CA officials ask for quick fix after new DMV cards trigger problem for gun dealers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A new California ID design is complicating gun and ammunition sales tracking
- The state Department of Justice wants a rule for vendors to use appropriate ID scanners
California gun and ammunition vendors may soon be required to switch their ID-scanning technology — a consequence of a new driver’s license and identification card design rolled out last year — according to state justice officials.
The Department of Justice on Wednesday published an emergency rulemaking package requesting that firearms dealers be allowed and required to get new barcode scanning systems to adjust to the new ID design, which rolled out in October, according to a department news release.
As of Wednesday, firearms dealers are required under state law to use scanners that pull the prospective purchaser’s name, date of birth and other details from the card’s magnetic strip, which the new design lacks — except if they are authorized otherwise.
The new cards contain two optical barcodes on the back, “enhancement anti-counterfeit elements” and a different artistic motif featuring redwoods, poppies and the California coastline, according to a Department of Motor Vehicles’ news release.
While the DMV’s October announcement mentioned the removal of the magnetic strip, the agency has yet to comment on why it was removed. For years, credit card issuers and other businesses that have backed off using magnetic strips in favor of more secure EMV chips and contactless RFID technology, commonly known as tap to pay.
Without the magnetic strip or authorization to use different means, gun dealers are left to enter info into firearms databases by hand. Justice officials cited that as a concern, noting the increased potential for data entry errors. Sellers are also required under the current rules to make a photocopy of the driver’s license or ID card.
In the package, the justice officials said the DMV provided information in March 2025 about the new design and the lack of a magnetic strip but did not share information about the rollout until Sept. 30.
“Even if the department had begun a regular rulemaking in March 2025, it would not necessarily have been completed by September 30, 2025,” a sentence in the package reads.
Justice officials did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about what necessitated the proposal but said in the filing the rulemaking package was deemed an emergency to “avoid serious harm.” Such tracking systems, they said, aid in law enforcement investigations and help prevent sales to residents who are prohibited from having firearms or ammunition.
The Justice Department is set to file the package in five days with the Office of Administrative Law, which will review it for compliance.
The change could cost the state upwards of $50,000 for staff time and the installation of barcode readers, according to an economic and fiscal impact statement included with the request. The cost to dealers was not disclosed in the filing.
