Article 3. Submission Of Fees And Firearm Purchaser Information To The Department Of Justice of California Penal Code >> Division 6. >> Title 4. >> Part 6. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 3.

As used in this article, the following words have the following meanings:
  (a) "Purchase" means the purchase, loan, or transfer of a firearm.
  (b) "Purchaser" means the purchaser or transferee of a firearm or the person being loaned a firearm.
  (c) "Sale" means the sale, loan, or transfer of a firearm.
  (d) "Seller" means, if the transaction is being conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050), the person selling, loaning, or transferring the firearm.

(a) Until January 1, 1998, the Department of Justice shall determine the method by which a dealer shall submit firearm purchaser information to the department. The information shall be in one of the following formats:
  (1) Submission of the register described in Article 2 (commencing with Section 28150).
  (2) Electronic or telephonic transfer of the information contained in the register described in Article 2 (commencing with Section 28150).
  (b) On or after January 1, 1998, electronic or telephonic transfer, including voice or facsimile transmission, shall be the exclusive means by which purchaser information is transmitted to the department.
  (c) On or after January 1, 2003, except as permitted by the department, electronic transfer shall be the exclusive means by which information is transmitted to the department. Telephonic transfer shall not be permitted for information regarding sales of any firearms.

(a) (1) Where the register is used, the purchaser of any firearm shall be required to present to the dealer clear evidence of the person's identity and age.
  (2) The dealer shall require the purchaser to sign the purchaser's current legal name and affix the purchaser's residence address and date of birth to the register in quadruplicate.
  (3) The salesperson shall sign the register in quadruplicate, as a witness to the signature and identification of the purchaser.
  (b) Any person furnishing a fictitious name or address, knowingly furnishing any incorrect information, or knowingly omitting any information required to be provided for the register shall be punished as provided in Section 28250.
  (c) (1) The original of the register shall be retained by the dealer in consecutive order.
  (2) Each book of 50 originals shall become the permanent register of transactions, which shall be retained for not less than three years from the date of the last transaction.
  (3) Upon presentation of proper identification, the permanent register of transactions shall be available for inspection by any peace officer, Department of Justice employee designated by the Attorney General, or agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Until January 1, 2014, no information shall be compiled therefrom regarding the purchasers or other transferees of firearms that are not handguns.
  (d) On the date of the application to purchase, two copies of the original sheet of the register shall be placed in the mail, postage prepaid, and properly addressed to the Department of Justice.
  (e) (1) A photocopy of the register shall be provided to the purchaser by the dealer at the time of delivery of the firearm and after the dealer notes the date of delivery and the dealer's signature indicating delivery of the firearm, and the purchaser acknowledges the receipt of the firearm.
  (2) The requirements of this subdivision apply if a dealer is delivering a firearm pursuant to Section 27540 or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050).
  (f) If the transaction is a private party transfer conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050), a photocopy of the original shall be provided to the seller by the dealer at the time the register is signed by the seller. The dealer shall redact all of the purchaser's personal information, as required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 28160 and subdivision (a) of Section 28165, from the seller's copy, and the seller's personal information from the purchaser's copy.

(a) (1) Where the electronic or telephonic transfer of applicant information is used, the purchaser shall be required to present to the dealer clear evidence of the person's identity and age.
  (2) The dealer shall require the purchaser to sign the purchaser's current legal name to the record of electronic or telephonic transfer.
  (3) The salesperson shall sign the record of electronic or telephonic transfer, as a witness to the signature and identification of the purchaser.
  (b) Any person furnishing a fictitious name or address, knowingly furnishing any incorrect information, or knowingly omitting any information required to be provided for the electronic or telephonic transfer shall be punished as provided in Section 28250.
  (c) (1) The original of each record of electronic or telephonic transfer shall be retained by the dealer in consecutive order.
  (2) Each original shall become the permanent record of the transaction, which shall be retained for not less than three years from the date of the last transaction.
  (3) Upon presentation of proper identification, the permanent record of the transaction shall be provided for inspection by any peace officer, Department of Justice employee designated by the Attorney General, or agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
  (d) On the date of the application to purchase, the record of applicant information shall be transmitted to the Department of Justice by electronic or telephonic transfer.
  (e) (1) A copy of the record of electronic or telephonic transfer shall be provided to the purchaser by the dealer at the time of delivery of the firearm and after the dealer notes the date of delivery and the dealer's signature indicating delivery of the firearm, and the purchaser acknowledges the receipt of the firearm.
  (2) The requirements of this subdivision apply if a dealer is delivering a firearm pursuant to Section 27540 or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050).
  (f) If the transaction is a private party transfer conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050), a copy shall be provided to the seller by the dealer at the time the record of electronic or telephonic transfer is signed by the seller. The dealer shall redact all of the purchaser's personal information, as required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 28160 and subdivision (a) of Section 28165, from the seller's copy, and the seller's personal information from the purchaser's copy.

