76-10-503.  Restrictions on possession, purchase, transfer, and ownership of dangerous weapons by certain persons — Exceptions.

(1)  For purposes of this section:

Attorney's Note

Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 364 daysup to $2,500
For details, see Utah Code § 76-3-204

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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-10-503

  • Act: means a voluntary bodily movement and includes speech. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Antique firearm: means :
    (i) any firearm, including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system, manufactured in or before 1898;
    (ii) a firearm that is a replica of any firearm described in this Subsection (1)(a), if the replica:
    (A) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition; or
    (B) uses rimfire or centerfire fixed ammunition which is:
    (I) no longer manufactured in the United States; and
    (II) is not readily available in ordinary channels of commercial trade; or
    (iii) 
    (A) that is a muzzle loading rifle, shotgun, or pistol; and
    (B) is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and cannot use fixed ammunition. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Armed forces: means the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Conduct: means an act or omission. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Dangerous weapon: means :
    (i) a firearm; or
    (ii) an object that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Dating relationship: means a romantic or intimate relationship between individuals. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Dealer: means a person who is:
    (a) licensed under 18 U. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Domestic violence: means the same as theat term is defined in Section 77-36-1
  • (10) "Enter" means intrusion of the entire body. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Firearm: means a pistol, revolver, shotgun, short barreled shotgun, rifle or short barreled rifle, or a device that could be used as a dangerous weapon from which is expelled a projectile by action of an explosive. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: includes a person who:Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Handgun: means a pistol, revolver, or other firearm of any description, loaded or unloaded, from which a shot, bullet, or other missile can be discharged, the length of which, not including any revolving, detachable, or magazine breech, does not exceed 12 inches. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, government, partnership, or unincorporated association. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Possess: means to have physical possession of or to exercise dominion or control over tangible property. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Single criminal episode: means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-1-401. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Violent felony: means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-3-203. See Utah Code 76-10-501
  • (a)  A Category I restricted person is a person who:

    (i)  has been convicted of a violent felony;

    (ii)  is on probation or parole for a felony;

    (iii)  is on parole from secure care, as defined in Section 80-1-102;

    (iv)  within the last 10 years has been adjudicated under Section 80-6-701 for an offense which if committed by an adult would have been a violent felony as defined in Section 76-3-203.5;

    (v)  is an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or

    (vi)  is on probation for a conviction of possessing:

    (A)  a substance classified in Section 58-37-4 as a Schedule I or II controlled substance;

    (B)  a controlled substance analog; or

    (C)  a substance listed in Section 58-37-4.2.

    (b)  A Category II restricted person is a person who:

    (i)  has been convicted of:

    (A)  a domestic violence offense that is a felony;

    (B)  a felony that is not a domestic violence offense or a violent felony and within seven years after completing the sentence for the conviction, has been convicted of or charged with another felony or class A misdemeanor;

    (C)  multiple felonies that are part of a single criminal episode and are not domestic violence offenses or violent felonies and within seven years after completing the sentence for the convictions, has been convicted of or charged with another felony or class A misdemeanor; or

    (D)  multiple felonies that are not part of a single criminal episode;

    (ii) 

    (A)  within the last seven years has completed a sentence for:

    (I)  a conviction for a felony that is not a domestic violence offense or a violent felony; or

    (II)  convictions for multiple felonies that are part of a single criminal episode and are not domestic violence offenses or violent felonies; and

    (B)  within the last seven years and after the completion of a sentence for a conviction described in Subsection (1)(b)(ii)(A), has not been convicted of or charged with another felony or class A misdemeanor;

    (iii)  within the last seven years has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense which if committed by an adult would have been a felony;

    (iv)  is an unlawful user of a controlled substance as defined in Section 58-37-2;

    (v)  is in possession of a dangerous weapon and is knowingly and intentionally in unlawful possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance as defined in Section 58-37-2;

    (vi)  has been found not guilty by reason of insanity for a felony offense;

    (vii)  has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial for a felony offense;

    (viii)  has been adjudicated as mentally defective as provided in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub. L. No. 103-159, 107 Stat. 1536 (1993), or has been committed to a mental institution;

    (ix)  has been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces;

    (x)  has renounced the individual’s citizenship after having been a citizen of the United States;

    (xi)  is a respondent or defendant subject to a protective order or child protective order that is issued after a hearing for which the respondent or defendant received actual notice and at which the respondent or defendant has an opportunity to participate, that restrains the respondent or defendant from harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921, or a child of the intimate partner, in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the intimate partner or child of the intimate partner, and that:

    (A)  includes a finding that the respondent or defendant represents a credible threat to the physical safety of an individual who meets the definition of an intimate partner in 18 U.S.C. § 921 or the child of the individual; or

    (B)  explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily harm against an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner; or

    (xii)  except as provided in Subsection (1)(d), has been convicted of the commission or attempted commission of misdemeanor assault under Section 76-5-102 or aggravated assault under Section 76-5-103 against an individual:

    (A)  who is a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian;

    (B)  with whom the restricted person shares a child in common;

    (C)  who is cohabitating or has cohabitated with the restricted person as a spouse, parent, or guardian;

    (D)  involved in a dating relationship with the restricted person within the last five years; or

    (E)  similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the restricted person.

