How Does A Gun Get Registered

Bureau of Firearms Logo

Welcome to the California DOJ Bureau of Firearms

The Agency of Firearms serves the people of California through education, regulation, and enforcement actions regarding the manufacture, sales, ownership, safety grooming, and transfer of firearms. Bureau of Firearms staff volition exist leaders in providing firearms expertise and information to law enforcement, legislators, and the general public in a comprehensive program to promote legitimate and responsible firearms possession and employ past California residents.

Attention

Beginning December one, 2021, applicants must electronically submit a Law Enforcement Release (LER) application for the return of firearm(s), ammunition, and/or armament feeding device(south) via the California Firearms Awarding Reporting Organization (CFARS). Applicants that do not already have a CFARS account will be required to create an business relationship in club to directly communicate with the Department and to check the condition of an application.

The Section volition no longer accept paper LER application (BOF 119) submissions. Paper applications received via US mail, UPS, FedEx., etc., postmarked later on Nov 30, 2021, will be returned unprocessed with instructions on how to submit the application via CFARS.

For additional information regarding the Law Enforcement Release process, please refer to Data on the Law Enforcement Release Program webpage. For more information most CFARS, please visit the Firearms Reporting & Constabulary Enforcement Release Application webpage.

"Other" Attack Weapon Registration

Penal Code department 30900, as amended, required any person who, prior to September i, 2020, lawfully possessed an assault weapon every bit defined by Penal Lawmaking department 30515 subdivision (a) paragraphs (9), (10), and (11), and was eligible to annals an assail weapon as set along in Penal Code section 30900, subdivision (c), to submit an application to the DOJ to register the firearm before January 1, 2022. The regulations for the Other Set on Weapon Registration are available on the Firearms Regulations/Rulemaking Activities webpage. For more information regarding "Other" Assault Weapons, visit the "Other" Set on Weapon Data folio.

Registration is at present airtight. Whatever applications, whether submitted electronically or through the mail, should take been submitted during the registration period beginning Oct 1, 2021 at 9:00 AM PST through Dec 31, 2021 at 11:59 PM PST. Registration applications received or postmarked later on Dec 31, 2021 will not be accustomed.

Please Note: The "Other" assault weapons registration is NOT affiliated with or an extension to previous registrations, including the "SB 23" and "Bullet Push" attack weapons registrations.

UPDATE REGARDING Big Capacity MAGAZINES

On August 14, 2020, a iii-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court decision in Duncan v. Becerra. The appellate ruling does not lift the stay that California Chaser Full general Xavier Becerra secured at the offset of the appeal. The stay remains in identify until the appellate process is final. This allows California's almost 20-yr-old prohibition on the acquisition of new large-chapters ammunition magazines to remain in effect pending further appellate proceedings.

In California, it has been illegal since 2000 to manufacture, import, keep or offer for sale, give, lend, or receive large-capacity magazines—defined equally those that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. On March 29, 2019, the District Courtroom for the Southern Commune of California ruled that this police was unconstitutional. Attorney General Becerra asked the estimate to stay his ruling pending appeal to forbid the influx of big-capacity magazines into the state while litigation is ongoing. This request was granted. As a result, every bit of 5:00 p.g. on April 5, 2019, California Penal Lawmaking department 32310(a) and (b) went back into result and they remain in effect until farther activeness by the appellate court:

"(a) Except as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 32400) of this chapter and in Chapter i (commencing with Section 17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, whatsoever person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, buys, or receives whatsoever large-capacity magazine is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 1 year or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Department 1170."

"(b) For purposes of this section, 'manufacturing' includes both fabricating a mag and assembling a mag from a combination of parts, including, only not limited to, the body, bound, follower, and flooring plate or stop plate, to be a fully functioning large-chapters mag."

Firearms and Ammunition Purchaser Information

Under Penal Code section 28220(f)(4), the Department of Justice (DOJ) has up to xxx days to complete groundwork checks on firearms purchasers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, DOJ typically completed these checks within Penal Lawmaking Department 26815(a)'due south 10-day waiting menses. COVID-19 protective measures have impacted the power to increase the personnel resources in the DROS unit to accost the recent sustained increase in firearms and ammunition transactions without compromising the health and safety of our employees and the community. Every bit a consequence, firearms and ammunition dealers and purchasers should know that as DOJ employees continue to perform the statutorily required background checks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, circumstances may compel that background checks are completed afterward the expiration of the 10-day waiting menstruation for firearms purchases. DOJ will keep to strive to provide the best service and complete these checks in the shortest time possible.

