Firearms: safety certificates.

Removed the requirement that a personal firearm importer must include a copy of their valid firearm safety certificate within the report submitted to the Department of Justice. The perjury certification requirement (effective January 1, 2028) remains, but the physical document submission is no longer mandated.

Changed the live-fire training requirement from 'at least one hour of live shooting' to simply 'live-fire shooting exercises,' removing the specific one-hour minimum while keeping the overall four-hour course length requirement.

Removed two topics from the required firearm safety certificate training curriculum: (1) federal and state laws related to possession, transportation, and storage of firearms including transfer, and (2) how to legally and voluntarily surrender or transfer a firearm.

Changed the basis for instructor certification from 'pursuant to Section 31635' to 'pursuant to regulations developed by the department,' giving DOJ more flexibility in setting instructor qualification standards through regulation rather than statute.

Expanded the exemption from the training course requirement. Previously only individuals with valid concealed carry weapons (CCW) permits were exempt. Now individuals who have completed a CCW training course for an initial or renewal license within the previous three years are also exempt, even if they do not currently hold a permit.

The bill text was reformatted from an official enrolled document (with page numbers, signature blocks for Secretary of Senate, Chief Clerk, Private Secretary of Governor, and Governor) into a web page layout with navigation menus, search tools, version history, and metadata fields.

Web page elements were added including navigation links (home, FAQ, sitemap, login), quick search functionality, bill tracking features, version history listing all amendment dates, publication date (08/27/2026 09:00 PM), and vote/appropriation/fiscal committee/local program indicators.

Formal enrolled document elements were removed including page numbers, signature blocks, the Governor's approval line, and the 'CHAPTER' heading.

The deadline for a personal firearm importer to obtain a valid firearm safety certificate after bringing a firearm into California was extended from 60 days to 180 days.

Violating the requirement to obtain a firearm safety certificate within the specified period after importing a firearm (Section 31615(a)(3)) is now an infraction rather than a misdemeanor. Violations of the purchase/receipt and sale/transfer provisions remain misdemeanors.

The minimum length of the training course required for firearm safety certificate applicants on or after July 1, 2028, was reduced from eight hours to four hours (still including at least one hour of live shooting).

Two topics were removed from the mandated training curriculum: 'Risks of firearms and causes of accidents' and 'Mental health, suicide prevention, and domestic violence issues associated with firearms and firearm violence.'

The training topic on surrendering or transferring a firearm was reworded from 'How to legally relinquish and voluntarily surrender or transfer a firearm' to 'How to legally and voluntarily surrender or transfer a firearm,' removing the word 'relinquish.'

The requirement that DOJ-certified instructors teach in 'a manner to be prescribed by regulation' was removed, leaving only the certification requirement under Section 31635.

The deadline for a person bringing a firearm into California to obtain a valid firearm safety certificate was extended from 60 days to 180 days. This change appears in both Section 27560 (personal firearm importer reporting) and Section 31615 (prohibition on bringing firearms without a certificate).

The minimum length of the required training course for firearm safety certificate applicants was reduced from 8 hours to 4 hours, though it still must include at least one hour of live shooting.

A new requirement was added that the training course must have been completed within the prior year, meaning the training has a one-year expiration and cannot be done indefinitely in advance.

Training content was expanded: federal and state laws topic now explicitly includes transfer of a firearm; the relinquishment topic now includes voluntary surrender; and the self-defense topic now includes use-of-force guidelines.

A new exemption was added: the training course requirement does not apply to individuals with valid concealed carry weapons permits. This replaces the previous exemption that applied only to persons properly identified pursuant to Section 31700 (law enforcement officers).

The penalty structure in Section 31615 was simplified. Previously, violations of paragraphs (1) and (2) were misdemeanors while paragraph (3) violations were punished under Section 27560. Now all violations of subdivision (a) are uniformly guilty of a misdemeanor.

Added a new sentence to Section 27560(a)(1)(A) stating that failure to include a firearm safety certificate within the personal firearm importer report is deemed a violation of Section 31615 and punished under that section (misdemeanor). This closes a gap by explicitly tying the reporting requirement to a specific penalty.

Removed the operative date provision 'This section shall become operative on January 1, 2015' from Section 31615(d), which was an outdated reference no longer relevant to the amended bill.

Fixed redundant language in Section 31615(a) from 'shall not do either any of the following' to 'shall not do any of the following.'

In Section 31640.5, removed an empty subdivision (c) and renumbered former subdivisions (c) and (d) as (b) and (c). Changed a reference from 'this subdivision' to 'this section' in the DOJ regulations provision.