CA Registration

[williamd]

Posted this in response to a thread question regarding how to register a recently acquired firearm in CA. Thought it might be of use .........


First, I want to ask WHY???

The exchange already violates the law ......

From http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/Cfl2007.pdf

Sales, Loans, or Transfers of Firearms
It is unlawful for a person who is not a licensed firearms dealer pursuant to Penal Code section
12071, to sell, loan, or otherwise transfer a firearm to a non-licensed person unless the sale, loan,
or transfer is completed through a licensed firearms dealer. (Penal Code §§ 12071, 12072, 12082.)

But, registration only applies to assault weapons. The DROS (Dealer Record of Sale) for transfer of other guns/rifles/pistols/revolvers is only an 'eligibility to own', a background check, if you will.

More, from the Q&A Area on the site:

26. How do I know if my firearms need to be registered?

REGISTRATION in the 2007 law book only addresses ASSAULT WEAPONS and those are specified by make/model.

There is no firearm registration requirement in California except for assault weapon owners and personal handgun importers. However, you may submit a Firearm Ownership Record to the DOJ for any firearm you own. Having a Firearm Ownership Record on file with the DOJ may help in the return of your firearm if it is lost or stolen. With very few and specific exceptions, all firearm transactions must be conducted through a firearms dealer.

6. I already paid the Dealer's Record Of Sale (DROS) fee and went through a DOJ clearance check when I purchased the firearm. Does that satisfy the registration requirement?
No. Under California law, no rifle or shotgun purchaser information may be retained by the DOJ. The DROS fee only covers the cost to determine whether or not a purchaser is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm at the time of the transaction. Additionally, once eligibility has been verified, the DOJ is required by law to destroy all DROS information pertaining to long guns. The assault weapon registration period has ended. The DOJ is no longer accepting assault weapon registration forms.

More ...

5. Can I give a firearm to my adult child? Can he/she give it back to me later?
Yes, as long as the adult child receiving the firearm is not in a prohibited category [PDF 10 kb / 1 pg] and the firearm is a legal firearm to possess, the transfer of a firearm between a parent and child or a grandparent and grandchild is exempt from the dealer transfer requirement. However, if the firearm is a handgun, you must submit an Report of Operation of Law or Intra-Familial Handgun Transaction [PDF 481 kb / 2 pg] and $19 fee to the DOJ within 30 days. Assault weapons may not be transferred in this fashion. See Penal Code section 12285, subdivision (b).

Finally ...

14. I want to sell a gun to another person, i.e., a private party transfer. Am I required to conduct the transaction through a licensed California firearms dealer?

Yes. Firearm sales must be conducted through a fully licensed California firearms dealer. Failure to do so is a violation of California law. The buyer must meet the normal firearm purchase and delivery requirements. "Antique firearms," as defined in Section 921(a)(16) of Title 18 of the United States Code, and curio or relic rifles/shotguns, defined in Section 178.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations that are over 50 years old, are exempt from this requirement.

Firearms dealers are required to process private party transfers upon request. Firearms dealers may charge a fee not to exceed $10 per firearm for conducting a private party transfer. Example:

For a private party transfer involving one or more handguns, the total allowable fees, including the DROS, safety, and dealer transfer fees, are not to exceed $35.00 for the first handgun and $31.00 for each additional handgun involved in the same transaction.
For private party transfers involving one or more long guns, or a private party transfer involving one handgun, the total allowable fees, including the DROS, safety, and dealer transfer fees, are not to exceed $35.00. The dealer may charge an additional dealer-service fee of$10.00 per each additional firearm transferred.

Now with all that if you can still go to a dealer and tell them what you need .... how you got it and you, a rightous citizen, want to make it legal. The DROS fee is $19 but don't expect to get out the door with only that! Plus, DROS is not taxable, but many do! The State's DROS fee is $19.00 which covers the costs of the background checks and transfer registry. There is also a required $1.00 Firearms Safety Testing fee and a $5.00 Safety and Enforcement fee. If the transaction being processed in a dealer sale, consignment return, or return from pawn, the dealer may impose other charges as long as this amount is clearly shown as a "dealer fee" and not misrepresented as a state fee. In the event of a private party transfer, the firearms dealer may additionally charge a fee of $10 per firearm transferred. I was recently charged $105.00 by a dealer to receive and do the paperwork for an out of state long gun purchase.

By the way, if the weapon has been owned by an individual for a number of years before you acquired it there is no record at all ....... but, legally, it still should be transferred via a dealer (FFL holder to do DROS).

[softmentor]

I'm a little confused by what part of this you are saying is correct?
I would suggest going to California DOJ site to get the facts.