Law Enforcement Release (LER)

Pursuant to Senate Bill 746 (Stats. 2018, ch. 780), effective July 1, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is required to regulate the return of ammunition and armament feeding devices in the custody of a court or police enforcement bureau. All individuals who wish to have the aforementioned items returned, must first receive approval from the DOJ. For more information regarding this process (including submission requirements and fees), please refer to the Constabulary Enforcement Release Program webpage.

Additional Documentation Requirements for Eligibility Checks with Federal Non-Compliant California Driver License or Identification Cards

Effective July one, 2019, new regulations will exist in result that apply to all eligibility checks. A copy of the bidder's California commuter license, identification carte du jour, or out-of-state driver license, if applicable, shall be submitted with the application/report, equally specified pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title eleven, section 4045.1, subdivisions (d)-(g). If the bidder presents a federal non-compliant California driver license or identification card with the notation "Federal Limits Apply" on the front, additional documentation establishing lawful presence in the United States will likewise exist required (Cal. Code Reg., tit. 11, § 4045.1, subd. (b-c)).

For more than information, please refer to the Additional Documentation Requirements for Eligibility Checks with Federal Non-Compliant California Commuter License or Identification Cards, pdf.

Ammunition Buy Authorisation Program

Effective July 1, 2019, persons seeking to purchase or transfer ammunition will have to undergo an eligibility cheque, and exist canonical past the Department, prior to the auction or transfer, except as otherwise specified. Departmental approval shall occur electronically through a licensed ammunition vendor.

For more than information please visit the Ammunition Buy Potency Program webpage

DROS Processing Advisory

Please be aware that Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms staff is prohibited by law from discussing an applicant'due south criminal record or mental health information over the telephone. Staff also cannot provide legal advice or offer information relating to the various legal steps needed to restore firearms rights. (California Penal Code department 11105 and Welfare and Institutions Code section 8103, subdivision (eastward)(3).)

What you should do

If your DROS application is Delayed, Undetermined, Rejected, or Denied

Delayed
Undetermined
Rejected
Denied

Delayed

A DROS awarding can be delayed for many reasons. Most oft it is because the background cheque establish a tape matching your personal descriptors (such as your name, date of birth, etc.) and more than time is needed to verify that the record is yours and to obtain missing information needed to determine your eligibility to own or possess firearms.

Please be patient and permit the Department plenty time to gather additional information and resolve any issues. The Department volition notify the firearms dealer to filibuster the transfer of a firearm to a purchaser if the Department is unable to determine the purchaser's eligibility within the 10-24-hour interval waiting period. Many county courthouses are operating on shortened piece of work weeks and with fewer staff, delaying the approval or denial of applications. If the record is an out-of-state or war machine record, y'all should anticipate a longer response time from our office to get the needed information. If xxx days has passed since the transaction appointment and the Section is still unable to decide the purchaser'south eligibility to own/possess firearms or whether the firearm involved in the sale/transfer is stolen, the Department will notify the dealer.

If yous believe there is a discrepancy in your eligibility to own/possess firearms, you tin obtain a copy of your California record by completing the Request for Alive Browse (BOF 8016RR) form located on the Department's website: http://oag.ca.gov/firearms/forms. You should review the record, place whatever incomplete or missing court information, and then follow up with the court where your case was held and request the court submit corrected information to the DOJ'southward Agency of Criminal Data and Analysis (BCIA). If you disagree with any information in your tape, you should follow the instructions in the alphabetic character for disputing inaccuracies. You may wish to obtain an attorney for legal communication and who can best correspond your interests on how to restore your rights to buy firearms.

