Rifles and shotguns in New York City
New York City requires a separate NYPD permit to possess or purchase a rifle or shotgun — a requirement that exists nowhere else in New York State. The permit is valid for three years and subject to automatic renewal, and each long gun must additionally be registered. Separately, New York State requires a semiautomatic rifle license to purchase or take ownership of a semiautomatic rifle where the transfer occurred on or after the effective date of chapter 212 of the laws of 2022.
01The New York City permit
This is the requirement most new New York City residents do not know exists. There is no statewide long-gun possession license in New York; the rifle and shotgun permit is a City creation, administered by a separate NYPD section in Kew Gardens rather than the handgun License Division at One Police Plaza.
In New York City it is unlawful to dispose of a rifle or shotgun to any person unless that person holds a permit for the possession and purchase of rifles and shotguns.
Applicants must be twenty-one or older and are disqualified by felony convictions, serious offenses, and certain mental-health history. The NYPD must issue or deny within thirty days, extendable to sixty if the investigation requires it.
The permit is valid for three years and is subject to automatic renewal.
New York City additionally requires a certificate of registration for each rifle and shotgun, and separately bans assault weapons.
02The state semiautomatic rifle license
Note the citation. This license lives in the unlettered paragraph of §400.00(2), not in §400.00(16-a) — subdivision 16-a is SAFE Act assault-weapon registration. The miscitation is widespread enough that it is worth checking any source that repeats it.
A license for a semiautomatic rifle, other than an assault weapon or disguised gun, is required to purchase or take possession of such a rifle where the transfer of ownership occurs on or after the effective date of chapter 212 of the laws of 2022.
The licence requirement attaches to the transfer: it applies where ownership is transferred on or after the 2022 effective date. The statute does not itself address firearms already lawfully owned before that date, and the semiautomatic rifle paragraph sets no age requirement of its own — the age-twenty-one requirement comes from the general eligibility criteria in subdivision 1.
Do I need a permit for a shotgun in New York City?
Yes. New York City Administrative Code §10-303 requires an NYPD rifle and shotgun permit to possess or purchase a long gun, and §10-304 requires each one to be registered. No equivalent requirement exists elsewhere in New York State.
How long is the NYC rifle and shotgun permit valid?
Three years, subject to automatic renewal, under Administrative Code §10-303.
Is the rifle permit the same as a handgun license?
No. They are separate permits with separate applications, separate fees, and separate NYPD sections — the rifle and shotgun section is in Kew Gardens, and handgun licensing is at One Police Plaza.
Reading the law is step one. Applying is step two.
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