Glossary

Key terms and abbreviations used in California firearms law.

AFS: Automated Firearms System. A repository of firearm records maintained by the California DOJ, which includes Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) records. A person whose information matches a current AFS entry and who is not prohibited qualifies for the $1 Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check rather than the $19 Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check.
APPS: Armed Prohibited Persons System. Under Penal Code 30000, the California DOJ keeps the Prohibited Armed Persons File, which cross-references people shown in the Consolidated Firearms Information System as owning or possessing a firearm against later prohibitions, such as felony convictions and mental health prohibitions under Welfare and Institutions Code 8100 or 8103.
Assault Weapon: As defined under Cal. Penal Code Sections 30510 and 30515, a firearm identified by name on the Section 30510 list (the Roberti-Roos list) or by the physical characteristics in Section 30515 (the SB 23 features test). Section 30520 directs the Attorney General to prepare identification descriptions of listed assault weapons. Manufacturing, importing, selling, giving, or lending an assault weapon is a felony under PC 30600, and possessing one except as the chapter allows is a crime under PC 30605.
AWR: Assault Weapon Registration. Owners who lawfully possessed an assault weapon without a fixed magazine from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, including bullet button rifles, were required to register it electronically with the DOJ before July 1, 2018. A registered assault weapon may not be sold or transferred within California except as the assault weapon chapter allows. A person who inherits one must, within 90 days, render it permanently inoperable, sell it to a licensed dealer, obtain a DOJ permit, or remove it from the state.
Boland v. Bonta: A federal lawsuit challenging California's chamber load indicator, magazine disconnect mechanism, and microstamping requirements for new semiautomatic pistol models on the Certified Handguns Roster. On March 20, 2023, the district court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of all three requirements. SB 452 later removed the microstamping requirement from the unsafe handgun definition effective January 1, 2024, and current law requires DOJ to remove three older pistols lacking a chamber load indicator or magazine disconnect for each new semiautomatic pistol added. The Ninth Circuit vacated submission of the state's appeal pending the en banc decision in Duncan v. Bonta, and the appeal remains pending.
Bruen: Shorthand for the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2022 decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen (597 U.S. 1), which struck down New York's "proper cause" requirement for concealed carry licenses and established the historical-tradition test for evaluating firearms regulations. Prompted California's enactment of SB 2.
Bullet Button: A magazine release that requires a tool to remove the magazine by depressing a recessed button or lever shielded by a magazine lock. Under the earlier assault weapon definition, status turned on the capacity to accept a detachable magazine. SB 880 and AB 1135 (2016) changed the definition to rifles that do not have a fixed magazine, and a bullet-button rifle does not have a fixed magazine, so one with a listed feature became an assault weapon. Owners who possessed one from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, had to register it.
CCW: Concealed Carry Weapon license. Issued by the county sheriff or city police chief under Cal. Penal Code Sections 26150 and 26155. Generally valid for up to two years. Following Bruen, SB 2 replaced the former good cause standard with a requirement that the applicant not be a disqualified person under Section 26202.
CFARS: California Firearms Application Reporting System. The DOJ online portal for submitting firearm reports, such as firearm ownership and new resident reports, Law Enforcement Release applications, and applications for unique serial numbers for self-manufactured firearms.
COE: Certificate of Eligibility. A DOJ-issued certificate showing that a records check found the holder is not prohibited from possessing firearms. Required for firearms dealers and for dealer employees who handle, sell, or deliver firearms. A Type 03 FFL collector with a current COE is exempt from the three-firearms-in-30-days purchase limit. Must be renewed annually.
DROS: Dealer Record of Sale. The DOJ application and background check system through which dealer sales and private party transfers in California are processed. Dealers may be required to collect a $31.19 fee under PC 28233, plus fees of up to $1 under PC 28225 and up to $5 under PC 28300, each subject to adjustment. A dealer may not deliver the firearm within 10 days of the application under Penal Code Section 27540.
Duncan v. Bonta: A federal lawsuit challenging California's large-capacity magazine ban (PC 32310). Judge Benitez struck down the ban in 2019, creating "Freedom Week" (March 29 to April 5, 2019). Following remand for reconsideration under the Bruen framework, the Ninth Circuit en banc panel upheld the ban in a 7-4 decision on March 20, 2025. A petition for certiorari is pending at the Supreme Court (Docket No. 25-198). The ban is enforceable, except that the ban on possessing magazines acquired when acquiring them was lawful has never taken effect, and the Ninth Circuit partially stayed its mandate to keep that status until the Supreme Court acts.
Featureless: A compliance strategy for a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine in which none of the six features listed in PC 30515(a)(1) is present (pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, grenade or flare launcher, flash suppressor, forward pistol grip). The rifle can then use a detachable magazine without being an assault weapon, provided its overall length is at least 30 inches.
Fixed Magazine: A magazine that cannot be removed from a firearm without disassembly of the firearm action, as defined in 11 CCR 5471. Used as a compliance strategy that allows retention of all prohibited features on a rifle because the assault weapon definition requires both a detachable magazine and a prohibited feature.
