• Gun violence restraining orders. AB 301, approved in 2023, lets a court consider "evidence of acquisition of body armor" when deciding whether grounds for a gun violence restraining order exist (AB 301, now in Penal Code 18155).
• Service of restraining orders. AB 451, approved October 13, 2025, requires police departments, sheriff's departments and other listed agencies to adopt written policies by January 1, 2027. Under those policies, officers serving an order with firearm restrictions ask the restrained person to relinquish "any firearms, ammunition, body armor, and other prohibited items" (AB 451).

Under 18 U.S.C. 931, it is unlawful for a person to purchase, own or possess body armor if the person has been convicted of a felony that is a crime of violence. The federal statute has an affirmative defense: prior written certification from an employer that the armor was necessary for the safe performance of lawful business activity, with use limited to that work.

The California rule is broader in one way. Since 2024 it also reaches people who are prohibited from possessing firearms under state law, whether or not the reason is a violent felony.