Yes, registering a gifted gun in California is required, and the recipient is the person on the hook for making it happen. If the gift comes from a spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, adult child, grandparent, or adult grandchild, you file the paperwork yourself with the California Department of Justice within 30 days and pay a $19 fee. Every other gift — from a sibling, cousin, friend, unmarried partner, or anyone else — must go through a California licensed firearms dealer, with a background check and a 10-day waiting period before you can take the gun home.1State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions
Which Path Applies to Your Gift
California draws a hard line between gifts from immediate family and gifts from everyone else. A transfer from a spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, adult child, grandparent, or adult grandchild qualifies as an intra-familial transaction under Penal Code section 27875. These transfers skip the dealer, but you still have to report them to the DOJ.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 27875
Everyone else — siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, friends, unmarried partners — falls outside that list. Those gifts have to go through a California licensed firearms dealer, who runs a background check and processes a Dealer Record of Sale.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions
Registering a Family Gift Yourself
If the gift came from someone on the intra-familial list, you handle registration directly. The deadline is 30 days from the day you took possession.
The Form
You need the Report of Operation of Law or Intra-Familial Firearm Transaction, Form BOF 4544A, available on the California Department of Justice website.4California Department of Justice. Report of Operation of Law or Intra-Familial Firearm Transaction It asks for your full name, current address, California driver’s license or ID number, and your Firearm Safety Certificate number. You’ll also list the giver’s name and identifying details, and the firearm’s make, model, serial number, caliber, and type. If your California ID says “FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY,” you may need to provide additional proof of lawful presence in the United States.
How to Submit and What It Costs
The fee is $19. The faster option is the California Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS): create an account, enter the transaction information, and pay electronically.5California Department of Justice. California Firearms Application Reporting System You can also mail the completed form with a check or money order to:
California Department of Justice
Bureau of Firearms
P.O. Box 820200
Sacramento, CA 94203-02006State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Bureau of Firearms – Contact Us
Once the DOJ processes the submission, you’ll get a confirmation notice. Hold onto it. That’s your proof the firearm is lawfully registered in your name.
Non-Family Gifts Through a Dealer
For any gift outside the intra-familial list, both the giver and the recipient go to a California licensed firearms dealer together. The dealer handles the Dealer Record of Sale paperwork and starts the background check. Once the DROS is accepted, the 10-day waiting period begins, counted as ten 24-hour periods from the date and time of acceptance.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions When you come back to pick up a handgun, you’ll perform a brief supervised safe-handling demonstration at the counter.
The gun may be free, but the transfer isn’t. The DROS fee is $31.19, paid to the DOJ through the dealer.7State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Regulations: Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) Fee On top of that, the dealer charges a service fee for processing the private party transfer, which is not regulated and varies. Call ahead. Budget somewhere between $50 and $80 total.
The Firearm Safety Certificate You Need First
Before you can take possession of any gifted firearm, family gift or not, you need a valid Firearm Safety Certificate.8State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions The test is 30 true-or-false and multiple-choice questions on firearm safety and basic California gun law. You need 23 correct (75%) to pass. DOJ-certified instructors administer it, usually at firearms dealerships. It costs $25, which includes a second attempt with the same instructor if you fail, and the certificate is valid for five years.9State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Firearm Safety Certificate Program FAQs
Who Can Legally Give and Receive
The giver has to be someone legally allowed to possess firearms. Felony convictions, domestic violence misdemeanor convictions, certain other misdemeanor convictions, active restraining orders, and past involuntary mental health commitments all prohibit possession under state and federal law.10California Department of Justice. Firearms Prohibiting Categories11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
The recipient has to be a California resident, and the age requirement depends on the path. For intra-familial gifts, the minimum age is 18 for any firearm type.12State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Overview of Firearm Law For dealer-processed transfers, the minimum is 21, with one exception: adults 18 to 20 who hold a valid hunting license can receive a long gun through a dealer.1State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions
Firearms That Can’t Be Gifted at All
Assault weapons as defined under California Penal Code sections 30510 through 30530 cannot be transferred between private parties, even within a family. If you’re gifted or inherit one, your options are to remove it from California, surrender it to law enforcement, sell it to a licensed dealer, or have it permanently modified so it no longer meets the assault weapon definition.
The Roster of Certified Handguns trips people up. The roster restricts which handguns dealers can sell as new, but private party transfers and intra-familial gifts of off-roster handguns are generally exempt from that requirement. So if a parent gifts you a handgun model dealers can’t sell new in California, the transfer itself is still legal as long as everything else is done right.
If the Giver Lives Out of State
Federal law adds a step when the giver is in another state. Under the Gun Control Act, any firearm transferred across state lines has to go through a federally licensed dealer in the recipient’s state, even between a parent and child.13ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.99 Certain Prohibited Sales, Purchases, or Deliveries The giver ships the firearm to a California FFL, and you complete the standard dealer-processed transfer on the California end, with the DROS, background check, and 10-day wait.
Mailing a firearm directly to an individual in another state is illegal. The giver cannot ship it to your home. It has to go to a licensed dealer.
What Happens if You Don’t Register
Skipping registration carries real consequences, and they differ by path.
Missing the 30-day intra-familial deadline puts the whole exemption at risk. Section 27875 is an exemption from the general requirement to use a licensed dealer, and if you don’t meet the exemption’s conditions, the transfer can be treated as an unlawful private party transfer under Penal Code section 27545.14California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 27545 Knowingly providing false information or leaving required details off the form is a separate misdemeanor under section 27875(c).15California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 27875 – Exceptions to the Requirement of Using a Dealer for a Private Party Firearms Transaction
Gifting a firearm to someone outside the intra-familial list without going through a dealer violates section 27545. Penalties under Penal Code section 27590 are normally a misdemeanor, but the charge can escalate to a felony carrying two, three, or four years in state prison if aggravating factors are present, such as a prior firearms transfer conviction.16California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 27590 California’s standard misdemeanor punishment is up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.17California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 19 Unregistered firearms can also be confiscated.