Buying firearms in AZ

Question
Hi Doug, Glad I found your site. Question is that a friend of mine who is a residence in California, claims that he can buy firearms in Arizona without registration from a legal firearms store. True? If he was able to, he would then have to ID it in 60 days in CA. Am I right? Thank you!

Answer
John,

The question you ask can be answered differently depending on what is meant by 'registration'.

As a resident of California, your friend can  legally purchase firearms in Arizona as long as the firearms are transferred to him by a Federally licensed firearms dealer in California who also has a Certificate of Eligibility to sell firearms issued by the California DOJ.  

If he is buying from a gun store in Arizona, he must have the store transfer the firearms to an FFL in the State of California who will transfer the gun to him if he is legally permitted to own a firearm in California.  All transfers will need to comply with California state law and that includes a mandatory 10 days waiting period before the firearms dealer in California can deliver the firearm to the purchaser.  

If your friend is purchasing a handgun,  he will also have to have a California Handgun Safety Certificate, issued by a CA DOJ Certified Handgun Safety instructor.  Since I am a CA DOJ certified instructor, I am quite familiar with this particular aspect of the law.

All firearms transfers in Arizona and California require proof of residence, usually in the form of a driver license issued by the state of residence.

If he buys a gun from a private party in Arizona, then the same rules apply.  The private party can only transfer a firearm to him using an FFL located in California.  The California dealer is responsible for insuring that the transaction in in compliance with California law.

California law DOES NOT permit private sales of firearms between individuals unless it is conducted through a licensed California firearms dealer.

Arizona law does permit transfer of firearms between private parties that are both Arizona residents as long as the transfer is 'face to face'.  No forms of any kind are necessary, but a bill of sale establishing a record of the transfer and the parties involved is a really good idea.

Depending on what your friend means by 'registration', neither California law nor Arizona law require 'registration' of a firearm.  However, the transfer must be recorded using a Form 4473 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms when the transaction occurs with a Federally licensed firearms dealer.

If the dealer is transferring firearms without having the purchaser fill out the Form 4473 then both the dealer and the purchaser are in violation of federal laws which carry penalties of five years or more in prison.  Similarly, if the dealer is transferring firearm to him directly in Arizona, both he and the dealer are in violation of federal law.  I would not necessarily expect him to know better, but the dealer definitely should.

I'm not sure what you are referring to when you say "he would have to ID it in 60 days".  Perhaps if you explain what you mean by that, I can elaborate further.

Perhaps there is some confusion over the process or perhaps your friend is not familiar with the process, but I can assure you, if he is doing what he is claiming and gets caught, he will be in a LOT of trouble...he will be violating a whole bunch of Arizona and California state laws, not to mention Federal laws.

Believe me when I say this is one area that you really don't want to get caught on the wrong side of, particularly in California...