Possessing dangerous fireworks without a valid permit is unlawful under Health and Safety Code section 12677, and section 12700 sets the penalty by gross weight, packaging included: under 25 pounds is a misdemeanor, while 100 pounds or more can be charged as a felony. The fireworks can also be seized, and you can be charged the cost of transporting, storing, and handling them.

What counts as dangerous fireworks

Health and Safety Code section 12505 defines “dangerous fireworks” in two ways. The first is chemical content: any firework containing one of 11 listed chemicals or chemical groups, such as boron, magnesium, mercury salts, picrates, thiocyanates, or zirconium, with narrow exceptions (for example, chlorates or red phosphorus in caps and party poppers). The second is type, regardless of chemistry:

  • Firecrackers.
  • “Skyrockets and rockets, including all devices which employ any combustible or explosive material and which rise in the air during discharge.”
  • Roman candles and chasers.
  • Sparklers more than 10 inches long or one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
  • Fireworks designed to surprise the user, such as exploding golf balls and trick matches.
  • Fireworks that explode through friction.
  • Torpedoes that explode on impact.
  • Fireworks kits.
  • Other fireworks the State Fire Marshal has tested and found unsafe for anyone not specially trained.

Legal consumer fireworks are a different category, “safe and sane” fireworks approved by both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the State Fire Marshal (section 12529), and state law does not authorize selling or using any fireworks where a city or county prohibits or regulates them (section 12541).

How the penalty scales with weight

Section 12700(b) grades possession of unaltered dangerous fireworks by gross weight, including packaging:

  • Less than 25 pounds: a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $2,000, up to 1 year in county jail, or both. On a second or subsequent conviction, the minimum fine rises to $2,000.
  • At least 25 but not more than 100 pounds: up to 1 year in county jail, a fine of $2,000 to $10,000, or both.
  • At least 100 but not more than 5,000 pounds: a term under Penal Code section 1170(h) or up to 1 year in county jail, a fine of $10,000 to $20,000, or both.
  • More than 5,000 pounds: a term under section 1170(h) or up to 1 year in county jail, a fine of $20,000 to $100,000, or both.

The first two tiers carry no section 1170(h) term, so under Penal Code section 17 they are misdemeanors. The same section treats a crime punishable by a section 1170(h) term as a felony, so the top two tiers can be charged as felonies or as misdemeanors. Section 12700 does not say how long that term is, so section 1170(h) fills in 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in county jail, with state prison reserved for listed cases such as someone with a prior or current serious or violent felony conviction or someone required to register as a sex offender.

The weight tiers do not apply to someone who holds, and is operating within the scope of, a valid license or permit (section 12700(c)). A license is authorization from the State Fire Marshal (section 12516), and a permit is permission granted to a licensee by the local agency, or for transport by the local agency or the State Fire Marshal (section 12522), so the exception covers only licensees.

Other violations of the State Fireworks Law are misdemeanors punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $2,000, up to 1 year in county jail, or both (section 12700(a)). The exception is selling, giving, or delivering dangerous fireworks to anyone under 18, which has its own penalty rules, including no probation on a second or later conviction (section 12702).

Seizure and cost charges

Dangerous fireworks possessed without a valid permit can be seized by the State Fire Marshal, a fire chief, or another authorized enforcing agency (sections 12721 and 12722). The agency may charge the person whose fireworks were seized enough to cover transporting, storing, and handling them, but that charge must be refunded or canceled if the seizure is found illegal or erroneous, or if the proceedings do not end in a conviction under the fireworks law (section 12721).

If you believe the fireworks were illegally or erroneously seized, you can petition the State Fire Marshal for their return within 10 days after the seizure (section 12724). State law also lets cities and counties handle possession of 25 pounds or less through local ordinances with civil administrative fines, and those ordinances must provide for collecting disposal costs as part of the fine (section 12557).

What to check in your case

  • The weight. The tier turns on the gross weight of unaltered dangerous fireworks, packaging included, not on the number of items. Check what was weighed and whether legal items were counted with the dangerous ones.
  • The classification. Each item has to fit a section 12505 category, by chemical content or by type, such as a sparkler’s actual length and diameter.
  • Any license or permit. The section 12700(c) exception applies only to someone operating within the scope of a valid license or permit.
  • Seizure dates and charges. Note the date of any seizure, because the petition window is 10 days, and whether a cost charge was billed.

How much was involved, and how it was classified, will shape your exposure. To have the report and the items involved reviewed, contact the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174.