2022 District of Columbia Code
Title 99 - Reserved sections
§ 7–2502.02. (Perm). Registration of certain firearms prohibited

Universal Citation: DC Code § 7–2502.02 (2022)
§ 7–2502.02(Perm). Registration of certain firearms prohibited.

(a) A registration certificate shall not be issued for a:

(1) Sawed-off shotgun;

(2) Machine gun;

(3) Short-barreled rifle;

(4) Pistol not validly registered to the current registrant in the District prior to September 24, 1976, except that the prohibition on registering a pistol shall not apply to:

(A) Any organization that employs at least one commissioned special police officer or other employee licensed to carry a firearm and that arms the employee with a firearm during the employee’s duty hours;

(B) A police officer who has retired from the Metropolitan Police Department;

(C) Any person who seeks to register a pistol:

(i) For use in self-defense within that person’s home or place of business; or

(ii) As part of the application process for a license to carry a concealed pistol pursuant to § 7-2509.02; or

(D) A firearms instructor, or an organization that employs a firearms instructor, for the purpose of conducting firearms training.

(5) An unsafe firearm prohibited under § 7-2505.04;

(6) An assault weapon;

(7) A .50 BMG rifle; or

(8) Ghost gun.

(b) Repealed.

(Sept. 24, 1976, D.C. Law 1-85, title II, § 202, 23 DCR 2464; Mar. 16, 1978, D.C. Law 2-62, § 2, 24 DCR 5780; May 7, 1993, D.C. Law 9-266, § 2(b), 39 DCR 5676; Mar. 31, 2009, D.C. Law 17-372, § 3(c), 56 DCR 1365; Sept. 29, 2012, D.C. Law 19-170, § 2(c), 59 DCR 5691; June 16, 2015, D.C. Law 20-279, § 2(b), 62 DCR 1944; Apr. 27, 2021, D.C. Law 23-274, § 201(b), 68 DCR 1034.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 6-2312.

1973 Ed., § 6-1812.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 7-2502.09, § 7-2504.01, § 7-2505.02, and § 7-2507.06a.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 17-372, in subsec. (a), deleted “or” from the end of par. (3), rewrote par. (4), and added pars. (5), (6), and (7); and repealed subsec. (b).

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-170 added (a)(4)(D); and made related changes.

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-279 rewrote (a)(4)(C).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment, see § 2(a) of Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-422, July 16, 2008,

For temporary amendment of (a)(4), see § 2(c) of the Firearms Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-510, October 26, 2012, 59 DCR 12808).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Second Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-502, September 16, 2008, 55 DCR 9904).

For temporary (90 day) repeal of D.C. Act 17-422, see § 5 of Second Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-502, September 16, 2008, 55 DCR 9904).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see §§ 2(b) and 4 of Second Firearms Control Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-601, December 12, 2008, 56 DCR 9).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(c) of Firearms Registration Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-651, January 6, 2009, 56 DCR 911).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of Firearms Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-352, May 11, 2012, 59 DCR 5116).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of the Firearms Amendments Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-394, July 18, 2012, 59 DCR 8694).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of the License to Carry a Pistol Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-447, Oct. 7, 2014, 61 DCR 10765, 20 STAT 4175).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of emergency D.C. Act 20-447, § 4, the act’s applicability clause, see § 2 of the License to Carry a Pistol Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-448, Oct. 7, 2014, 61 DCR 10777, 20 STAT 4187).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of the License to Carry a Pistol Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-564, Jan. 6, 2015, 62 DCR 866, 21 STAT 527).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of emergency D.C. Act 20-447, see § 4(b) of the License to Carry a Pistol Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-564, Jan. 6, 2015, 62 DCR 866, 21 STAT 527).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of temporary D.C. Act 20-169, see § 4(c) of the License to Carry a Pistol Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-564, Jan. 6, 2015, 62 DCR 866, 21 STAT 527).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of the License to Carry a Pistol Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-74, June 4, 2015, 62 DCR 8242, 21 DCSTAT 1451).

Temporary Legislation

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of the License to Carry a Pistol Temporary Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Law 20-169, May 5, 2015, 61 DCR 11814).

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. District of Columbia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.