(a) Upon submission of firearm purchaser information, the Department of Justice shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of State Hospitals pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, or is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.
  (b) To the extent that funding is available, the Department of Justice may participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), as described in subsection (t) of Section 922 of Title 18 of the United States Code, and, if that participation is implemented, shall notify the dealer and the chief of the police department of the city or city and county in which the sale was made, or if the sale was made in a district in which there is no municipal police department, the sheriff of the county in which the sale was made, that the purchaser is a person prohibited from acquiring a firearm under federal law.
  (c) If the department determines that the purchaser is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm or is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, it shall immediately notify the dealer and the chief of the police department of the city or city and county in which the sale was made, or if the sale was made in a district in which there is no municipal police department, the sheriff of the county in which the sale was made, of that fact.
  (d) If the department determines that the copies of the register submitted to it pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 28210 contain any blank spaces or inaccurate, illegible, or incomplete information, preventing identification of the purchaser or the handgun or other firearm to be purchased, or if any fee required pursuant to Section 28225 is not submitted by the dealer in conjunction with submission of copies of the register, the department may notify the dealer of that fact. Upon notification by the department, the dealer shall submit corrected copies of the register to the department, or shall submit any fee required pursuant to Section 28225, or both, as appropriate and, if notification by the department is received by the dealer at any time prior to delivery of the firearm to be purchased, the dealer shall withhold delivery until the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540.
  (e) If the department determines that the information transmitted to it pursuant to Section 28215 contains inaccurate or incomplete information preventing identification of the purchaser or the handgun or other firearm to be purchased, or if the fee required pursuant to Section 28225 is not transmitted by the dealer in conjunction with transmission of the electronic or telephonic record, the department may notify the dealer of that fact. Upon notification by the department, the dealer shall transmit corrections to the record of electronic or telephonic transfer to the department, or shall transmit any fee required pursuant to Section 28225, or both, as appropriate, and if notification by the department is received by the dealer at any time prior to delivery of the firearm to be purchased, the dealer shall withhold delivery until the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540.
  (f) (1) (A) The department shall immediately notify the dealer to delay the transfer of the firearm to the purchaser if the records of the department, or the records available to the department in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, indicate one of the following:
  (i) The purchaser has been taken into custody and placed in a facility for mental health treatment or evaluation and may be a person described in Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and the department is unable to ascertain whether the purchaser is a person who is prohibited from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, pursuant to Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, prior to the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540.
  (ii) The purchaser has been arrested for, or charged with, a crime that would make him or her, if convicted, a person who is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, and the department is unable to ascertain whether the purchaser was convicted of that offense prior to the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540.
  (iii) The purchaser may be a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, and the department is unable to ascertain whether the purchaser, in fact, is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, prior to the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540.
  (B) The dealer shall provide the purchaser with information about the manner in which he or she may contact the department regarding the delay described in subparagraph (A).
  (2) The department shall notify the purchaser by mail regarding the delay and explain the process by which the purchaser may obtain a copy of the criminal or mental health record the department has on file for the purchaser. Upon receipt of that criminal or mental health record, the purchaser shall report any inaccuracies or incompleteness to the department on an approved form.
  (3) If the department ascertains the final disposition of the arrest or criminal charge, or the outcome of the mental health treatment or evaluation, or the purchaser's eligibility to purchase a firearm, as described in paragraph (1), after the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540, but within 30 days of the dealer's original submission of the purchaser information to the department pursuant to this section, the department shall do the following:
  (A) If the purchaser is not a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, and is not prohibited by state or federal law, including, but not limited to, Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, the department shall immediately notify the dealer of that fact and the dealer may then immediately transfer the firearm to the purchaser, upon the dealer's recording on the register or record of electronic transfer the date that the firearm is transferred, the dealer signing the register or record of electronic transfer indicating delivery of the firearm to that purchaser, and the purchaser signing the register or record of electronic transfer acknowledging the receipt of the firearm on the date that the firearm is delivered to him or her.
  (B) If the purchaser is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, or is prohibited by state or federal law, including, but not limited to, Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, the department shall immediately notify the dealer and the chief of the police department in the city or city and county in which the sale was made, or if the sale was made in a district in which there is no municipal police department, the sheriff of the county in which the sale was made, of that fact in compliance with subdivision (c) of Section 28220.
  (4) If the department is unable to ascertain the final disposition of the arrest or criminal charge, or the outcome of the mental health treatment or evaluation, or the purchaser's eligibility to purchase a firearm, as described in paragraph (1), within 30 days of the dealer's original submission of purchaser information to the department pursuant to this section, the department shall immediately notify the dealer and the dealer may then immediately transfer the firearm to the purchaser, upon the dealer's recording on the register or record of electronic transfer the date that the firearm is transferred, the dealer signing the register or record of electronic transfer indicating delivery of the firearm to that purchaser, and the purchaser signing the register or record of electronic transfer acknowledging the receipt of the firearm on the date that the firearm is delivered to him or her.

