The Wire · CalGunHub

Newsom signs AB 1263 imposing new rules on firearm parts sales

Published October 11, 2025 · Updated October 12, 2026

Chaptered Oct. 11, 2025, the bill adds age verification, notice and delivery rules for firearm parts sales, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: AB 1263 applies to sellers of firearm barrels, accessories and certain other parts in California. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the statute's text requires age and ID verification, buyer notices and limits on residential delivery, and it extends civil liability tied to unlawful firearm manufacturing, including by 3-D printing or CNC machining. Purchasers of covered parts may encounter the new verification steps at the point of sale. This is general information, not legal advice.

AB 1263, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson, was chaptered Oct. 11, 2025 as Chapter 636, Statutes of 2025, according to the California Legislative Information website. The Assembly's final concurrence vote on Sept. 12, 2025 was 62 ayes to 13 noes.

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the statute regulates sales of firearm barrels, accessories and other parts commonly used to build unserialized firearms, often called ghost guns. Its provisions include age and identification verification requirements, notice requirements, and restrictions on delivery to residences. The measure also extends civil liability provisions for aiding unlawful firearm manufacture, including manufacture carried out with 3-D printers and CNC machines.

The bill is part of a multi-year legislative effort on unserialized firearms. A Senate Judiciary Committee analysis of a later bill, AB 2047, dated June 23, 2026, describes AB 1263 as the most recent in a series of ghost-gun statutes that began with AB 1621 in 2022 and continued with AB 1089 in 2023.

The California Department of Justice issued Informational Bulletin 2025-DLE-04 on Dec. 23, 2025, summarizing the new requirements for sellers ahead of the effective date, according to a DOJ press release. Philippine News reported on Dec. 31, 2025 that the attorney general's office was publicizing the incoming rules before they took effect.

Update: The law took effect Jan. 1, 2026, as scheduled. The Department of Justice followed with its annual new-laws Bulletin 2026-DLE-02 on Jan. 30, 2026, which provided implementation details for dealers, manufacturers, exempt federal firearms licensees and ammunition vendors on the department's centralized list.

Informational only, not legal advice. Facts are attributed to the sources listed above.