Undetermined

The California Department of Justice (the Department) is authorized by Penal Lawmaking section 28220 to temporarily delay a firearm transaction for upward to thirty days from the date of transaction when the Department is unable to immediately make up one's mind the purchaser's eligibility to own/possess firearms. If 30 days has passed since the transaction engagement and the Department is still unable to decide the purchaser'southward eligibility to own/possess firearms or whether the firearm involved in the sale/transfer is stolen, the Section will notify the dealer. It will then exist at the dealer'south sole discretion whether to release to y'all the firearm.

If y'all believe at that place is a discrepancy in your eligibility to ain/possess firearms, you can obtain a re-create of your California record by completing the Asking for Live Scan (BOF 8016RR) form located on the Department'southward website: http://oag.ca.gov/firearms/forms. You should review the tape, place any incomplete or missing court data, then follow upward with the courtroom where your case was held and request the court submit corrected information to the DOJ's Bureau of Criminal Information and Assay (BCIA). If you disagree with any information in your record, you should follow the instructions in the letter for disputing inaccuracies. You may wish to obtain an attorney for legal communication and who tin best represent your interests on how to restore your rights to purchase firearms.

Rejected

There are two common reasons why a DROS application may be rejected:
(one) yous attempted to purchase more than one handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle in a 30-day period (California Penal Code section 27540, subdivision (chiliad)); or,
(ii) you attempted to purchase a firearm with an invalid, suspended, revoked, or expired California driver'south license or California identification menu (California Penal Code sections 16400 and 26815).

In the case of a 30-mean solar day handgun or semiautomatic centerfire burglarize purchase restriction, you cannot effort to buy more than one handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle in a 30-day period. If one of your transactions was a private-party transfer or pawn redemption, you lot need to bank check with the dealer to make sure the right transaction blazon was selected when the transaction was submitted to DOJ.

In the example of a Section of Motor Vehicles (DMV) rejection, your awarding was rejected based on information provided to u.s.a. by the California DMV. You must contact the DMV to make sure your California driver'south license or California identification card information is current and correct.

Denied

If your DROS awarding is denied, you will receive a letter from the DOJ Bureau of Firearms inside ii weeks. The letter of the alphabet will explain the reason and instructions on how to go a copy of the record that resulted in the denial of your application. At that place will also be instructions on how to dispute and correct information in your record y'all believe is wrong. DOJ staff cannot discuss your tape over the phone. Therefore, information technology is recommended that you get a copy of your tape and follow the instructions for disputing inaccuracies. You may also wish to retain an attorney for legal advice and who can best represent your interests on how to restore your rights to buy firearms.

If your DROS application was denied based on a Federal Brady prohibition (eastward.g., out-of-state conviction, illegal/unlawful alien, armed services dishonorable discharge, out-of-land mental health record, etc.), you tin entreatment the deprival of your application directly to the Federal Agency of Investigation National Instant Criminal History Groundwork Check System (NICS). When discussing your situation with NICS, you must include the NICS Transaction Number (NTN) associated with your firearm purchase as referenced in the denial letter sent to you past the DOJ Agency of Firearms. You can appeal directly to NICS past downloading the NICS appeal brochure and following the instructions constitute at NICS Appeals folio.

General Information

Firearms Fees, pdf
Information Bulletins (Including Firearm Legislation)
Forms and Publications
Firearm Condom
Transporting Firearms in California
Firearms Data for New California Residents
Police Enforcement Release Information
Unique Serial Number Awarding (USNA) Procedure

Assail Weapons, Olympic Pistols, and Destructive Devices

Set on Weapons Identification Guide, pdf - Currently Under Revision
Roster of AK and AR-15 Serial Weapons, pdf
Senate Bill 23 Assault Weapon Characteristics
Exempt Olympic Pistols, pdf
Public Notice - Zastava SKS Carbines are Considered Subversive Devices

Handgun and Laboratory Certification

Laboratories Certified to Test Handguns
Roster of Handguns Certified for Auction

Safe Devices, Laboratory Certification, and Gun Safe Standards

Roster of Canonical Firearms Condom Devices
Laboratories Certified to Test Firearms Safety Devices
Gun Safe Standards

Firearms Dealer Data and Tools

CA Firearms Dealer DROS Entry System Access
State Exemptions for Authorized Peace Officers
DROS Stats 1972 - Present, pdf
DROS Internet Process Frequently Asked Questions

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