The Wire · CalGunHub

SB 1220 signed, adding serial-number convictions to 10-year firearm prohibition

Published September 26, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

The Peace Officer Protection Act puts offenses involving altered or obliterated serial numbers on the list triggering a decade-long possession ban.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: Once SB 1220 takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027, a conviction for specified offenses involving the alteration, removal or obliteration of a firearm's serial number or identifying marks will carry a 10-year prohibition on owning or possessing firearms in California, under amended Penal Code section 29805. The change matters most to defendants in those cases, to prosecutors weighing charges, and to courts and the Department of Justice, which maintain prohibition records. People facing such charges, or unsure whether a past conviction falls within the amended statute, should review the chaptered text and consult a qualified attorney about their circumstances. This is general information, not legal advice.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1220 on Sept. 26, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 466 of the Statutes of 2026. The author, Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield), has titled the measure the Peace Officer Protection Act.

The bill amends Penal Code section 29805, which lists convictions that carry a 10-year prohibition on owning or possessing a firearm in California. Under the change, a person convicted of specified offenses involving a firearm whose serial number or other identifying marks have been stripped, altered or obliterated joins that list, according to CalMatters and NRA-ILA. The Senate concurred in the final amendments 30-9 on Aug. 25, and the bill was enrolled Aug. 30.

Supporters framed the measure around officer safety, arguing that untraceable firearms complicate investigations and endanger police. In a statement released by the Governor's office, Hurtado said, "That's why I authored SB 1220, the Peace Officer Protection Act."

Opponents objected to the length of the prohibition. The California Rifle and Pistol Association, in an opposition letter quoted by CalMatters, said, "Imposing a 10-year blanket prohibition on Second Amendment rights for such misdemeanors goes beyond what is necessary for public safety."

SB 1220 was among 10 firearms-related bills signed Sept. 26 and chaptered as Chapters 457 through 466 of the Statutes of 2026. Because it is a non-urgency bill, it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The amendment does not create a new crime; it attaches an additional consequence, a decade-long loss of firearm possession eligibility, to convictions for serial-number offenses that already exist elsewhere in the Penal Code. The chaptered text on the state's legislative information site lists the precise offenses covered.

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