| Prospectus Supplement | May 18, 2018 |
| Putnam California Tax Exempt Income Fund | |
| Prospectus dated January 30, 2018 | |
Beginning on May 21, 2018, the fund will offer class R6 shares to:
• employer-sponsored retirement plans that are clients of third-party administrators (including affiliates of Putnam) that have entered into agreements with Putnam;
• investors purchasing shares through an asset-based fee program that is sponsored by a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution;
• investors purchasing shares through a commission-based platform of a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution that charges the shareholder additional fees or commissions, other than those described in the prospectus and statement of additional information, and that has entered into an agreement with Putnam Retail Management to offer class R6 shares through such a program;
• corporations, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors that have been approved by Putnam; and
• unaffiliated investment companies (whether registered or private) that have been approved by Putnam.
The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R6 shares.
The front cover page is supplemented to add class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that the fund’s symbol for class R6 shares is PCLGX.
The following information is added to similar disclosure for the fund under Fund summary — Fees and expenses:
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
| Share class | Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) |
| Class R6 | NONE | NONE |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
| Share class | Management fees | Distribution and service (12b-1) fees | Other expenses | Total annual fund operating expenses |
| Class R6 | 0.44% | N/A | 0.08%= | 0.52% |
= Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year.
Example
The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your
shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
| Share class | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
| Class R6 | $53 | $167 | $291 | $653 |
| Putnam California Tax Exempt Income Trust | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beginning on May 21, 2018, the fund will offer class R6 shares to: • employer-sponsored retirement plans that are clients of third-party administrators (including affiliates of Putnam) that have entered into agreements with Putnam; • investors purchasing shares through an asset-based fee program that is sponsored by a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution; • investors purchasing shares through a commission-based platform of a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution that charges the shareholder additional fees or commissions, other than those described in the prospectus and statement of additional information, and that has entered into an agreement with Putnam Retail Management to offer class R6 shares through such a program; • corporations, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors that have been approved by Putnam; and • unaffiliated investment companies (whether registered or private) that have been approved by Putnam. The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R6 shares. The front cover page is supplemented to add class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that the fund’s symbol for class R6 shares is PCLGX. The following information is added to similar disclosure for the fund under Fund summary — Fees and expenses: Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Annual fund operating expenses
= Other expenses are based on expenses of class
A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your
shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
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| Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Example | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Label | Element | Value | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Document Type | dei_DocumentType | 497 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Document Period End Date | dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate | May 18, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registrant Name | dei_EntityRegistrantName | PUTNAM CALIFORNIA TAX EXEMPT INCOME TRUST | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Index Key | dei_EntityCentralIndexKey | 0000711402 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amendment Flag | dei_AmendmentFlag | false | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trading Symbol | dei_TradingSymbol | PCTEX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Document Creation Date | dei_DocumentCreationDate | May 14, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Document Effective Date | dei_DocumentEffectiveDate | May 18, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prospectus Date | rr_ProspectusDate | Jan. 30, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Putnam California Tax Exempt Income Trust | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supplement Text | PCTEX_SupplementText |
Beginning on May 21, 2018, the fund will offer class R6 shares to: • employer-sponsored retirement plans that are clients of third-party administrators (including affiliates of Putnam) that have entered into agreements with Putnam; • investors purchasing shares through an asset-based fee program that is sponsored by a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution; • investors purchasing shares through a commission-based platform of a registered broker-dealer or other financial institution that charges the shareholder additional fees or commissions, other than those described in the prospectus and statement of additional information, and that has entered into an agreement with Putnam Retail Management to offer class R6 shares through such a program; • corporations, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors that have been approved by Putnam; and • unaffiliated investment companies (whether registered or private) that have been approved by Putnam. The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R6 shares. The front cover page is supplemented to add class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that the fund’s symbol for class R6 shares is PCLGX. The following information is added to similar disclosure for the fund under Fund summary — Fees and expenses: Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Annual fund operating expenses
= Other expenses are based on expenses of class
A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your
shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
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| Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] | rr_ShareholderFeesCaption | Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating Expenses Caption [Text] | rr_OperatingExpensesCaption | Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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| Expense Example [Heading] | rr_ExpenseExampleHeading | Example | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] | rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock | The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Putnam California Tax Exempt Income Trust | Class R6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice | none | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther | none | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Management fees | rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets | 0.44% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distribution and service (12b-1) fees | rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets | 0.08% | [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total annual fund operating expenses | rr_ExpensesOverAssets | 0.52% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year | rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 | $ 53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 | 167 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 | 291 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 | $ 653 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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