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Cal. Penal Code § 311.2 (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, or prints, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to others, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to others, any obscene matter is for a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor. If the person has previously been convicted of any violation of this section, the court may, in addition to the punishment authorized in Section 311.9, impose a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).

(b)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 for commercial consideration, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, others for commercial consideration, any obscene matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, or that it contains a digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated depiction of what appears to be a person under 18 years of age engaging in such conduct, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or six years, or by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), in the absence of a finding that the defendant would be incapable of paying that fine, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(c)(1)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 exhibit to, or to exchange with, a person 18 years of age or older, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, a person 18 years of age or older any matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, or any obscene matter that contains a digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated depiction of what appears to be a person under 18 years of age engaging in such conduct, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison. If a person has been previously convicted of a violation of this subdivision, they are guilty of a felony.

(2)It is not necessary to prove commercial consideration in order to establish a violation of this subdivision.

(3)It is not necessary to prove that matter that depicts a real person under 18 years of age is obscene or lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value in order to establish a violation of this subdivision.

(d)(1)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 exhibit to, or to exchange with, a person under 18 years of age, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, a person under 18 years of age any matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, or any obscene matter that contains a digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated depiction of what appears to be a person under 18 years of age engaging in such conduct, is guilty of a felony.

(2)It is not necessary to prove commercial consideration in order to establish a violation of this subdivision.

(3)It is not necessary to prove that matter that depicts a real person under 18 years of age is obscene or lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value in order to establish a violation of this subdivision.

(e)Subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, do not apply to the activities of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses, to legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities, or to lawful conduct between spouses.

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

(g)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 to perform related activities in providing telephone services.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 52 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1963–2023 · leading case: Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973).
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Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). · cites it 5× “After a jury trial, he was convicted of violating California Penal Code § 311.2 (a), a misdemeanor, by knowingly distributing obscene matter, [1] *17 and the Appellate Department, Superior Court of California, County of Orange, summarily affirmed the judgment without opinion.”
New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982). · cites it 2× “1981); Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 311.2(b) (West Supp.”
Bloom v. Mun. Court, 545 P.2d 229 (Cal. 1976). · cites it 4× “The majority today attempt to save the California obscenity statute (Pen. Code, § 311.2) through incorporating by reference the general guidelines set forth in Miller v.”
People v. E.W.A.P. Inc., 106 Cal. App. 3d 315 (Cal. Ct. App. 1980). · cites it 4× “(Pen. Code, § 311.2.) Finally, defendants argue that the unfair competition law does not provide "the procedural safeguards required by the First Amendment to separate obscenity from constitutionally protected speech" and that application of the statute's remedies of injunction…”
Kopp v. Fair Political Practices Comm'n, 905 P.2d 1248 (Cal. 1995). · cites it 2× “3d 71, 81 , in which we — like most other state courts — added a substantial textual gloss to our "obscenity" statute (Pen. Code, § 311.2) in order to save it against a claim that it was void for vagueness.”
People v. Arno, 90 Cal. App. 3d 505 (Cal. Ct. App. 1979). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, § 311.2.) Their convictions were reversed by the Appellate Department of the Los Angeles Superior Court because of that court's conclusion that evidence based upon a view of business premises occupied by defendants which was aided by the use of high power binoculars…”
Perrine v. Mun. Court, 488 P.2d 648 (Cal. 1971). · cites it 2× “On July 11, 1969, Perrine was convicted for distributing obscene material (Pen. Code, § 311.2). Following the adoption of the ordinance in question, he applied for a license to operate The Citadel and another bookstore, The Arena, also in Los Angeles.”
People v. Golden, 20 Cal. App. 3d 211 (Cal. Ct. App. 1971). · cites it 4× “Code, § 496), and possession of obscene matter with intent to distribute (Pen. Code, § 311.2). After a court trial, he was acquitted on all counts except the last.”
Ewap, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 97 Cal. App. 3d 179 (Cal. Ct. App. 1979). “In response to the contention that the commission lawfully denied Perrine’s application for a license on the basis of his conviction of an obscenity offense (Pen. Code, § 311.2), which was reasonably related to the operation of a book store, our Supreme Court stated (5 Cal.”
Castro v. Superior Court, 9 Cal. App. 3d 675 (Cal. Ct. App. 1970). · cites it 2× “347 ]); the power to arrest for exhibiting an obscene film (Pen. Code, § 311.2) does not carry with it the usual incidental power to seize the offending motion picture ( Flack v.”
Zeitlin v. Arnebergh, 383 P.2d 152 (Cal. 1963). “” 3 Penal Code section 311.2 provides in part: “Every person who knowingly .”
People v. Kuhns, 61 Cal. App. 3d 735 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, § 311.2.) Since November 10, 1969, “knowingly” has been defined as “be aware of the character of the matter.”
Show all 52 citing cases →
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.2(a) — 1 case
J-R Distributors, Inc. v. Eikenberry, 725 F.2d 482 (9th Cir. 1984).
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.2(b) — 1 case
New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982). “1981); Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 311.2(b) (West Supp.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.2(c) — 1 case
Acevedo v. State, 633 S.W.2d 856 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982).
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.2(d) — 1 case
Oscar Chavez Solis v. Loretta E. Lynch, 803 F.3d 1004 (2015).
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