serial numbers for 80% build AR-15

[sawman]

I know asking legal advice on the internet isn't a good thing to do but I have not been able to get through to D.O.J. Just trying to get some consenses on what to do .

Here is my question . I have several AR-15 rifles that I built on 80% lowers that I finished myself around 2005 or 2006 . They have no serial numbers because the info I had at the time was you could build your own firearm and it was legal.

Now fast forward to 2022 and Im getting all different kids of advice from people . Some telling me you have to contact D.O.J. and apply for serial number others saying that they are grandfathered in because of when they were built and then the last person told me that all home built firearms need to be serialize by January 2024.

Anyone have any other info on what to do .
Thanks in advance.

[Quiet]

I know asking legal advice on the internet isn't a good thing to do but I have not been able to get through to D.O.J. Just trying to get some consenses on what to do .

Here is my question . I have several AR-15 rifles that I built on 80% lowers that I finished myself around 2005 or 2006 . They have no serial numbers because the info I had at the time was you could build your own firearm and it was legal.

Now fast forward to 2022 and Im getting all different kids of advice from people . Some telling me you have to contact D.O.J. and apply for serial number others saying that they are grandfathered in because of when they were built and then the last person told me that all home built firearms need to be serialize by January 2024.

Anyone have any other info on what to do .
Thanks in advance.

CA self-made firearms laws went into effect on 01-01-2018 and they were recently amended, with the new amendments being effective 07-01-2022...

Before 07-01-2018, it was CA legal for a non-prohibited person that legally owned a self-made firearm to mark it with their own info and voluntarily register it with CA DOJ. [PC 23925(b)(2)]

From 07-01-2018 to 12-31-2019, CA laws required a non-prohibited person that legally owned self-made firearms to register them with CA DOJ and mark it with CA DOJ approved info before 01-01-2019.
^If the self-made firearm was voluntarily registered with CA DOJ before 07-01-2018, then it was exempt from this requirement.

Starting 07-01-2018, CA laws requires all self-made CA legal firearms to be registered and marked with CA DOJ approved info. [PC 29180(b)]

Starting 01-01-2024, a self-made firearm that is not registered with CA DOJ is an illegal firearm that is subject to confiscation. [PC 23920(b) and 29180(d)(3)]

Therefore...

Your legal options before 01-01-2024:
A. Treat them as new self-made firearms and go through the CA self-made firearm process to make them into CA legal self-made firearms.
B. Transport them out-of-state for storage.
C. Mark them with your info, then transport them out-of-state for transfer through an out-of-state FFL dealer.
D. Destroy them.
E. Surrender them to law enforcement for destruction.



Penal Code 29180
(a) For purposes of this chapter, “manufacturing” or “assembling” a firearm means to fabricate or construct a firearm, including through additive, subtractive, or other processes, or to fit together the component parts of a firearm to construct a firearm.
(b) Before manufacturing or assembling a firearm, a person manufacturing or assembling the firearm shall, for any firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification imprinted on the frame or receiver, do all of the following:
(1)(A) Apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial number or other mark of identification pursuant to Section 29182.
(B) Each application shall contain a description of the firearm that the applicant intends to assemble, the applicant’s full name, address, date of birth, and any other information that the department may deem appropriate.
(2)(A) Within 10 days of manufacturing or assembling a firearm in accordance with paragraph (1), the unique serial number or other mark of identification provided by the department shall be engraved or permanently affixed to the firearm in a manner that meets or exceeds the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 923 of Title 18 of the United States Code and regulations issued pursuant thereto.
(B) If the firearm is manufactured or assembled from polymer plastic, 3.7 ounces of material type 17-4 PH stainless steel shall be embedded within the plastic upon fabrication or construction with the unique serial number engraved or otherwise permanently affixed in a manner that meets or exceeds the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 923 of Title 18 of the United States Code and regulations issued pursuant thereto.
(3) After the serial number provided by the department is engraved or otherwise permanently affixed to the firearm, the person shall notify the department of that fact in a manner and within a time period specified by the department, and with sufficient information to identify the owner of the firearm, the unique serial number or mark of identification provided by the department, and the firearm in a manner prescribed by the department.
(d)(3) Any firearms confiscated by law enforcement that do not bear an engraved serial number or other mark of identification pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c), or a firearm surrendered, transferred, or sold to a law enforcement agency pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be destroyed as provided in Section 18005.