    (c) 

    (i)  As used in this section, a conviction of a felony or adjudication of delinquency for an offense which would be a felony if committed by an adult does not include:

    (A)  a conviction or an adjudication under Section 80-6-701 for an offense pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraint of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices not involving theft or fraud; or

    (B)  a conviction or an adjudication under Section 80-6-701 which, in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the conviction or adjudication occurred, has been expunged, set aside, reduced to a misdemeanor by court order, pardoned or regarding which the person’s civil rights have been restored unless the pardon, reduction, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.

    (ii)  As used in this section, a conviction for misdemeanor assault under Subsection (1)(b)(xii), does not include a conviction which, in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the conviction occurred, has been expunged, set aside, reduced to an infraction by court order, pardoned, or regarding which the person’s civil rights have been restored, unless the pardon, reduction, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.

    (iii)  It is the burden of the defendant in a criminal case to provide evidence that a conviction or an adjudication under Section 80-6-701 is subject to an exception provided in this Subsection (1)(c), after which it is the burden of the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the conviction or the adjudication is not subject to that exception.

    (d)  A person is not a restricted person for a conviction under Subsection (1)(b)(xii)(D) if:

    (i)  five years have elapsed from the later of:

    (A)  the day on which the conviction is entered;

    (B)  the day on which the person is released from incarceration following the conviction; or

    (C)  the day on which the person’s probation for the conviction is successfully terminated;

    (ii)  the person only has a single conviction for misdemeanor assault as described in Subsection (1)(b)(xii)(D); and

    (iii)  the person is not otherwise a restricted person under Subsection (1)(a) or (b).
  • (2)  A Category I restricted person who intentionally or knowingly agrees, consents, offers, or arranges to purchase, transfer, possess, use, or have under the person’s custody or control, or who intentionally or knowingly purchases, transfers, possesses, uses, or has under the person’s custody or control:

    (a)  a firearm is guilty of a second degree felony; or

    (b)  a dangerous weapon other than a firearm is guilty of a third degree felony.

    (3)  A Category II restricted person who intentionally or knowingly purchases, transfers, possesses, uses, or has under the person’s custody or control:

    (a)  a firearm is guilty of a third degree felony; or

    (b)  a dangerous weapon other than a firearm is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

    (4)  A person may be subject to the restrictions of both categories at the same time.

    (5)  A Category I or Category II restricted person may not use an antique firearm for an activity regulated under Title 23A, Wildlife Resources Act.

    (6)  If a higher penalty than is prescribed in this section is provided in another section for one who purchases, transfers, possesses, uses, or has under this custody or control a dangerous weapon, the penalties of that section control.

    (7)  It is an affirmative defense to a charge based on the definition in Subsection (1)(b)(v) that the person was:

    (a)  in possession of a controlled substance pursuant to a lawful order of a practitioner for use of a member of the person’s household or for administration to an animal owned by the person or a member of the person’s household; or

    (b)  otherwise authorized by law to possess the substance.

    (8) 

    (a)  It is an affirmative defense to transferring a firearm or other dangerous weapon by a person restricted under Subsection (2) or (3) that the firearm or dangerous weapon:

    (i)  was possessed by the person or was under the person’s custody or control before the person became a restricted person;

    (ii)  was not used in or possessed during the commission of a crime or subject to disposition under Section 4;

    (iii)  is not being held as evidence by a court or law enforcement agency;

    (iv)  was transferred to a person not legally prohibited from possessing the weapon; and

    (v)  unless a different time is ordered by the court, was transferred within 10 days of the person becoming a restricted person.

    (b)  Subsection (8)(a) is not a defense to the use, purchase, or possession on the person of a firearm or other dangerous weapon by a restricted person.

    (9) 

    (a)  A person may not sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of a firearm or dangerous weapon to a person, knowing that the recipient is a person described in Subsection (1)(a) or (b).

    (b)  A person who violates Subsection (9)(a) when the recipient is:

    (i)  a person described in Subsection (1)(a) and the transaction involves a firearm, is guilty of a second degree felony;

    (ii)  a person described in Subsection (1)(a) and the transaction involves a dangerous weapon other than a firearm, and the transferor has knowledge that the recipient intends to use the weapon for any unlawful purpose, is guilty of a third degree felony;

    (iii)  a person described in Subsection (1)(b) and the transaction involves a firearm, is guilty of a third degree felony; or

    (iv)  a person described in Subsection (1)(b) and the transaction involves a dangerous weapon other than a firearm, and the transferor has knowledge that the recipient intends to use the weapon for an unlawful purpose, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

    (10) 

    (a)  A person may not knowingly solicit, persuade, encourage or entice a dealer or other person to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of a firearm or dangerous weapon under circumstances which the person knows would be a violation of the law.

    (b)  A person may not provide to a dealer or other person information that the person knows to be materially false information with intent to deceive the dealer or other person about the legality of a sale, transfer or other disposition of a firearm or dangerous weapon.

    (c)  “Materially false information” means information that portrays an illegal transaction as legal or a legal transaction as illegal.

    (d)  A person who violates this Subsection (10) is guilty of:

    (i)  a third degree felony if the transaction involved a firearm; or

    (ii)  a class A misdemeanor if the transaction involved a dangerous weapon other than a firearm.

    Amended by Chapter 2, 2023 Special Session 1