Pen. Code, § 27540 · Article 1. Crimes Relating to Sale, Lease, or Transfer of Firearms
Pen. Code, § 27540
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
A dealer, whether or not acting pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050), shall not deliver a firearm to a person, as follows:
(a) Within 10 days of the application to purchase, or, after notice by the department pursuant to Section 28220, within 10 days of the submission to the department of any correction to the application, or within 10 days of the submission to the department of any fee required pursuant to Section 28225, whichever is later.
(b) Unless unloaded and securely wrapped or unloaded and in a locked container.
(c) Unless the purchaser, transferee, or person being loaned the firearm presents clear evidence of the person’s identity and age to the dealer.
(d) Whenever the dealer is notified by the Department of Justice that the person is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.
(e) A firearm, including a handgun, shall not be delivered unless the purchaser, transferee, or person being loaned the firearm presents a firearm safety certificate to the dealer, except that in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be presented.
(f) A firearm shall not be delivered whenever the dealer is notified by the Department of Justice that the purchaser has made an application to purchase one or more firearms that would result in the purchase of more than three firearms cumulatively within the 30-day period preceding the date of the application, inclusive, including any handgun, semiautomatic centerfire rifle, completed frame or receiver, or firearm precursor part, and that the application or applications to purchase did not involve any of the entities or circumstances specified in subdivision (b) of Section 27535.
(g) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2026.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Repealed (in Sec. 17) and added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 570, Sec. 18. (AB 1078) Effective January 1, 2026. Operative April 1, 2026, by its own provisions.
Another version listed by the Legislative Counsel
Inoperative April 1, 2026, by its own provisions. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 18 of Stats. 2025, Ch. 570.
A dealer, whether or not acting pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050), shall not deliver a firearm to a person, as follows:
(a) Within 10 days of the application to purchase, or, after notice by the department pursuant to Section 28220, within 10 days of the submission to the department of any correction to the application, or within 10 days of the submission to the department of any fee required pursuant to Section 28225, whichever is later.
(b) Unless unloaded and securely wrapped or unloaded and in a locked container.
(c) Unless the purchaser, transferee, or person being loaned the firearm presents clear evidence of the person’s identity and age to the dealer.
(d) Whenever the dealer is notified by the Department of Justice that the person is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.
(e) A firearm, including a handgun, shall not be delivered unless the purchaser, transferee, or person being loaned the firearm presents a firearm safety certificate to the dealer, except that in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be presented.
(f) A firearm shall not be delivered whenever the dealer is notified by the Department of Justice that within the preceding 30-day period, the purchaser has made another application to purchase a handgun, semiautomatic centerfire rifle, completed frame or receiver, or firearm precursor part, and that the previous application to purchase did not involve any of the entities or circumstances specified in subdivision (b) of Section 27535.
(g) This section shall become inoperative on April 1, 2026, and, as of January 1, 2027, is repealed.
History (another version listed by the Legislative Counsel)
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 570, Sec. 17. (AB 1078) Effective January 1, 2026. Inoperative April 1, 2026, by its own provisions. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 18 of Stats. 2025, Ch. 570.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=27540.
- Text hash
- sha256 8a1ae6220414f41e4ee55def93ed398248149cd8d4ce3bdc1df0e703136cd4f5
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
- the Legislative Counsel lists 2 versions of this section; the version shown is the one in force by its history, the other is under "Another version listed by the Legislative Counsel" (expired)
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 30 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 27540. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 16520Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 17000Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 26866Printed as Sections 26815 and 27540
- Pen. Code, § 26892Printed as Section 27540 | Sections 26815 and 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27515Printed as Section 27540 or 27545
- Pen. Code, § 27520Printed as Section 27510 or 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27535Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27585Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27590Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27650Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27660Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27665Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27670Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27700Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27705Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27715Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27720Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27725Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27730Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27735Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27740Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27745Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 27750Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 28050Printed as Section 27540 | Sections 26815 and 27540
- Pen. Code, § 28160Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 28210Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 28215Printed as Section 27540
- Pen. Code, § 28220Printed as Sections 26815 and 27540
- Pen. Code, § 28255Printed as Sections 26815 and 27540
- Pen. Code, § 29830Printed as Section 27540 | Sections 26815 and 27540
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.