CA DOJ approved gun safes: what California's standard requires and how to check a claim

"CA DOJ approved" is one of the most common phrases on gun-safe listings, and one of the least precise. Makers use it for two different things: a listing on the California Department of Justice's roster of firearm safety devices, and a claim that a safe meets the state's gun-safe construction standard. Those are separate approvals with separate tests, and a product can have one without the other.

The difference now matters inside the home. Since January 1, 2026, California law has required firearms in a residence to be securely stored whenever they aren't being carried or readily controlled, and it defines secure storage by reference to both approvals. This guide explains each one, shows how real makers word their claims, and walks through checking them. We are not lawyers; everything below is taken from the statute, regulation and DOJ pages linked in each section.

Two different approvals behind one phrase

Both approvals grow out of the same law. Penal Code §23650 directs the Attorney General to set "a minimum safety standard for firearm safety devices and gun safes to significantly reduce the risk of firearm-related injuries to children 17 years of age and younger." Both, in other words, start as child-safety standards. Neither is a burglary rating in itself, although the gun-safe standard can be met with one.

What 11 CCR §4100 requires

California's gun-safe standard sits in Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations as section 4100, "Gun Safe Standards". It was renumbered from section 977.50 in 2006, which is why older spec sheets sometimes cite the old number. It says "an acceptable gun safe is either one" of two things. The first, §4100(a), is a list of construction minimums:

• Containment: it "shall be able to fully contain firearms and provide for their secure storage."
• Lock: at minimum a mechanical or electronic combination lock with "at least 10,000 possible combinations consisting of a minimum three numbers, letters, or symbols," protected by "a case-hardened (Rc 60+) drill-resistant steel plate, or drill-resistant material of equivalent strength."
• Bolts: "a minimum of three steel locking bolts of at least 1/2-inch thickness" that intrude between door and body, operated by a separate handle and secured by the lock.
• Walls: "a minimum 12-gauge thick steel for a single-walled safe, or the sum of the steel walls shall add up to at least 0.100 inches for safes with two walls."
• Door: "a minimum one layer of 7-gauge steel plate reinforced construction or at least two layers of a minimum 12-gauge steel compound construction."
• Hinges: protected against door removal, for example by "hinges not exposed to the outside, interlocking door designs, dead bars, jeweler's lugs and active or inactive locking bolts."

On a standard sheet-steel chart, 12 gauge is 0.1046 in and 7 gauge is 0.1793 in. Our steel gauge explainer converts the rest.

The UL RSC alternative in §4100(b)

The second way to qualify skips the checklist. Under §4100(b), an acceptable gun safe is one that can fully contain firearms "and is certified to/listed as meeting Underwriters Laboratories Residential Security Container rating standards by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL)."

For buyers, this is the easier route to verify. A UL RSC listing is a model-specific certification from an independent lab, and it measures the finished safe against a timed attack: at Level 1, UL describes five minutes by one technician with common hand tools. Checking a construction claim under §4100(a) means confirming six separate specs, several of which makers often don't publish. Our UL RSC explainer covers how to confirm a listing.

The firearm safety device roster

The roster is the DOJ's Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Certified for Sale. Under Penal Code §23655, the DOJ certifies laboratories to verify that firearm safety devices meet its standards, and publishes a roster of the devices that passed. You can search it by model or manufacturer, and each result lists a device type.

The roster is not limited to cable locks and lock boxes. It lists the Fort Knox Pistol Box as a "Lock Box," but it also lists Liberty's Centurion 12, 18, 24 and 32 and Stealth's STL-EGS14 with the type "Safe." That is where much of the "CA DOJ approved" wording on full-size safes comes from.

The roster matters at the gun counter. Under Penal Code §23635, a firearm sold in California must come with a firearm safety device from the roster. One exemption covers a buyer who owns a gun safe that meets the §23650 standards and shows proof. The DOJ's firearm safety device FAQ says that means showing the dealer a receipt (or an affidavit of ownership) and "an affidavit signed under penalty of perjury, stating the gun safe meets the standards set forth in DOJ regulations." We found no DOJ list of safes that meet the §4100 standard; the buyer's affidavit is how the exemption works.

The two standards test different things. The Fort Knox box, a roster-listed lock box, uses a push-button lock its maker says has over 1,000 possible combinations. The §4100(a) gun-safe standard asks for a lock with at least 10,000. Being on the roster tells you a device passed the safety-device tests. It doesn't tell you a safe meets the gun-safe standard, or that it has any burglary rating.