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/

[JWT]

More information on why living in Kalifornia is not a good idea for gun owners.

[cdutton]

So, after reading the above, I'm confused. Let's say I buy an 870 from a guy in pennsylvania from gunbroker.net or something.

I live in California.

Do we have to conduct the sale through a dealer?

Is there still a holding period, eleven days or whatever it is?

[rtpzwms]

I live in CA too, and yes you would have to have the firearm shipped to an FFL and pay the fees and wait 10 days. This is true of almost every transaction in CA. You can get a firearm from your family and not go through the FFL but you will still have to pay money and report it. It might save you a couple of bucks doing it that way. So I would say the safest way is through the FFL. This would avoid getting the wrong forms and not getting everything right. There are exceptions like I said but in CA its all about the safest to avoid the state... Just not worth the cost of a mistake...

[Frank Ettin]

Originally Posted by cdutton

So, after reading the above, I'm confused. Let's say I buy an 870 from a guy in pennsylvania from gunbroker.net or something.

I live in California.

Do we have to conduct the sale through a dealer?...

Actually, you'd need to go through a dealer if you lived anywhere but Pennsylvania (and I'm not sure what Pennsylvania law is on private sales).

Under federal law, any transfer across state lines must go through an FFL with all the usual folderol, including completing a 4473 and complying with the laws of the transferee's State of residence.

[roy reali]

In downtown Sacramento there is the state law library. It has law books from all the fifty states inside. Most states have all their law books on one or two shelves. California law books take up a whole section of the library. It looks like its books take up as much shelf space as the other states combined.

If you are not confused by California law you are a bloody genius. You should try out for "Jeopardy."

Ask five LEO's in the Golden State to explain the proper and legal method for carrying a firearm in a car and you will get five different answers. Call DOJ for clarification, you'll hear version six.

[natman]

So, after reading the above, I'm confused. Let's say I buy an 870 from a guy in pennsylvania from gunbroker.net or something.

I live in California.

Do we have to conduct the sale through a dealer?

Is there still a holding period, eleven days or whatever it is?

Yes.

A transaction that crossed state lines would have to be handled by an FFL (dealer) in the buyer's state in all 50 states by Federal law.

Because it's California, you will have to go through the 10 day waiting period.

[teumessian_fox]

There is one thing I would add to the OP's list. Any gun purchased in kalifornia must be purchased through a FFL which means it is, in fact, registered.

It's registered in the sense that the police can access 4473s when they so desire.

This happened when I was still living in kal. Two campers were murdered by a shooter with a Marlin Camp Carbine. The police (Crescent City) visited all the gun stores and scoured the 4473s. They got the names and addresses of everybody who has ever purchased a Marlin Camp Carbine and then visited the owners and strongly suggested the owners "volunteer" the guns for testing.

They never found the shooter. This would have been around 2002.

[EOD Guy]

Originally Posted by teumessian_fox

There is one thing I would add to the OP's list. Any gun purchased in kalifornia must be purchased through a FFL which means it is, in fact, registered.

It's registered in the sense that the police can access 4473s when they so desire.

There are some exceptions. Intrafamilial transfers between parents/children or grandparents/grandchildren do not have to be processed through a dealer. Intrafamilial handgun transfers must be reported to Cal DOJ. Intrafamilial transfers of rifles or shotguns do not. Also, transfers between California residents of C&R rifles or shotguns that are over 50 years old do not have to go through a dealer nor must they be reported.

[4D5]

I once lived in the PSRK (kalifornia).

ALL firearms you own are recorded by the CA DOJ. Whenever I sold a firearm I would send a written request to the CA DOJ, with the record of sale/transfer, that the firearm be removed from the list of firearms that I owned and requested that the letter be returned with confirmation of same.

That way, in the future, should the firearm ever fall into the wrong hands and DOJ comes asking me about it they could read it (letter) and weep because it no longer belonged to me. That would keep the prying eyes of the law out of my personal business and they'd not have any further recourse to "check" to be sure I didn't have it.

Believe me, as others here have stated, you can't have too much CYA in the PSRK. Even Albert Einstein would be confused by CA DOJ legalize.

[jdberger]

This is starting to go a little OT - but not all guns owned in CA are recorded by the DOJ.

Long guns, for instance, aren't registered. Neither are guns brought into CA prior to 1997. Interfamilial transfers of long guns aren't recorded, either.

However, with few exceptions, it's fair to say that all firearms transfers to a CA resident from a non-CA resident either have to go through an FFL or have to be registered with the DOJ.

The guys over at Calguns have a pretty decent wiki here.

Or, you can always go over there to the 2A forum and ask a specific question, it'll probably be answered within a couple of days.