Most gun owners will know that in order to have a handgun manufactured or sold in the State of Califonia, it first must be certified and entered into California’s Roster of Handguns. A handgun that has been entered and certified on this roster is good to sell, own and resell within the state without any issues. However, near the start of this year, California de-certified nearly 1,500 handguns of various configurations that already meet the certification standards.

CORRECTION: The previously reported numbers were inadvertently inaccurate. 39 additional guns were decertified this year, making the total number of decertified handguns add up to 1,478 as of writing. 

Nearly 1,500 Handgun Models De-Certified by the State of California

A handgun being de-certified doesn’t exactly mean that the State of California is going after that specific gun or manufacturer. Taking a close look at the first and second paragraphs of the California Code of Regulations regarding the Roster of Certified Handguns reveals that each year a handguns certification would need to be renewed otherwise the certification expires and the handgun would be removed from the roster.

Photo: Reddit User: victorygargens94

Other than a failure to renew the maintenance fee for the certification, a handgun can also be removed if it is determined that the handgun model submitted for testing was modified in any way from those that were sold after the certification was granted or if it is determined that the handgun is, in fact, unsafe upon further testing. New handguns submitted to the roster now must have microstamping technology implemented or they will not be considered for certification on the roster with the notable exemption of handguns procured for law enforcement agencies.

Many popular handguns have been de-certified as of 2021 with models like the SIG Sauer P226 X5 Comp, Ruger LC380 (Black) 03219, Smith & Wesson 500, and Smith & Wesson M&P 9 (Mag Safety) just to name a few. Whether this was done by the State because of “safety reasons” or by the parent companies not paying the certification maintenance fees is not known at this time but it does make it illegal to offer these items for sale in the State of California outside of a private sale.

I would assume that many of these firearms are off the roster simply because sales have dropped off and/or they are older/discontinued models that don’t necessitate the need for a roster certification. I’d like to hear any native Californian thoughts on this particular subject – does the roster make getting handguns unreasonably difficult?

If you’re curious if your handgun is on the CA roster or not, you can use the tool on the CA DOJ website to look up your make and model.