(a) The Department of Justice may require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed fourteen dollars ($14), except that the fee may be increased at a rate not to exceed any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by the Department of Industrial Relations.
  (b) The fee under subdivision (a) shall be no more than is necessary to fund the following:
  (1) The department for the cost of furnishing this information.
  (2) The department for the cost of meeting its obligations under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8100 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (3) Local mental health facilities for state-mandated local costs resulting from the reporting requirements imposed by Section 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (4) The State Department of State Hospitals for the costs resulting from the requirements imposed by Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (5) Local mental hospitals, sanitariums, and institutions for state-mandated local costs resulting from the reporting requirements imposed by Section 8105 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (6) Local law enforcement agencies for state-mandated local costs resulting from the notification requirements set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 6385 of the Family Code.
  (7) Local law enforcement agencies for state-mandated local costs resulting from the notification requirements set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 8105 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (8) For the actual costs associated with the electronic or telephonic transfer of information pursuant to Section 28215.
  (9) The Department of Food and Agriculture for the costs resulting from the notification provisions set forth in Section 5343.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code.
  (10) The department for the costs associated with subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 27560.
  (11) The department for the costs associated with funding Department of Justice firearms-related regulatory and enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase, possession, loan, or transfer of firearms pursuant to any provision listed in Section 16580.
  (c) The fee established pursuant to this section shall not exceed the sum of the actual processing costs of the department, the estimated reasonable costs of the local mental health facilities for complying with the reporting requirements imposed by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the costs of the State Department of State Hospitals for complying with the requirements imposed by paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), the estimated reasonable costs of local mental hospitals, sanitariums, and institutions for complying with the reporting requirements imposed by paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), the estimated reasonable costs of local law enforcement agencies for complying with the notification requirements set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 6385 of the Family Code, the estimated reasonable costs of local law enforcement agencies for complying with the notification requirements set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 8105 of the Welfare and Institutions Code imposed by paragraph (7) of subdivision (b), the estimated reasonable costs of the Department of Food and Agriculture for the costs resulting from the notification provisions set forth in Section 5343.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code, the estimated reasonable costs of the department for the costs associated with subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 27560, and the estimated reasonable costs of department firearms-related regulatory and enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase, possession, loan, or transfer of firearms pursuant to any provision listed in Section 16580.
  (d) Where the electronic or telephonic transfer of applicant information is used, the department shall establish a system to be used for the submission of the fees described in this section to the department.

(a) The Department of Justice may charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for each of the following but not to exceed fourteen dollars ($14), except that the fee may be increased at a rate not to exceed any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by the Department of Industrial Relations:
  (1) For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of forms or reports required or utilized pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.
  (2) For the actual processing costs associated with the submission of a Dealers' Record of Sale to the department.
  (3) For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of reports utilized pursuant to Section 26905, 27565, 27875, 27966, or 28000, paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 27560, or paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of, and subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of, Section 27920.
  (4) For the actual costs associated with the electronic or telephonic transfer of information pursuant to Section 28215.
  (b) If the department charges a fee pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), it shall be charged in the same amount to all categories of transaction that are within that paragraph.
  (c) Any costs incurred by the Department of Justice to implement this section shall be reimbursed from fees collected and charged pursuant to this section. No fees shall be charged to the dealer pursuant to Section 28225 for implementing this section.

All moneys received by the department pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account of the General Fund, which is hereby created, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to any of the following:
  (a) This article.
  (b) Section 18910.
  (c) Section 27555.
  (d) Subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 27560.
  (e) Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 28010).
  (f) Article 6 (commencing with Section 28450).
  (g) Section 31110.
  (h) Section 31115.
  (i) Subdivision (a) of Section 32020.
  (j) Section 32670.
  (k) Section 33320.

(a) Until January 1, 2014, only one fee shall be charged pursuant to this article for a single transaction on the same date for the sale of any number of firearms that are not handguns, or for the taking of possession of those firearms.
  (b) Beginning January 1, 2014, only one fee shall be charged pursuant to this article for a single transaction on the same date for taking title or possession of any number of firearms.

Whenever the Department of Justice acts pursuant to this article as it pertains to firearms other than handguns, the department's acts or omissions shall be deemed to be discretionary within the meaning of the Government Claims Act pursuant to Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(a) Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a misdemeanor:
  (1) Furnishing a fictitious name or address for the register under Section 28210 or the electronic or telephonic transfer under Section 28215.
  (2) Knowingly furnishing any incorrect information for the register under Section 28210 or the electronic or telephonic transfer under Section 28215.
  (3) Knowingly omitting any information required to be provided for the register under Section 28210 or the electronic or telephonic transfer under Section 28215.
  (4) Violating any provision of this article.
  (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any person who is prohibited from obtaining a firearm pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 29800) or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 29900) of Division 9 of this title, or Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, who does any of the following shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for a term of 8, 12, or 18 months:
  (1) Knowingly furnishes a fictitious name or address for the register under Section 28210 or the electronic or telephonic transfer under Section 28215.
  (2) Knowingly furnishes any incorrect information for the register under Section 28210 or the electronic or telephonic transfer under Section 28215.
  (3) Knowingly omits any information required to be provided for the register under Section 28210 or the electronic or telephonic transfer under Section 28215.

Commencing January 1, 2014, if after the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540, the individual named in the application as the purchaser of the firearm takes possession of the firearm set forth in the application to purchase, the dealer shall notify the Department of Justice of that fact in a manner and within a time period specified by the department, and with sufficient information to identify the purchaser and the firearm that the purchaser took possession of.