Health and Safety Code 12700: Firework Possession Laws in California

I. H&S 12700: Firework Possession

California criminalizes people who possess illegal fireworks, not fireworks that are considered “Safe and sane”. “Dangerous” fireworks include larger items such as rockets and sparklers bigger than ten inches in length or one-quarter inch in diameter. “Safe and sane” fireworks include smaller items such as fountains, spinners, and sparklers smaller than ten inches in length, and are able to be purchased at a fixed business with sellers who have retail licenses.. You must be properly licensed to sell fireworks, whether legal or illegal in California. Without a permit, you cannot sell any kind of fireworks to another. Under HS 12700, fireworks are criminalized if you possess a certain amount (by weight), and the more you possess the more serious the offense.

Fireworks are generally described as: “any assembly of materials or explosive substances which is designed and intended by the seller to be assembled by the person receiving such material or explosive substance and, when so assembled, would come within the definition of fireworks.”

II. What does this mean?

Fireworks are generally described as:

• Torpedoes,
• Rockets
• Skyrockets,
• Roman Candles,
• Party Poppers,
• Sparklers,
• Paper Caps,
• Fountains,
• Smoke Sparks,
• Fireworks Kits, and
• Aerial Bombs.

Party poppers and snap caps are small containers that make a small popping noise and shoot out confetti or streamers, these are generally for kids, which his why they are “safe and sane”. Retailers themselves cannot have illegal fireworks, it generally requires a specialty license to have dangerous fireworks for display. Display in this sense means fireworks that are used for big shows in a big environment, not for home use, given the amount of damage that it could cause if used by kids in a neighborhood.

III. Penalties

A violation under HS 12700 is a misdemeanor or felony offense depending on the weight of fireworks you possess.

1. Possession of 25-100 pounds of illegal fireworks: This is a misdemeanor only offense. If you are convicted, you could be sentenced to upwards of one year in County Jail. You would be required to serve at least 50% of your time in custody. You would also be subject to fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for this offense.
2. Possession of 101-5000 pounds of illegal fireworks: This is a wobbler offense. That means you can be charged under this section with a misdemeanor or a felony offense. Whether you are charged with this as a misdemeanor or a felony, depends on the amount of fireworks in question, your criminal history, and the specific circumstances of your case. If you are convicted of this charge as a misdemeanor, you could be sentenced to upwards of one year in County Jail. You would be required to serve at least 50% of your time in custody. If you are convicted of this charge as a felony, you could be sentenced to upwards of 16 months, 2 or 3 years in State Prison. You would have to serve at least 50% of your time in custody. You could also be subject to paying hefty fines of up to $5,000-$10,000 for a conviction for this section.
3. Possession of more than 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks: This is a wobbler offense. That means you can be charged under this section with a misdemeanor or a felony offense. Whether you are charged with this as a misdemeanor or a felony, depends on the amount of fireworks in question, your criminal history, and the specific circumstances of your case. If you are convicted of this charge as a misdemeanor, you could be sentenced to upwards of one year in County Jail. You would be required to serve at least 50% of your time in custody. If you are convicted of this charge as a felony, you could be sentenced to upwards of 16 months, 2 or 3 years in State Prison. You would have to serve at least 50% of your time in custody. You could also be subject to paying hefty fines of up to $10,000-$50,000 for a conviction for this section.

This is not a strike offense under the California Three Strikes law, and it is not a Sex Offense under PC 290. You could also face a suspension or loss of your Professional License if convicted, and if you are not a legal resident, you could face issues in Immigration Court.

IV. Similar Sections

1. HS 12689 Sale of fireworks to minors: It is illegal to sell illegal fireworks to minors. It is illegal to sell legal fireworks to minors under the age of 16. This is a misdemeanor only offense. If you are convicted, you could be sentenced to upwards of one year in County Jail. You would be required to serve at least 50% of your time in custody. You would also be subject to fines of up to $5,000 for this offense.
2. HS 12676 Selling/Transferring Illegal Fireworks: This violation involves selling/transferring/or giving dangerous (or illegal) fireworks to a person not licensed/permitted to receive, use, or transport them, or to sell/transfer/or give any special effects to someone who isn’t a pyrotechnic operator.
3. HS 12677 Possession of illegal fireworks without a permit: This does not apply to “safe and sane” fireworks. Simple possession is a misdemeanor only offense, a conviction can land you in County Jail up to 1 year in County Jail and a fine up to $1,000.

V. Common Defenses

1. Statute of Limitations
2. Violation of Rights
3. Insufficient Evidence
4. Coerced Confessions
5. Entrapment

Police generally run sting operations yearly for cases involving fireworks. You will see signs all over the place indicating that you can suffer criminal charges and hefty fines upon a conviction. Many times these sting operations are done through websites like craigslist and offer up. There, police pretend to be people looking to buy illegal fireworks. They generally are looking for people trying to sell, in bulk, to take down people making a big profit of selling illegal fireworks. Entrapment occurs when police, or their agents, encourage or promote the crime by way of their overbearing conduct. For example, if an undercover police officer entices a defendant to commit prostitution by repeat and insistent requests, or appeals to the sympathy or friendship of the defendant, and the defendant thereafter commits the crime as a result of the overbearing conduct, the police officer may have entrapped the defendant to commit the crime. Therefore, if you can show that police entrapped you into selling illegal fireworks to them without a permit, could work to defend against these criminal charges.

In addition, if the prosecutor is unable to show, for example, that the amount of fireworks you have are in fact over a certain weight of illegal fireworks, then you could show there is insufficient evidence to prove you guilty of a charge. Failing to show that you had over the legal amount of illegal fireworks can act as a complete defense to your criminal charges.

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