What happens if my California background check (DROS) is delayed, undetermined or denied?

When a dealer submits your information through the Dealer's Record of Sale (DROS), DOJ examines its own records and state hospital records to determine whether you are prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm. It also checks whether the purchase would put you over the 30-day purchase limit in Penal Code 27535 (Penal Code 28220(a)).

The statute lists four situations in which DOJ must immediately tell the dealer to delay the transfer (Penal Code 28220(g)(1)). In each one, DOJ cannot settle the question before the 10-day wait ends:

1. Records show the buyer was taken into custody and placed in a facility for mental health treatment or evaluation, and DOJ cannot tell whether a firearm prohibition applies.
2. Records show an arrest or charge for a crime that would be prohibiting on conviction, and DOJ cannot tell whether there was a conviction.
3. The buyer may be over the purchase limit, and DOJ cannot confirm it.
4. The buyer may be prohibited, and DOJ needs more research or more records on a past conviction or mental health confinement.

DOJ must also notify the buyer of the delay, by mail or another method it chooses (Penal Code 28220(g)(2)). DOJ's FAQ notes that an arrest on your record with no outcome listed "may affect your ability to purchase a firearm" (DOJ FAQ).

DOJ keeps working on the record. The 30 days run from the dealer's original submission of your information, not from the end of the 10-day wait. There are three possible endings (Penal Code 28220(g)(3) and (4)):

• DOJ finds you are not prohibited. It immediately notifies the dealer, and the dealer may then transfer the firearm right away. Both of you sign the record on the delivery date.
• DOJ finds you are prohibited. It notifies the dealer and local law enforcement, and the denial process below applies.
• DOJ cannot determine eligibility within 30 days. This is the "undetermined" result.

If DOJ cannot ascertain eligibility within 30 days, it must do two things. It notifies the dealer, who "may then immediately transfer the firearm." It also notifies the buyer that it could not determine eligibility and explains how to obtain a copy of the criminal or mental health record DOJ has on file (Penal Code 28220(g)(4)).

The statute says "may," not "shall." DOJ describes the result this way for a buyer with an unresolved arrest: if DOJ cannot ascertain the outcome and the buyer does not correct or complete the record, "the decision whether to sell you the firearm rests with the firearms dealer" (DOJ FAQ).

DOJ's FAQ says a sale must be cancelled if the firearm is not picked up within 30 days of the DROS submission (DOJ FAQ). The federal rule behind that deadline lets a dealer rely on a background check for no more than 30 calendar days from the date the check was first requested (27 CFR 478.102(c)). Neither source addresses a transaction that DOJ releases at or near day 30.

When DOJ determines a buyer is prohibited, the law requires these steps:

• DOJ immediately notifies the dealer, and the police chief or sheriff where the sale was made (Penal Code 28220(c)(1)).
• The dealer may not deliver the firearm, and must make available a DOJ notice form stating that the person is prohibited and may obtain the reason from DOJ (Penal Code 26815(d)).
• DOJ notifies the buyer and explains how to obtain a copy of the record it has on file (Penal Code 28220(c)(2)).

The statute has DOJ tell the dealer that the buyer is prohibited, and the notice form sends the buyer to DOJ for the reason (Penal Code 26815(d)). DOJ says a letter from the Bureau of Firearms arrives within two weeks, explaining the reason, how to get a copy of the record that caused the denial, and how to dispute information you believe is wrong (DOJ FAQ).

DOJ's record review process works like this for California residents (DOJ record review page):

1. Fill out the Live Scan form (BCIA 8016RR), marking "Record Review" as the type of application.
2. Take it to a Live Scan site for fingerprinting. The site charges its own rolling fee.
3. Pay the $25 DOJ processing fee. DOJ says a fee waiver may be available.

Only you can request your own record. DOJ does not process requests from third parties.

The law lets a buyer who receives the record "report any inaccuracies or incompleteness to the department on an approved form" (Penal Code 28220(c)(2)). DOJ says that form is the "Claim of Alleged Inaccuracy or Incompleteness" (BCIA 8706), which comes with the record review response when there is criminal information on the record. The claim must state the specific basis and include any available proof (DOJ record review page).

Penal Code 11126 sets out what follows. DOJ compares the record with the source document and corrects it if they differ. If the source document itself is questioned, DOJ forwards the claim to the agency that supplied it, and that agency has 30 days to review and respond. If DOJ or the agency denies the claim, the matter is referred for an administrative hearing, and that decision can be reviewed by a court.

If DOJ tells the dealer the DROS has blank, inaccurate, or incomplete information, or a missing fee, the dealer must send a correction and hold the firearm (Penal Code 28220(e) and (f)). The 10 days then run from the date the correction or fee was submitted, if that is later (Penal Code 27540(a)).