(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (g), a licensee shall accept a firearm for storage from an individual if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The firearm is voluntarily and temporarily transferred to the licensee for safekeeping to prevent it from being accessed or used by the transferor or other persons that may gain access to it in the transferor’s household, causing significant danger of personal injury to themselves or others.

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(2) The licensee does not use the firearm for any purpose, except storage.

(3) The duration of the loan is limited to that amount of time reasonably necessary to prevent the harm described in paragraph (1).

(b) (1) A licensee may accept a firearm for storage from an individual for a purpose that is not unlawful that is not otherwise set forth in subdivision (a) or Section 29830.

(2) A licensee who accepts a firearm for storage pursuant to this subdivision is not to use the firearm for any purpose other than storage.

(c) A firearm that is returned by a dealer to the owner of the firearm pursuant to this section shall be returned in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 27540 and Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2 of Division 6.

(d) If the dealer cannot legally return the firearm to the transferor or person loaning the firearm, then the following procedure shall apply:

(1) The transferor or person loaning the firearm may request, and the dealer shall grant, that the dealer retain possession of the firearm for a period of up to 45 days so that the transferor or the person loaning the firearm may designate a person to take possession of that firearm in accordance with Section 27540. This 45-day period shall be in addition to the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540, and any time necessary to process a transaction.

(2) If, before the end of the 45-day period, the transferor or person loaning the firearm designates a person to receive the firearm and that person completes an application to purchase, the dealer shall process the transaction in accordance with the provisions of Section 27540.

(3) If the transferor or person loaning the firearm, does not request that the firearm be held by the dealer pursuant to this subdivision, the firearm cannot be delivered to the designated person, or the 45-day period expires without action by the person loaning the firearm, the dealer, shall forthwith deliver the firearm to the sheriff of the county or the chief of police or other head of a municipal police department of any city or city and county, where the dealership is located, who shall then dispose of the firearm in the manner provided by Sections 18000, 18005, and 34000.

(e) (1) A dealer who takes possession of a firearm pursuant to this section shall within 48 hours of taking possession of the firearm, notify the Department of Justice in a manner and format prescribed by the department.

(2) If a dealer retains possession of a firearm pursuant to subdivision (d), the dealer shall within 72 hours after retaining possession of the firearm, notify the Department of Justice in a manner and format prescribed by the department.

(f) A licensee may charge a reasonable fee for the storage of the firearm pursuant to this section. The fee for storage shall be the same fee as the fee charged for storage of a firearm pursuant to Section 29830.

(g) (1) Subdivision (a) applies only to a licensee that operates a retail premises open to the general public that sells firearms.

(2)  A licensee that sells only handguns is not required to accept any long gun for storage, and any licensee that sells only long guns is not required to accept any handgun for storage.

(3) No licensee is required to store more than 20 firearms per calendar year pursuant to this section.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 251, Sec. 7. (SB 368) Effective January 1, 2024.)