District of Columbia Gun Laws/Restrictions

Code Sections

§22-4501, 4503, 4507, 4514

Types of Illegal Firearms

Possession, sale, transfer, or manufacture of the below firearms is illegal:

• Sawed-off shotguns
• Machine guns
• Short-barreled rifles
• Any unsafe handguns prohibited under D.C. Official Code § 7-2505.04
• An "assault weapon"
•  .50 caliber BMG rifles

Waiting Period Before Purchase

• 10 days from date of purchase.

Age Requirements

• A person must be 21 years of age to purchase a firearm.

Who May Not Own Guns

District of Columbia prohibits several different categories of individuals from owning or possessing pistols:

• Anyone convicted of certain weapons offenses, or a felony in this or any other jurisdiction (which includes all crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year);
• Those under indictment for a crime of violence or a weapons offense;
• Those appearing to suffer from a physical defect which would make it unsafe to possess and use a firearm safely and responsibly;
• Those having been found negligent in any firearm mishap causing death or injury to another human being;
• Anyone ineligible to possess a firearm under D.C. Official Code § 22-4503.

Or within the last five (5) years have been:

• Convicted of a narcotics or dangerous drug offense;
• Not be convicted of two (2) or more violations of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• Not be convicted of an intra-family offense punishable as a misdemeanor;
• Not have been acquitted of any criminal charge by reason of insanity or adjudicated a chronic alcoholic by any court;
• Not have been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to any mental hospital or institution;
• Not have a history of violent behavior;
• Not have been the respondent in an intra-family proceeding in which a civil protection order or a foreign protection order was issued against the applicant.

Laws Prohibiting Firearms On or Near School Grounds

• Felony. 22-4502.01

A person may buy a firearm only from, or sell only to, a licensed dealer in the District. Delivery cannot be made until the registration certificate for the firearm is approved by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Ammunition may be bought only for the caliber or gauge of a firearm registered to the buyer.

• Sawed-off shotguns
• Machine guns
• Short-barreled rifles
• Any unsafe handguns prohibited under D.C. Official Code § 7-2505.04
• An "assault weapon" .50 caliber BMG rifles
• Firearm with an altered, or removed, serial mark or identification number.

• "Large capacity ammunition feeding devices” (a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition, except an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition) may not be possessed in D.C.

State Statute or Definition: (7-2501.01 Destructive device definition: Any device intended to stun or disable a person by means of electric shock.)

• No person/organization may possess unless they hold a valid registration (7-2502.01)
• No manufacturing of destructive device within District and dealer must have license (7-2504.01)
• Law enforcement and military permitted use.

• Ammunition may be bought only for the caliber or gauge of a firearm registered to the buyer.

All firearms must be registered with the MPD. To obtain a registration certificate, the applicant must be 21 years old (or be over 18 and have a notarized permission and liability statement signed by his parent or guardian), take an online course, and pass a firearm safety test.

An individual must not:

• be convicted of a crime of violence, a weapons offense, or a violation of the registration law;
• be convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
• be a fugitive from justice;
• be under indictment for a crime of violence or a weapons offense;
• been convicted of a narcotics/dangerous drug, or an assault or threat to do bodily injury, or two or more DWIs, or an intra-family, offense within the last five years;
• be addicted to any controlled substance;
• been acquitted of a crime by reason of insanity, or adjudicated a chronic alcoholic within the past five years, unless he/she presents a medical certification indicating that he/she has recovered from such insanity or alcoholic condition and is capable of safe and responsible possession of a firearm;
• been committed to a mental hospital within the past five years, unless he/she presents a medical certification that the applicant has recovered from whatever malady prompted such commitment;
• had a history of violent behavior within the past five years;
• suffering from a physical defect which would tend to indicate that applicant would not be able to possess or use a firearm safely and responsibly;
• been adjudicated negligent in a firearm mishap causing death or serious injury;
• have failed to demonstrate knowledge of D.C. firearms law;
• have been subject to a protection order in an intra-family proceeding, unless he/she submits a certified court record establishing that the order has expired or has been rescinded for a period of 5 years or more;
• be subject to a court order that: was issued after a hearing of which the person received actual notice, and at which the person had an opportunity to participate or remained in effect after the person failed to appear for a hearing of which the person received actual notice; and restrains the person from assaulting, harassing, stalking, or threatening any person named in the order; and requires the person to relinquish possession of any firearms.

No more than one pistol per registrant may be registered during any 30-day period, except that a person first becoming a District resident may register more than one pistol if the pistols were lawfully owned in another jurisdiction for a period of 6 months prior to the date of the application.

A person applying for a registration certificate may be fingerprinted, must submit 2 full-face photographs taken within the prior 30 days, must appear in person, and may be required to bring with him the firearm for which a registration certificate is sought.

No firearm may be acquired unless an application is first filed with the MPD and a registration certificate issued. Any person bringing a firearm into the District must “immediately” notify the Identification and Records Division. An application for registration must be filed within 48 hours after such notification.

A person who has registered a firearm must notify the MPD in writing: of the loss, theft, or destruction of the registration certificate or of the registered firearm immediately upon discovery of such loss, theft, or destruction; within 30 days of a change in the registrant's name or address as it appears on the registration certificate; of the sale, transfer, or other disposition of the firearm within 2 business days of such sale, transfer, or other disposition.

Registration certificates shall expire 3 years after the date of issuance unless renewed for subsequent 3-year periods.

A person may temporarily possesses a firearm registered to another person while in the home of the registrant, if the person is not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms and the person reasonably believes that possession of the firearm is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself.

A sawed-off shotgun, machinegun, short-barreled rifle, a pistol that is not on the District Roster of Handguns Not Determined to be Unsafe, an “assault weapon” as defined by D.C. Code § 7-2501.01(3A), and .50 BMG rifle may not be possessed in D.C. A “large capacity ammunition feeding device” (a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition, except an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition) may not be possessed in D.C.

Carrying a handgun, rifle, or shotgun in the District is prohibited, except that a person holding a valid registration for a firearm may carry it in his home or place of business, while it is being used for lawful recreational purposes, and while being being transported for a lawful purpose in accordance with District or federal statute. A license to carry a pistol is available, but is only issued on a very restricted basis.

Any person who commits a crime of violence “when armed with or having readily available any pistol or other firearm (or imitation thereof)” shall, in addition to the sentence received for the crime itself, also receive an additional sentence.

Nonresidents

A nonresident participating in any lawful recreational firearm-related activity in the District, or on his/her way to or from such activity in another jurisdiction, may possess a firearm if the firearm is unloaded and, if transported in a vehicle, is not readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment, or, if there is no compartment separate from the driver’s compartment, is in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. If not transported in a vehicle, the firearm must be unloaded, inside a locked contained, and separate from ammunition. The person should be able to “exhibit proof” that he is on his way to or from such activity, and that his/her possession of the firearm is lawful in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides.

Nonresidents may apply for a concealed carry pistol license, and must register any pistol they wish to carry within the District.

D.C. Codes §22-4501, 4503, 4507, 4514