(a) (1) Upon submission of firearm purchaser information, the Department of Justice shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of State Hospitals pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, or is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm. (2) Commencing July 1, 2025, for the sale or transfer of a firearm to a person under 21 years of age pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 27510, the Department of Justice shall verify the validity of the purchaserâs hunting license with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. (b) The Department of Justice shall participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), as described in subsection (t) of Section 922 of Title 18 of the United States Code, and shall notify the dealer and the chief of the police department of the city or city and county in which the sale was made, or if the sale was made in a district in which there is no municipal police department, the sheriff of the county in which the sale was made, that the purchaser is a person prohibited from acquiring a firearm under federal law. (c) If the department determines that the purchaser is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm or is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 27535, it shall do both of the following: (1) Immediately notify the dealer and the chief of the police department of the city or city and county in which the sale was made, or if the sale was made in a district in which there is no municipal police department, the sheriff of the county in which the sale was made, of that fact. (2) Notify the purchaser and explain the process by which the purchaser may obtain a copy of the criminal or mental health record the department has on file for the purchaser. Upon receipt of that criminal or mental health record, the purchaser may report any inaccuracies or incompleteness to the department on an approved form. (d) If the firearm matches an entry in the registry described in Section 11106 indicating the firearm is stolen, the department shall immediately do all of the following: (1) Reject the purchase. (2) Notify the dealer that the firearm matches an entry in the registry described in Section 11106 indicating the firearm is stolen and that the dealer shall retain the firearm until a law enforcement agency is able to retrieve the firearm. (3) Notify the law enforcement agency that made the stolen entry that the firearm has been located. The reporting agency shall retrieve the firearm from the dealer and report the firearmâs recovery pursuant to Sections 11108.2, 11108.3, and 11108.5. A reporting agency may comply with this section by arranging to have another state or local law enforcement agency retrieve the firearm on their behalf. (e) If the department determines that the copies of the register submitted to it pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 28210 contain any blank spaces or inaccurate, illegible, or incomplete information, preventing identification of the purchaser or the handgun or other firearm to be purchased, or if any fee required pursuant to Section 28225 is not submitted by the dealer in conjunction with submission of copies of the register, the department may notify the dealer of that fact. Upon notification by the department, the dealer shall submit corrected copies of the register to the department, or shall submit any fee required pursuant to Section 28225, or both, as appropriate and, if notification by the department is received by the dealer at any time prior to delivery of the firearm to be purchased, the dealer shall withhold delivery until the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 26815 and 27540. (f) If the department determines that the information transm
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