California · Through 2026-09-13

HSC § 12700

(a) Except as provided in Section 12702 and subdivision (b), a person who violates any provision of this part, or any regulations issued pursuant to this part, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) A person who violates any provision of this part, or any regulations issued pursuant to this part, by possessing dangerous fireworks shall be subject to the following:
(1) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of less than 25 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not exceeding one year, or both that fine and imprisonment. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, a person shall be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(2) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of not less than 25 pounds or more than 100 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(3) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of not less than 100 pounds or more than 5,000 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code or a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(4) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of more than 5,000 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) Subdivision (b) shall not apply to a person who holds and is operating within the scope of a valid license as described in Section 12516 or valid permit as described in Section 12522.

Where this section sits in the code

Health and Safety Code - HSC
DIVISION 11. EXPLOSIVES [12000. - 12761.]
PART 2. FIREWORKS AND PYROTECHNIC DEVICES [12500. - 12728.]
CHAPTER 8. Penalties [12700. - 12706.]

(b) A person who violates any provision of this part, or any regulations issued pursuant to this part, by possessing dangerous fireworks shall be subject to the following:

(1) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of less than 25 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not exceeding one year, or both that fine and imprisonment. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, a person shall be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(2) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of not less than 25 pounds or more than 100 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(3) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of not less than 100 pounds or more than 5,000 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code or a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(4) A person who possesses a gross weight, including packaging, of more than 5,000 pounds of unaltered dangerous fireworks, as defined in Section 12505, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(c) Subdivision (b) shall not apply to a person who holds and is operating within the scope of a valid license as described in Section 12516 or valid permit as described in Section 12522.

Collected 2026-09-14T05:56:33Z. Source file · JSON

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