Reporting firearms transfers back in the day: Section 25250 Not Applicable Hopefully

[grand-pop-gun]

When I was looking at SB 2 to get a grip on all the ways one can be denied a CCW, I noticed that failing to report the loss of a firearm as per Section 25250 was grounds for denial.

Now, I believe I am in compliance with that section, but recently I requested a list of firearms that the CA DOJ believes are mine, and after looking at it, I realized that some of them were legally disposed of decades ago when laws did not require going through an FFL.

Is there any good reason for me to notify the DOJ that I long ago (1995 and 1981 roughly) transferred the guns? In 1981 I transferred a pistol to someone I knew who subsequently moved out of state, and in 1995 I gave a .22 rifle to my stepdaughter who was 18 at the time. I'm pretty confident that those actions were legal at the time they were performed, but since the state thinks they're still in my possession, I'm curious about my situation.

 

[treelogger]

California started requiring handguns to be registered during a transfer in 1983. So your sale in 1981 was probably legal. It expanded that to all guns in 1998. So your sale in 1995 was probably also legal. Legally speaking, there is no requirement to file a "no longer in possession" form with the state after the fact. Section 25250 doesn't apply, since this is not a loss or a theft. In particular not one that has happened since 2017, when 25250 took effect.

Should you apply for a CCW, and a background investigator finds that discrepancy between the list of guns that the state thinks you have, and the list you really have, you can explain the same thing to them. Lots of people will have the same issue.

 

[raellic]

There is a "notice of no longer in possession" form you need to file.

Edit: as pointed out by the replies, this form is optional. But if you want to be able prove that you told the DOJ you no longer have these firearms, then you need to file the form. Otherwise, for example, if they are ever used in a crime, LEOs will come knocking.

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/bof-4546.pdf

 

[Librarian]

There is a "notice of no longer in possession" form you need to file.

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/bof-4546.pdf

Need?

A couple of years ago CA-DOJ wasn't accepting those; something about fraud, IIRC. They have resumed (also several years ago) accepting them with a new version of the form.

The State's AFS database is known to be inaccurate to some degree.

 

[treelogger]

California PC 28000:
(f) (1) A person [...] may report the destruction, disposal, dispossession, relinquishment, or transfer of that firearm to the department [DoJ] ...

That section has another half dozen subsections for other circumstances. All have the word "may" in them. So this is not at all required. Whether it is a good idea or not ... opinions differ. I'm sure they are dutifully scanned, processed, and entered into AFS. After suitable delays (Librarian already talked about multi-year delays!). But AFS isn't an accurate registry of who has what gun, instead it is a record of all transactions that the DoJ has learned about. By its nature, it can be difficult to interpret.

 

[grand-pop-gun]

Thanks for all the informative replies. Since the PC 28000 form is optional, it shouldn't affect a CCW application. I believe both firearms were taken out of state, and I seriously doubt their recipients will ever break any legal prohibitions. I'm not even sure that one of them is even still alive at this point. . . I guess it can't hurt to send in the forms, but it's not a high priority right now.

 

[Dvrjon]

When I was looking at SB 2 to get a grip on all the ways one can be denied a CCW, I noticed that failing to report the loss of a firearm as per Section 25250 was grounds for denial.

The statute requires the report of, “…the loss or theft…”, of a firearm. Neither happened to your guns.