- Information
- Reviews
Firearm Safety Certificate Program
31615 requires a Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) to purchase or receive any firearm and it is illegal to sell or transfer a firearm to any person who does not have a valid firearm safety certificate. Previously to 2015, the FSC was called a Handgun Safety Certificate (HSC) and only applied to handgun purchases. The FSC is valid for five years.
The Basic Firearm Safety Certificate (BFSC), a lifetime certificate, to purchase handguns have been superseded by the HSC and then the FSC. BFSC are no longer valid and a FSC is required. Military veterans (honorable discharges) no longer qualify for an exemption by showing a DD 214; retirees and active members are in a different group.
Per 26860(g), an individual who is exempt from needing a FSC is also exempt from performing the safe handling demonstration.
Handgun safety certificates should be expired at this point in time. The last one should have expired on December 31, 2019 as FSCs were issued beginning January 1, 2015.
The only minimum requirement is that the applicant be 18 years old and have a valid California Driver License or Identification card. This likely will not be accepted if it states “Federal Limits Apply.”