Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Registration in Pennsylvania.’ Owner Responsibilities. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 26 April
Relevant contents
Registration of Firearms in Pennsylvania
Under Pennsylvania law, firearm dealers must provide a record of the sale of handguns and certain other firearms to the Firearms Division of the Pennsylvania State Police ("PSP"), which maintains a permanent database of handgun sales. However, this database does not constitute a registry of gun ownership, and PSP maintains no record of long gun sales. Pennsylvania law specifically prevents any provision of its law from allowing any government or law enforcement agency to create a registry of firearm ownership. State law also requires PSP to destroy any application or record of sale of a long gun within 72 hours of the background check.
In Allegheny County Sportsmen's League v. Rendell, 860 A.2d 10 (Pa. 2004), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania interpreted these provisions to permit PSP to maintain a database of the purchasers of handguns, but not of long guns.
In addition, Pennsylvania's law regarding domestic violence contains a similar provision, stating that it does not allow any person or entity to create a registry of firearm ownership, although information may be retained to ensure compliance with these statutes and to document the return of firearms to persons no longer subject to protective orders. Such information is not subject to public disclosure…
[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]