The CA regulations for home-built firearms (also known as 80% builds or “ghost guns”) have been published. CA will not receive another update to the registration laws prior to the June 30th deadline, so the DOJ proposed regulations are effectively what we have to go on. Leading up to this point, multiple laws and Penal Code sections have added nuanced restrictions and exemptions to registration, leaving the public quite confused as to what really must be registered, and how. The final proposed AB857 regulations leave absolutely no doubt: all home-built firearms in the state of California must be serialized and registered with the state.
This link documents the published regulations for self-manufactured firearms. While there has been much debate on CA Internet gun forums and dealers specializing in 80% firearms, the regulations are spelled out in black and white:
§ 5509. Persons Affected by These Regulations.
Subdivision (a) clarifies that these regulations apply to an individual who owns a self-manufactured or self-assembled firearm as of July 1, 2018. This subdivision is necessary because it states who is being regulated. The Department seeks to record the existence of all selfmanufactured or self-assembled firearms that currently exist in the state of California. This subdivision is necessary to indicate the Department’s intent to the public of its objective to record all self-manufactured or self-assembled firearms in California.
The exact nature of the registration and the requirements for serialization depend upon the specific firearm, as follows:
- Self-Built Firearms that are not BBAWs (so-called Bullet Button Assault Weapons) may have an owner-created serial number applied to them in accordance with federal ATF requirements (linked here). The owner must use the Voluntary Registration form available here to register the firearm with the self-created serial number by July 30, 2018. This would include most handguns, and featureless or magazine-locked semiautomatic rifles requiring the receivers to be split in order to remove the magazine.
- Self-Built Firearms that will be registered as BBAWs must have a CA DOJ FMBUS serial number assigned to them and engraved upon the firearm . For expediency, we recommend requesting a FMBUS serial number by downloading this form, filling it out according to these instructions, and then scanning it and emailing it to DOJSerialNumber@doj.ca.gov. That’s only step one – you must then apply the FMBUS number to the firearm according to the ATF requirements linked above, and then perform the BBAW registration. Therefore, this step should be completed as soon as possible, because the turnaround on serial numbers has been anywhere from 1 day to 5 weeks. If it goes long, you won’t have time to engrave your firearm before the June 30th deadline.
- The BBAW registration of a FMBUS-serialized firearm may be performed on the CFARS website.
- Beginning July 1, 2018, no person without an 07 FFL in CA may construct a home-build firearm without applying for permission and a serial number from the state before beginning construction.
There have been many amateur interpretations of the law, penal code, and published regulations suggesting that there are exemptions to the law, and that self-serialized firearms do not have to be registered. These opinions are incorrect, and do not take into account the specific limitations of each exemption. § 5508(d) and § 29181(a) or (d) are often cited because the self-applied serial number is already on the firearm. However, all these sections specify that they only apply when the serial numbers were applied by licensed firearms manufacturers. Thus, unlicensed persons building personal firearms do not qualify.
The NRA-ILA and CRPA agree with our guidance; see the Institute for Legislative Action’s March 19, 2018 article documenting their objection to these overreaching regulations. While there was some early hope after 2016’s Gunmageddon that self-applying ATF-compliant markings on the gun could avoid registration requirements, the published regulations have clearly eliminated that option.
Bottom line: as of 7/1/2018, there is no legal way to be in possession of an unregistered self-built firearm in California, regardless of whether it is unserialized or self-serialized. By law, all self-built firearms must be registered.