registration

Question
I live in NJ and I have an old L.C.Smith 12ga. thats been passed down through the family. Am I required to register it by law? Thank you for any help you can offer.

Bill


Answer
Bill,

As you are probably aware, NJ is fairly restrictive in terms of firearms ownership.  NJ does not require registration of the gun itself, but rather regulates the persons owning guns.

Since you've inherited this gun, you can keep it as long as you can legally own a firearm in NJ.  If you are 21 years old, have never been convicted of a crime, don't have a restraining order issued against you and are mentally competent, you can keep it.  

However, it might be a good idea for you to apply for a Firearms ID card to make it easier for you in terms of transporting the firearm.  To be within the law, you would need to get a firearms identification card which is issued by the police chief in your city of residence.  A permit is required for vehicle transport of a firearm with some exceptions listed below, after the description of the permit process.

The permit process is basically this:

1. Call the Firearms Permitting Department of your local police department to find out the day and times they are open to process permit applications.  Many municipalities only have part time staff for this department and may not be open everyday.  I'd call first to avoid wasting a trip.

2. There are two types of purchase permits in New Jersey.  The first is the Firearms ID card and the second is a Pistol Permit.   You will need to apply for the FID. The Firearms ID card is used in two ways.  First it allows you to purchase any long gun (rifle/shotgun). You also need to have an FID if you want to get a Pistol Permit.

3. There are two forms which are required by the State of New Jersey.  They are really easy to fill out and should take only a few minutes.  The first form is the STS-33 form which is used for both the FID card and pistol permits.   The second form is the mental health waiver form which allows the authorities to check and see if you were ever institutionalized (SP-66).  There are NO OTHER FORMS ALLOWED by state statutes so don't sign any.

4. The cost for permits is regulated by state statutes therefore your municipality can only collect the prescribed fees.  I believe the fee for an FID card is $5.  This is a one time fee because the FID card is good for life as long as you are not arrested or subject to any of the forfeiture rules.

5. State law requires the municipalities to issue the FID card within 30 days of the date of application, but many places take longer for a long list of reasons.  The short version is that they don't place a very high priority on this whole process.

Understand that this is the process to allow you to purchase a long gun.  Since you will not be purchasing, this is just going to 'get you legal' as far as the gun you already have and transporting it.

As far as transporting your shotgun, you legally need to have an FID to transport it.

Strict exceptions to this law allow the transport of unloaded and securely cased firearms if a person is traveling directly to a hunting engagement, firearms exhibition, repair facility or target range.  General transport within the state is prohibited.  If you don't have an identification card or don't qualify for one of the exceptions above, leave your firearm at home.  Also, ammo must be in a separate container from the firearm.

I realize this is quite the process.  If you plan to simply hang onto the gun as a keepsake and never shoot it, you may not want to go through all this.  I just wanted you to be aware of the entire series of steps so that you can make a decision.

Hope this helps...

Regards,

Doug