AB 1615 signed: unsafe handgun rules amended for probation service weapons

County probation officers can already use off-roster handguns as service weapons if they meet the training requirements and qualify with the gun at least every 6 months. AB 1615 changes that to at least every 3 months. It also removes the pre-2021 cutoff for firearms-only POST training.

Sources checked September 16, 2026. Educational information only, not legal advice.

What changed	County probation officers must qualify with an off-roster service handgun at least every 3 months instead of every 6 months. Firearms-only POST training can qualify regardless of whether it was completed before 2021.
Effective	January 1, 2027 under the regular-session effective-date rule in California Constitution, Article IV, Section 8(c)(1). This is a non-urgency act; the chaptered text contains no special operative date.
Applies to	Sworn county probation officers using off-roster handguns as service weapons. The bill does not create a new buying exemption for the general public.
Statutory basis	AB 1615 (Nguyen), Chapter 198, Statutes of 2026, amending Pen. Code § 32000.

What happened

Assembly Bill 1615, authored by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen and titled “Firearms: unsafe handguns,” was approved by the Governor on September 14, 2026 and became Chapter 198, Statutes of 2026. The chaptered text records approval and filing on September 14; the history entries are dated September 15. It amends Penal Code Section 32000, which makes it a crime (up to one year in county jail) to manufacture, import for sale, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, give, or lend an “unsafe handgun.” Existing law exempts certain government entities that use unsafe handguns as service weapons.

An off-roster handgun is a model outside California’s approved handgun list. POST is the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which sets California peace-officer training standards. The bill creates a separate training route for sworn county probation members using these handguns as service weapons. Penal Code section 32000(b)(6)(B) accepts completion of the firearms portion of POST training under section 832 without the former pre-2021 cutoff. This route requires live-fire qualification at least once every three months. The chaptered text says: As a condition of carrying that handgun, a member shall complete a live-fire qualification prescribed by their employing entity at least once every three months. Section 32000(c)(2) continues to require qualifying unattended-vehicle storage for people obtaining or using these exempt handguns; its existing infraction and maximum $1,000 fine also reach the expanded probation training route.

What it means for you

This amendment concerns the training eligibility of sworn county probation members using off-roster service weapons. It does not add a handgun to the public roster or create a new general consumer purchasing exemption. The new route takes effect January 1, 2027 under the regular-session rule; signing in September does not make it already operative. Departments and affected officers should consult the chaptered text and their own policies for implementation.

The official source