Chapter 2 - Obliteration of Identification Marks

Sections (5)

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 540. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Amending action operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68. Section operative January 1, 2012, pursuant to Stats. 2010, Ch. 711, Sec. 10.

Any person who changes, alters, removes, or obliterates the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or other mark of identification, including any distinguishing number or mark assigned by the Department of Justice, on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the department to make that change, alteration, or removal shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.

§ 23910

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 76, Sec. 11. (AB 1621) Effective June 30, 2022.

The Department of Justice, upon request, may assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification. Whenever the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated, the Department of Justice, upon request, may assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm in accordance with Section 29182.

§ 23915

Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 711, Sec. 6. (SB 1080) Effective January 1, 2011. Operative January 1, 2012, by Sec. 10 of Ch. 711.

(a)Any person may place or stamp on any pistol, revolver, or other firearm any number or identifying indicium, provided the number or identifying indicium does not change, alter, remove, or obliterate the manufacturer’s name, number, model, or other mark of identification.

(b)This section does not prohibit restoration by the owner of the name of the maker or model, or of the original manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, when that restoration is authorized by the department.

(c)This section does not prevent any manufacturer from placing in the ordinary course of business the name of the maker, model,

manufacturer’s number, or other mark of identification upon a new firearm.

§ 23920

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 76, Sec. 12. (AB 1621) Effective June 30, 2022.

(a)Except as provided in Section 23925, any person who, with knowledge of any change, alteration, removal, or obliteration described in this section, buys, receives, disposes of, sells, offers for sale, or has in possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, including any distinguishing number or mark assigned by the Department of Justice, changed, altered, removed, or obliterated, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(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.

§ 23925

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 76, Sec. 13. (AB 1621) Effective June 30, 2022.

(a)Section 23920 does not apply to any of the following:

(1)The acquisition or possession of a firearm described in Section 23920 by any member of the military forces of this state or of the United States, while on duty and acting within the scope and course of employment.

(2)The acquisition or possession of a firearm described in Section 23920 by any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, while on duty and acting within the scope and course of employment.

(3)The acquisition or possession of a firearm

described in Section 23920 by any employee of a forensic laboratory, while on duty and acting within the scope and course of employment.

(4)The possession and disposition of a firearm described in Section 23920 by a person who meets all of the following:

(A)The person is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.

(B)The person possessed the firearm no longer than was necessary to deliver it to a law enforcement agency for that agency’s disposition according to law.

(C)If the person is transporting the firearm, the person is transporting it to a law enforcement agency in order to deliver it to the

agency for the agency’s disposition according to law.

(D)If the person is transporting the firearm to a law enforcement agency, the person has given prior notice to the agency that the person is transporting the firearm to that agency for the agency’s disposition according to law.

(E)The firearm is transported in a locked container as defined in Section 16850.

(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.