Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Waiting Periods in California.’ Gun Sales. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 19 April
Relevant contents
[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]
Waiting Periods in California
California law prohibits any licensed firearms dealer from transferring or delivering a firearm to a person within ten days of the latter of:
- The application to purchase the firearm;
- The submission of any correction to the application, after notice from the California Department of Justice ("DOJ") that an application is inaccurate or incomplete to either identify the purchaser or the firearm to be transferred; or
- The submission of any fee required, after notice from DOJ that the required fee has not been transmitted.
Once the dealer or law enforcement agency submits to DOJ any application correction or required fee, the dealer or law enforcement agency is prohibited from delivering the firearm to the purchaser until ten days after submission of the correction or fee.
DOJ has the authority to place a firearm sale on hold until all background check information is received and the check is completed to DOJ's satisfaction. Thus, in practice there is no outside time limit for the completion of a background check, i.e., a firearm transfer will not occur until DOJ has approved the transfer, provided the dealer has received notice of any delay in the background check process…