Penal Code 23920
(b) Except as provided in Section 23925, any person who, on or after January 1, 2024, knowingly possesses any firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Penal Code 23925
(b) Subdivision (b) of Section 23920 does not apply to any of the following:
(1) The possession of a firearm that was made or assembled prior to December 16, 1968, and is not a handgun.
(2) The possession of a firearm that has been entered, before July 1, 2018, into the centralized registry set forth in Section 11106, as being owned by a specific individual or entity, if that firearm has assigned to it a distinguishing number or mark of identification because the department accepted entry of that firearm into the centralized registry.
(3) The possession of a firearm that is a curio or relic, or an antique firearm, as those terms are defined in Section 479.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) The possession of a firearm by a federally licensed firearms manufacturer or importer, or any other federal licensee authorized to serialize firearms.
(5) The possession of a firearm by a person who, before January 1, 2024, has applied to the Department of Justice for a unique serial number or mark of identification, pursuant to Section 29180, and fully complies with the provisions of that section, including imprinting the serial number or mark of identification onto the firearm within 10 days after receiving the serial number or mark of identification from the department.
(6)(A) The possession of a firearm by a new resident who, pursuant to Section 29180, applies for a unique serial number or other mark of identification from the Department of Justice within 60 days after arrival in the state, for any firearm the resident wishes to legally possess in the state that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification, and who fully complies with the provisions of that section, including imprinting the serial number or mark of identification onto the firearm within 10 days after receiving the serial number or mark of identification from the department.
(B) The good faith effort by a new resident to apply for a unique serial number or other mark of identification after the expiration of the 60-day period specified in this paragraph, or any other person’s good faith effort to apply for a unique serial number or mark of identification for a firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or other mark of identification, shall not constitute probable cause for a violation of Section 23920.
(7) The possession of a firearm by a nonresident of this state who is traveling with a firearm in this state in accordance with the provisions of Section 926A of Title 18 of the United States Code, or who possesses or imports a firearm into this state exclusively for use in an organized sport shooting event or competition.

[Yugo]

3 options
#1 contact DOJ and proceed with what they tell you.
#2 go to your local plumbing store buy 10" PVC piping with removable ends and a good shovel. (just before 2024)
#3 Move out of CA with your stuff.

[sawman]

CA self-made firearms laws went into effect on 01-01-2018 and they were recently amended, with the new amendments being effective 07-01-2022...

Before 07-01-2018, it was CA legal for a non-prohibited person that legally owned a self-made firearm to mark it with their own info and voluntarily register it with CA DOJ. [PC 23925(b)(2)]

From 07-01-2018 to 12-31-2019, CA laws required a non-prohibited person that legally owned self-made firearms to register them with CA DOJ and mark it with CA DOJ approved info before 01-01-2019.
^If the self-made firearm was voluntarily registered with CA DOJ before 07-01-2018, then it was exempt from this requirement.

Starting 07-01-2018, CA laws requires all self-made CA legal firearms to be registered and marked with CA DOJ approved info. [PC 29180(b)]

Starting 01-01-2024, a self-made firearm that is not registered with CA DOJ is an illegal firearm that is subject to confiscation. [PC 23920(b) and 29180(d)(3)]

Therefore...

Your legal options before 01-01-2024:
A. Treat them as new self-made firearms and go through the CA self-made firearm process to make them into CA legal self-made firearms.
B. Transport them out-of-state for storage.
C. Mark them with your info, then transport them out-of-state for transfer through an out-of-state FFL dealer.
D. Destroy them.
E. Surrender them to law enforcement for destruction.



Penal Code 29180Penal Code 23920
(b) Except as provided in Section 23925, any person who, on or after January 1, 2024, knowingly possesses any firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Penal Code 23925

Thank you looks like I need to get busy taking care of this

[sirdutch]

So...let me get this straight. If I own a self built featureless AR type firearm or an AR type firearm that has a California approved and legal fixed magazine device and got it got it registered when one could still pick one's own number and followed the marking protocols to the letter and got a confirmation letter from the California DOJ, am I still good to go?

[Sequencer60]

So...let me get this straight. If I own a self built featureless AR type firearm or an AR type firearm that has a California approved and legal fixed magazine device and got it got it registered when one could still pick one's own number and followed the marking protocols to the letter and got a confirmation letter from the California DOJ, am I still good to go?

I sure hope so. Checking for a friend.

[edgerly779]

If your friend serialized and registered prior to deadline he is good to go as long as it is ca compliant. I registered several prior to regs. Took a year to get approval letters back.

[Quiet]

So...let me get this straight. If I own a self built featureless AR type firearm or an AR type firearm that has a California approved and legal fixed magazine device and got it got it registered when one could still pick one's own number and followed the marking protocols to the letter and got a confirmation letter from the California DOJ, am I still good to go?

I sure hope so. Checking for a friend.

If your friend serialized and registered prior to deadline he is good to go as long as it is ca compliant. I registered several prior to regs. Took a year to get approval letters back.

Yes. [PC 23925(b)(2)]


Penal Code 23925
(b) Subdivision (b) of Section 23920 does not apply to any of the following:
(2) The possession of a firearm that has been entered, before July 1, 2018, into the centralized registry set forth in Section 11106, as being owned by a specific individual or entity, if that firearm has assigned to it a distinguishing number or mark of identification because the department accepted entry of that firearm into the centralized registry.