California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 311.1 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a)Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film, filmstrip, or any digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to, or to exchange with, others, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, others, any obscene matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age, or contains digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated data depicting what appears to be a person under 18 years of age, engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, shall be punished either by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison, by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by the fine and imprisonment.

(b)This section does not apply to the activities of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses or to legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities, or to lawful conduct between spouses.

(c)This section does not apply to matter that depicts a child under 18 years of age when the child is legally emancipated, including lawful conduct between spouses when one or both are under 18 years of age.

(d)It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone corporation, as defined by Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code, to carry or transmit messages described in this chapter or perform related activities in providing telephone services.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 14 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 2004–2024 · leading case: United States v. Tim Collins, 684 F.3d 873 (9th Cir. 2012).

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United States v. Tim Collins, 684 F.3d 873 (9th Cir. 2012). “Section 290(c) includes possession of child pornography in violation of Cal.Penal Code § 311.1 in its list of described offenses requiring sex offender registration.”

United States v. Krupa, 658 F.3d 1174 (9th Cir. 2011). “(2252A) [T]hese materials are contraband[,] as well as violations of California Penal Code Section 311.1 Possession of Child Pornography.”

ROBIN J. v. Superior Court, 2004 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 10451 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “(b), 664), and 20 counts of distributing/bringing child pornography into the state (Pen. Code, § 311.1, subd. (a)). Vaughn was previously convicted in 1984 of three counts of lewd acts on a child (Pen.”

People v. Hobbs, 152 Cal. App. 4th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). “(Pen. Code, §§311.1, subd. (a), 311.2, subds.”

People v. Miller, 21 Cal. Rptr. 3d 13 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “Christopher Joseph Miller appeals from the judgment sending him to prison for a total of two years eight months following a negotiated guilty plea entered in two separate cases for a series of offenses: Possession of child pornography with intent to distribute (Pen. Code, §…”

People v. Nielsen CA4/2 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, §§ 311.1, 1 subd. (a), 647.6, subd.”

People v. Renz CA1/1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “INTRODUCTION Defendant Eric Michael Renz appeals from a judgment of conviction following a bench trial of one count of felony possession of child pornography (Pen. Code, § 311.1, subd. (a)).1 He raises a single issue on appeal—that the trial court erred in denying his motion to…”

People v. Wimer (Cal. Ct. App. 2022). “(Pen. Code § 311.1, subd. (a).)1 When a person knowingly distributes or exchanges child pornography “for commercial consideration,” the offense is a felony punishable by a term of incarceration in state prison for two, three, or six years.”

People v. Armas CA4/1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022). “Charges The People charged Armas with one count of distributing child pornography (Pen. Code, § 311.1, subd. (a); undesignated section references are to this code) and one count of possessing child pornography (§ 311.”

Doe v. Regents of the Univ. of California CA2/4 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023). “On July 24, 2018, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Doe alleging possession and distribution of child pornography (Pen. Code, §§ 311.1, subd. (a), 311.11, subd.”

Doe v. Twitter, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2023). “85 (intentionally distributing non- 20 consensually shared pornography), and Cal. Penal Code § 311.1 (possessing child pornography).”

Jackson v. Bonta (N.D. Cal. 2024). “4 (b)), possession of obscene matter depicting minors 23 engaging in or simulating sexual conduct ( Cal. Penal Code § 311.1 (a)), furnishing 24 methamphetamine to a minor ( Cal.”

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