The Second Amendment Foundation submitted comments to the California Department of Justice on September 18 asking for changes to the state's proposed firearm-barrel eligibility-check rules. SAF's central request is narrow: when the standard check rejects a transaction because the buyer has no matching Automated Firearms System record, the process should move automatically to a basic check. If DOJ will not make that automatic, SAF says dealers should at least have to tell buyers what the mismatch means and explain that a basic check remains available.

The comments address regulations proposed under Senate Bill 704, now codified at Penal Code section 33700. The California DOJ rulemaking page says an in-person transaction through a licensed firearms dealer is required by the statute and that the eligibility-check requirement begins July 1, 2027. The proposed regulations do not enact that requirement; they establish the process dealers and purchasers would use. DOJ published the notice on August 7, 2026, and the 45-day written-comment period closes at 5 p.m. on September 22.

Two proposed check routes

Under proposed section 4306, a standard firearm-barrel eligibility check would compare the purchaser's information with an AFS entry and the Prohibited Armed Persons File. A match in AFS, with no prohibited-person match, authorizes the purchase. The dealer would enter the person's name, date of birth, residential address, identification number and issuing state, and telephone number in the Dealer Record of Sale Entry System. DOJ would then update the DES record with an approval or rejection. The proposal sets the state fee for this check at $0.