Freedom Week: The period from March 29 to April 5, 2019, during which Judge Benitez's ruling in Duncan v. Becerra kept California's large-capacity magazine ban from being enforced. In March 2025 the Ninth Circuit en banc court upheld the ban and remanded with the instruction to enter judgment for the Attorney General. The ban on possessing magazines acquired when acquiring them was lawful, which includes Freedom Week magazines, has never taken effect, and the Ninth Circuit partially stayed its mandate to keep that status pending the Supreme Court's disposition of the petition in No. 25-198.
FSC: Firearm Safety Certificate. Required under PC 31615 to purchase or receive any firearm other than an antique firearm. Obtained by passing a written test with a score of at least 75 percent, administered by a DOJ Certified Instructor, who may charge a $25 fee. Valid for five years. Replaced the former Handgun Safety Certificate (HSC) on January 1, 2015.
GVRO: Gun Violence Restraining Order. A court order under Cal. Penal Code Sections 18100-18205 prohibiting a person who poses a significant danger of personal injury to themselves or others from having custody or control of, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving firearms or ammunition. Petitioners may include family members, roommates, employers, coworkers, teachers, and law enforcement.
Handgun Roster: The California DOJ Roster of Certified Handguns for Sale. With listed exceptions, selling an unsafe handgun, one not on this roster, is a crime. In March 2023, the Boland v. Bonta preliminary injunction barred enforcement of the microstamping, chamber load indicator, and magazine disconnect mechanism requirements, and SB 452 removed microstamping from the unsafe handgun definition effective January 1, 2024. DOJ must remove three older pistols lacking those features for each new semiautomatic pistol added. Newer models, including Shadow Systems pistols, appear on the October 2026 roster.
Intrafamilial Transfer: A firearm transfer by gift, bequest, intestate succession, or other means between members of the same immediate family that is exempt from the dealer requirement under PC 27875. The transfer must be infrequent, the recipient must be 18 or older and hold a valid firearm safety certificate, and the recipient must report the transfer to the DOJ within 30 days.
May v. Bonta: A federal lawsuit challenging SB 2's sensitive places provisions. On December 20, 2023, before SB 2 took effect, the district court preliminarily enjoined many of them. On September 6, 2024, the Ninth Circuit ruled in the consolidated May, Carralero and Wolford appeals, affirming in part and reversing in part. The injunction stayed in place for hospitals and medical facilities, public transportation, public gatherings, places of worship, financial institutions, connected parking areas, and the default rule for private property open to the public, leaving 20 of the 26 listed categories enforceable. The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing en banc on January 15, 2025, and the mandate issued January 23, 2025.
Microstamping: A technology that imprints a microscopic array of characters identifying a pistol's serial number onto spent cartridge casings. PC 31910 required it for new semiautomatic pistol models on the Certified Handguns Roster from May 2013 until SB 452 removed that requirement effective January 1, 2024. Beginning January 1, 2028, dealers may not sell semiautomatic pistols that are not microstamping-enabled, if DOJ has determined that microstamping components or microstamping-enabled pistols are available.
Miller v. Bonta: A federal lawsuit challenging California's assault weapons ban under the Second Amendment. The Ninth Circuit vacated Judge Benitez's June 4, 2021 judgment against the ban and remanded for further proceedings. The district court's later judgment against the ban is on appeal and has been stayed since October 28, 2023. On July 1, 2026, the Ninth Circuit vacated submission pending the Supreme Court's resolution of Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins. The ban remains enforceable while the stay is in place.
PPT: Private Party Transfer. A firearm transaction between two private individuals that must be completed through a licensed dealer under PC 27545 and 28050. The dealer submits a DROS, a background check is run, and the dealer may not deliver the firearm within 10 days of the application. The dealer may charge a fee of up to $10 per firearm (PC 28055).
Proposition 63: The Safety for All Act of 2016, adopted by voters as Proposition 63 on November 8, 2016. Established ammunition vendor licensing and point-of-sale ammunition approval, extended the large-capacity magazine ban to magazines regardless of when acquired, and required reporting of lost or stolen firearms. The ammunition approval provisions took effect July 1, 2019.
Roberti-Roos: The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989. Identified assault weapons by a named list of specific makes and models (now codified at PC 30510). Prompted by the 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton.
SB 2: Senate Bill 2 (Portantino, 2023). California's legislative response to the Bruen decision. Replaced the good cause CCW standard with a requirement that the applicant not be a disqualified person, expanded training to at least 16 hours, listed 26 categories of sensitive places where carry is prohibited, and set a default prohibition on carry on private property open to the public without the owner's consent. After the Ninth Circuit's May v. Bonta ruling (September 2024, mandate January 23, 2025), 20 of the 26 categories are enforceable. The injunction remains for hospitals and medical facilities, public transportation, public gatherings, places of worship, financial institutions, connected parking areas, and the private property default.
Safe Handling Demonstration: A mandatory demonstration at handgun delivery where the recipient must show safe handling procedures with the specific handgun, performed for a DOJ Certified Instructor. Required before a dealer delivers any handgun under PC 26850. Separate from the FSC written test.
Wobbler: A California criminal offense that may be punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Many California firearms violations are wobblers, including possession of an unregistered assault weapon (PC 30605) and possession of short-barreled rifles or shotguns (PC 33215). Carrying a concealed firearm without a permit (PC 25400) is a misdemeanor in most cases and a wobbler or felony only in the circumstances the statute lists.