Bullet-Button Assault-Weapon Registration Information

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Individuals with eligible bullet-button assault weapons were required to register their firearms with the Department of Justice by June 30, 2018. A federal court (Sharp v. Becerra, E.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2021) re-opened the registration window for 90 days, starting on January 13, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. PST and ending on April 12, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. PDT. Individuals were only eligible to register their firearms if (1) the person would have been eligible to register an assault weapon pursuant to subdivision (b) of Penal Code § 30900; (2) the person lawfully possessed each assault weapon to be registered, prior to January 1, 2017; and (3) the person verifies under penalty of perjury that they attempted to register the assault weapon prior to the original registration deadline of midnight on July 1, 2018, but was unable to do so because of technical difficulties.

All registration applications, whether submitted electronically or through the mail, must be submitted during the registration period beginning January 13, 2022 at 9:00 AM PST through April 12, 2022 at 09:00:00 AM PDT.

FAQs

Assembly Bill 1135 (2016) and Senate Bill 880 (2016) required Californians who owned certain “assault weapons” to register them with the California Department of Justice. Certain individuals alleged that they tried to register their weapons, but were prevented from doing so by technical difficulties with the website. A federal court ordered the Department to re-open the website for 90 days to allow affected individuals to complete the registrations that they started or attempted to start.

You are only eligible to register your firearms if you lawfully possessed an eligible assault weapon prior to January 1, 2017, and you tried to register that assault weapon through the Department’s website, but were unable to do so before the July 1, 2018 deadline.

AB 1135 required that assault weapons which did not have a fixed magazine (including “bullet button” weapons) be registered with the Department if they were lawfully possessed before January 1, 2017.

No. You are only eligible to register your firearms if you lawfully possessed an eligible assault weapon prior to January 1, 2017, and you tried to register that assault weapon through the Department’s website, but were unable to do so before the July 1, 2018 deadline.

Yes. Once you submit your registration form, the Department may attempt to verify whether you attempted to register the firearm(s) before July 1, 2018, but were unable to due to technical difficulties.

Persons who attempt to register a weapon that they did not attempt to register before July 1, 2018, could be subject to consequences as prescribed by law.

Persons submitting a registration form must declare under penalty of perjury that the information in the form is true and correct. Perjury is a crime and may lead to prosecution.