Cal. Penal Code § 30370
Ammunition Purchase Authorizations
Redline — January 1, 2015 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2023
As of January 1, 2015
(a) (1) Commencing on January 1, 2019, any person who is 18 years of age or older may apply to the Department of Justice for an ammunition purchase authorization.
(2) The ammunition purchase authorization may be used by the authorized person to purchase or otherwise seek the transfer of ownership of ammunition from an ammunition vendor, as that term is defined in Section 16151, and shall have no other force or effect.
(3) The ammunition purchase authorization shall be valid for four years from July 1, 2019, or the date of issuance, whichever is later, unless it is revoked by the department pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) The ammunition purchase authorization shall be promptly revoked by the department upon the occurrence of any event which would have disqualified the holder from being issued the ammunition purchase authorization pursuant to this section. If an authorization is revoked, the department shall upon the written request of the holder state the reasons for doing so and provide the holder an appeal process to challenge that revocation.
(c) The department shall create and maintain an internal centralized list of all persons who are authorized to purchase ammunition and shall promptly remove from the list any persons whose authorization was revoked by the department pursuant to this section. The department shall provide access to the list by ammunition vendors for purposes of conducting ammunition sales or other transfers, and shall provide access to the list by law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.
(d) The department shall issue an ammunition purchase authorization to the applicant if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The applicant is 18 years of age or older.
(2) The applicant is not prohibited from acquiring or possessing ammunition under subdivision (a) of Section 30305 or federal law.
(3) The applicant pays the fees set forth in subdivision (g).
(e) (1) Upon receipt of an initial or renewal application, the department shall examine its records, and the records it is authorized to request from the State Department of State Hospitals, pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and if authorized, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, as described in Section 922(t) of Title 18 of the United States Code, in order to determine if the applicant is prohibited from possessing or acquiring ammunition under subdivision (a) of Section 30305 or federal law.
(2) The applicant shall be approved or denied within 30 days of the date of the submission of the application to the department. If the application is denied, the department shall state the reasons for doing so and provide the applicant an appeal process to challenge that denial.
(3) If the department is unable to ascertain the final disposition of the application within 30 days of the applicant’s submission, the department shall grant authorization to the applicant.
(4) The ammunition purchase authorization number shall be the same as the number on the document presented by the person as bona fide evidence of identity.
(f) The department shall renew a person’s ammunition purchase authorization before its expiration, provided that the department determines that the person is not prohibited from acquiring or possessing ammunition under subdivision (a) of Section 30305 or federal law, and provided the applicant timely pays the renewal fee set forth in subdivision (g).
(g) The department may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) per person for the issuance of an ammunition purchase authorization or the issuance of a renewal authorization, however, the department shall not set these fees any higher than necessary to recover the reasonable, estimated costs to fund the ammunition authorization program provided for in this section and Section 30352, including the enforcement of this program and maintenance of any data systems associated with this program.
(a) Commencing July 1, 2019, the department shall electronically approve the purchase or transfer of ammunition through a vendor, as defined in Section 16151, except as otherwise specified. This approval shall occur at the time of purchase or transfer, prior to the purchaser or transferee taking possession of the ammunition. Pursuant to the authorization specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 30352, the following persons are authorized to purchase ammunition:
(1) A purchaser or transferee whose information matches an entry in the Automated Firearms System (AFS) and who is eligible to possess ammunition as specified in subdivision (b).
(2) A purchaser or transferee who has a current certificate of eligibility issued by the department pursuant to Section 26710.
(3) A purchaser or transferee who is not prohibited from purchasing or possessing ammunition in a single ammunition transaction or purchase made pursuant to the procedure developed pursuant to subdivision (c).
(b) To determine if the purchaser or transferee is eligible to purchase or possess ammunition pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the department shall cross-reference the ammunition purchaser’s or transferee’s name, date of birth, current address, and driver’s license or other government identification number, as described in Section 28180, with the information maintained in the AFS. If the purchaser’s or transferee’s information does not match an AFS entry, the transaction shall be denied. If the purchaser’s or transferee’s information matches an AFS entry, the department shall determine if the purchaser or transferee falls within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition by cross-referencing with the Prohibited Armed Persons File. If the purchaser or transferee is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, the transaction shall be denied.
(c) The department shall develop a procedure in which a person who is not prohibited from purchasing or possessing ammunition may be approved for a single ammunition transaction or purchase. The department shall recover the cost of processing and regulatory and enforcement activities related to this section by charging the ammunition transaction or purchase applicant a fee not to exceed the fee charged for the department’s Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) process, as described in Section 28225, as it read on December 31, 2019, and not to exceed the department’s reasonable costs.
(d) A vendor is prohibited from providing a purchaser or transferee ammunition without department approval. If a vendor cannot electronically verify a person’s eligibility to purchase or possess ammunition via an internet connection, the department shall provide a telephone line to verify eligibility. This option is available to ammunition vendors who can demonstrate legitimate geographical and telecommunications limitations in submitting the information electronically and who are approved by the department to use the telephone line verification.
(e) The department shall recover the reasonable cost of regulatory and enforcement activities related to this article by charging ammunition purchasers and transferees a per transaction fee not to exceed one dollar ($1), provided, however, that the Attorney General may adjust the fee as needed pursuant to this section, not to exceed the reasonable regulatory and enforcement costs for operating the program related to this article.
(f) A fund to be known as the “Ammunition Safety and Enforcement Special Fund” is hereby created within the State Treasury. All fees received pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Ammunition Safety and Enforcement Special Fund and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, are continuously appropriated for purposes of implementing, operating, and enforcing the ammunition authorization program provided for in this section and Section 30352 and for repaying the start-up loan provided for in Section 30371.
(i) The department shall annually review and may adjust all fees specified in subdivision (g) for inflation.
(g) The Department of Justice is authorized to adopt regulations to implement this section.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.