Why it matters at home: the 2026 storage rule

Senate Bill 53 (Chapter 542, Statutes of 2024, approved September 24, 2024) added Penal Code §25145. It says: "Beginning on January 1, 2026, a person shall ensure that any firearm the person possesses in a residence is securely stored whenever the firearm is not being carried or readily controlled by the person or another lawful authorized user."

• Securely stored means "maintained within, locked by, or disabled using a certified firearm safety device or a secure gun safe."
• A certified firearm safety device is "a firearm safety device or gun safe that is listed on the Department of Justice's roster."
• A secure gun safe is one that "meets the standards for gun safes adopted pursuant to Section 23650," which is the §4100 standard.
• Readily controlled means carrying the firearm, or being "within close enough proximity to the firearm to readily prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to the firearm."
• Penalties: fines for a first and second violation; a third or later violation is a misdemeanor. The section doesn't apply to unloaded antique firearms or permanently inoperable ones.

One subsection is worth knowing before you buy. A person "shall not be penalized" if they secure a firearm with a device or safe "that they reasonably believed to meet the requirements of this section, including a firearm safety device that was certified at the time the individual purchased the device or a safe that met the standards for gun safes adopted pursuant to Section 23650 at the time the individual purchased the safe." In practice, that makes the paperwork worth keeping: the receipt, a copy of the roster entry, or the maker's written compliance statement. The Attorney General's December 2024 consumer alert summarized the rule the same way: a DOJ-certified firearm safety device or a secure gun safe.

Reading a maker's California claim

Here is how five gun safes in our registry word their California claims, next to the evidence that tells you which approval they mean.

• Kodiak KGX5933W and Winchester Ranger 26: the RSC route. Rhino Metals states "UL Certified RSC / CA DOJ Compliant" for the Kodiak; Winchester states the Ranger 26 "Exceeds California DOJ Requirements" and is "U.L. Listed for burglary protection, RSC." A UL RSC listing is §4100(b) on its own, so the California claim rests on something you can check. Stealth's UL series works the same way.
• Steelwater Extreme Duty 39: the construction route. Steelwater says it "exceeds California Department of Justice regulatory standards for residential security containers," but names no UL listing, so the claim rests on §4100(a). The published specs cover part of the list: a 9-gauge body (thicker than the 12-gauge minimum) and 20 bolts of 1.5 in diameter (the standard asks for three of at least 1/2 in). The product page doesn't publish door steel, the lock's number of combinations or its hard plate. Those are the questions to put to the maker in writing.
• Liberty Centurion 24 and Stealth EGS14: the roster route. Both makers describe a California DOJ firearm safety device approval, and the roster lists both as safes. Their published specs don't show the §4100 route: each lists a 14-gauge body, thinner than the 12-gauge single-wall minimum, and neither maker cites a UL RSC listing. Under §25145 a roster-listed safe counts as a certified firearm safety device for home storage. What the roster listing doesn't tell you is that the safe meets the §4100 gun-safe standard, or that it has a burglary rating.

One more signal to look for in a store. Penal Code §23635 requires long-gun safes sold in California that don't meet the §23650 standards to carry a warning that begins: "WARNING: This gun safe does not meet the safety standards for gun safes specified in California Penal Code Section 23650." If you see that label, the safe is not a §4100 gun safe.

How to verify a California claim, step by step

1. Ask which approval the maker means. Roster listing, the §4100 gun-safe standard, or both. "Approved" with no detail is not an answer.
2. For a roster claim, search the roster. Use the DOJ's search by model or manufacturer, match the exact model name, and note the device type and any fit description. Save or print the entry.
3. For a §4100(b) claim, confirm the UL RSC listing. Look for the listing named on the maker's page for your exact model, and check it in UL's certification directory if you can.
4. For a §4100(a) claim, check each spec. Body gauge, door construction, bolt count and thickness, lock combinations, hard plate and hinge protection. Ask in writing for anything the product page leaves out.
5. Look for the §23635 warning label on a long-gun safe sold in California.
6. Keep the paperwork. The receipt and whatever shows the device was certified, or the safe met the standard, when you bought it.

Picks whose makers state California compliance

We only list models whose maker states California DOJ compliance, cited on each card. The two gun safes pair that statement with a UL RSC listing, so the §4100(b) route is visible and checkable. The handgun box is on the DOJ roster as well as carrying V-Line's own "CA DOJ Approved" statement. For more quick-access options, see the best handgun safes; if the gun travels with you, read how to store a gun in your car first.