§ 7–2502.07a. Expiration and renewal of registration certificate.

(a) Registration certificates shall expire 3 years after the date of issuance unless renewed in accordance with this section for subsequent 3-year periods.

(b) A registrant shall be eligible for renewal of registration of a firearm if the registrant continues to meet all of the initial registration requirements set forth in § 7-2502.03(a) and follows any procedures the Chief may establish by rule.

(c)(1) For each renewal, a registrant shall submit a statement to the Metropolitan Police Department attesting to:

(A) Possession of the registered firearm;

(B) The registrant’s address; and

(2) The statement submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be on a form provided by the Chief that can be submitted online via the Metropolitan Police Department website, by mail, or in person.

(d) Repealed.

(e)(1) The Metropolitan Police Department shall mail a renewal notice to each registrant at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the registration certificate.

(2) A renewal application shall be received by the Metropolitan Police Department at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the current registration certificate to ensure timely renewal.

(3) It is the duty of the registrant to timely renew a registration before its expiration date and a failure of the Metropolitan Police Department to mail or the registrant to receive the notice required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not prevent a registration from expiring as of that date.

(f) Repealed.

(g) The Chief shall establish, by rule, a method for conducting the renewal of registration certificates for all firearms registered before January 1, 2011. This method shall be established before January 1, 2014.

(h) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, no registration certificate shall expire and no renewal of a registration certificate shall be required earlier than provided in the rule established pursuant to subsection (g) of this section.

(Sept. 24, 1976, D.C. Law 1-85, title II, § 207a; as added Mar. 31, 2009, D.C. Law 17-372, § 3(g), 56 DCR 1365; June 3, 2011, D.C. Law 18-377, § 2(b), 58 DCR 1174; Sept. 29, 2012, D.C. Law 19-170, § 2(h), 59 DCR 5691.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 7-2502.05.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 18-377 substituted “§ 7-2502.03(a)” for “§ 7-2502.03”.

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-170 added the (c)(1) designation; redesignated former (c)(1) through (c)(3) as (c)(1)(A) through (c)(1)(C); added (c)(2); repealed (d), which formerly read: “A registrant shall submit to a background check once every 6 years to confirm that the registrant continues to qualify for registration under § 7-2502.03(a)”; repealed (f), which formerly read: “An applicant for the renewal of a registration certificate may be charged a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs incurred by the Metropolitan Police Department in connection with the renewal”; in (g), in the first sentence, substituted “registration certificates” for “registrations” and “before January 1, 2011” for “prior to March 31, 2009” and rewrote the second sentence; and added (h).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 3(g) 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 § 502(b) of Public Safety Legislation Sixty-Day Layover Emergency Amendment Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-693, January 18, 2011, 58 DCR 640).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 502(b) of Public Safety Legislation Sixty-Day Layover Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2011 (D.C. Act 19-45, April 20, 2011, 58 DCR 3701).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Firearms Registration Renewal Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-324, March 18, 2012, 59 DCR 2258).

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

For temporary amendment of (c) and (g), repeal of (d) and (f), and addition of (h), see § 2(h) of the Firearms Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-510, October 26, 2012, 59 DCR 12808).