a. It shall be unlawful for any person or business enterprise to engage in the business of gunsmith, wholesale manufacturer of firearms, assembler of firearms, dealer in firearms, dealer in rifles and shotguns, or special theatrical dealer, unless such person, or business enterprise, has obtained a license to engage in such business in the manner prescribed in this section. No person shall engage in the business of dealer in rifles and shotguns or special theatrical dealer unless he or she has been issued a permit for the possession of shotguns and rifles pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. No person or business enterprise shall be eligible to apply for or to hold a license as a special theatrical dealer unless such person or business enterprise (1) possesses both a license as a dealer in firearms and a license as a dealer in rifles and shotguns and (2) has possessed such licenses and engaged in such businesses for at least one year.
b. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this section except by the police commissioner, and then only after investigation and finding that all statements in a proper application for a license or renewal are true. No license shall be issued or renewed except for any applicant:
(1) of good moral character;
(2) who has not been convicted anywhere of a felony or of any serious offense;
(3) who has stated whether he or she has ever suffered any mental illness or been confined to any hospital or institution, public or private, for mental illness and who is free from any mental disorder, defects or diseases that would impair the ability safely to possess or use a firearm, rifle or shotgun;
(4) who has not been convicted of violating section 10-303.1 of this chapter; and
(5) concerning whom no good cause exists for the denial of a license.
c. (1) An applicant to engage in such business shall also be a citizen of the United States, more than twenty-one years of age and maintain a place of business in the city.
(2) Each applicant to engage in such business shall comply with all the requirements set forth in this section. If the applicant is a partnership, each partner thereof shall comply with all the requirements set forth in this section and if the applicant is a corporation, each officer thereof shall so comply.
(3) No applicant for a special theatrical dealer's license or renewal thereof shall be issued such license or renewal unless the applicant submits proof, in such form as the commissioner may require, that at least ten percent of the gross income earned by the applicant as a dealer in firearms, dealer in rifles and shotguns and, in the case of an application for renewal, special theatrical dealer, in the year preceding the application for such license or renewal, was earned from the lease for theatrical purposes of such ammunition feeding devices, firearms, rifles, shotguns or assault weapons as the applicant was authorized to lease. No applicant for a special theatrical dealer's license or renewal thereof shall be issued such license or renewal unless the gross income earned by the applicant as a dealer in firearms, dealer in rifles and shotguns and, in the case of an application for renewal, special theatrical dealer, in the year preceding the application for such license or renewal, exceeded fifty thousand dollars.
d. An application for a license or renewal thereof shall be made to the police commissioner. An application shall include the full name, date of birth, residence, present occupation of each person or individual signing the same, whether he or she is a citizen of the United States, whether he or she complies with each requirement for eligibility specified in subdivision b of this section and such other facts as may be required to show the good character, competency and integrity of each person or individual signing the application. An application shall be signed and affirmed by the applicant. Each individual signing an application shall submit one photograph of himself or herself and a duplicate for each required copy of the application. Such photographs shall have been taken within thirty days prior to filing the application. The photographs submitted shall be two inches square, and the application shall also state the previous occupation of each individual signing the same and the location of the place of such business, or of the bureau, agency, subagency, office or branch office for which the license is sought, indicating the street and number and otherwise giving such apt description as to point out reasonably the location thereof. In such case, if the applicant is a business enterprise, its name, date and place of formation, and principal place of business shall be stated. For a partnership, the application shall be signed and affirmed by each partner, and for a corporation, by each officer thereof. With respect to an application for a license as a dealer in rifles and shotguns or as a special theatrical dealer, a written statement shall be submitted by the individual applicant, or in the case of a business enterprise a responsible officer or agent thereof, stating (a) the identification number of the shotgun and rifle permit issued to the individual applicant or the responsible officer or agent in the case of a business enterprise, (b) the address of a regular place of business maintained by the applicant, (c) that since the issuance of the rifle and shotgun permit the individual applicant or responsible officer or agent has not become disqualified for issuance of such a permit, (d) that he or she undertakes to supervise the acts of his or her, or in the case of a business enterprise, its employees, (e) that the applicant has not previously been refused a license as a dealer in shotguns and rifles or as a special theatrical dealer and that no such license issued to the applicant has ever been revoked.
e. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the police department. For that purpose, the records of the department of mental hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the police department. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record, the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the application is signed. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau of investigation. When completed, one standard card shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal justice services where it shall be appropriately processed. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the police department. The failure or refusal of the federal bureau of investigation to make the fingerprint check provided for in this section shall not constitute the sole basis for refusal to issue a license pursuant to the provisions of this section. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one shall be filed with the executive department, division of state police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the other remain on file with the police department. No such fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, when acting pursuant to his or her special duties, or a police officer except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation, the police department shall report the results to the commissioner without unnecessary delay.
f. Applications shall indicate and licenses shall be issued for a gunsmith, a wholesale manufacturer of firearms, an assembler of firearms, a dealer in firearms, a dealer in rifles and shotguns or a special theatrical dealer.
g. The application for any license, if granted, shall be a public record. Such application shall be kept on file in the office of the police commissioner and, within ten days after the issuance of a license, a duplicate copy shall be filed in the executive department, division of state police, Albany.
h. No license shall be transferable to any other person or premises. The license shall mention and describe the premises for which it is issued and shall be valid only for such premises.
i. A license issued pursuant to this section shall be prominently displayed on the licensed premises. Failure of any person or business enterprise to so exhibit or display such license shall be presumptive evidence that the person or business enterprise is not duly licensed.
j. Any license or renewal issued pursuant to this section shall expire on the first day of the second January following the date of issuance. Any application to renew a license that has not previously expired, been revoked or cancelled shall thereby extend the term of the license until disposition is made of the application by the police commissioner.
k. The conviction of a licensee anywhere of a felony or a serious offense shall operate as a revocation of the license. Written notice of such revocation shall be forwarded to the executive division of state police in Albany.
l. The police commissioner, upon evidence of any disqualification set forth in subdivision b of this section, may at any time suspend or revoke and cancel a license issued pursuant to this section. Written notice of such suspension or revocation shall be forwarded to the executive department, division of state police, Albany.
m. No license shall be issued pursuant to this section unless the applicant therefor possesses and exhibits all licenses required under any federal or state law.
n. Records.
(1) Any person licensed under this section shall keep an accurate book record of every transaction involving a firearm, machine gun, rifle, shotgun or assault weapon. Such record shall be kept in the manner prescribed and contain the information required by the police commissioner.
(2) The records required by this section shall be subject to inspection at all times by members of the police department. Such records shall be maintained on the premises mentioned and described in the license, and preserved for record. In the event of suspension, cancellation or revocation of a license, or discontinuance of business by a licensee, such record shall be immediately surrendered to the police commissioner.
(3) Any person licensed under this section as a dealer in firearms or special theatrical dealer shall cause a physical inventory to be taken within the first five business days of April and October of each year, which shall include a listing of each firearm by make, caliber and serial number. The original copy of such inventory shall be securely maintained on the premises for which the license was issued. One or more additional copies shall be forwarded to such addresses as the commissioner may direct, by such means as the commissioner may direct.
(4) With each copy of the inventory required under paragraph three of this subdivision shall be included an affidavit signed by the licensee (or, if the licensee is not a natural person, by an officer, general manager, or other principal of the licensee) stating under penalties of perjury that within the first five business days of that April or October, as the case may be, the signer has personally observed the firearms reported. The affidavit shall also describe the date and contents of any report required to be made pursuant to section 400.10 of the penal law.
(5) In addition to the penalties specified in section 10-310, any act or omission that constitutes a violation of this subdivision or of rules and regulations issued by the commissioner pursuant thereto shall be grounds for the revocation of a license issued by the commissioner pursuant to this section.
o. Rules and regulations.
(1) The police commissioner may make and promulgate such rules and regulations regarding the issuance and renewal of such licenses and the reporting of inventory of firearms, loss of firearms, and theft of firearms and may prescribe such forms as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
(2) Such rules and regulations shall prescribe reasonable standards and conditions under which firearms, component parts of firearms, rifles, shotguns, assault weapons and ammunition shall be kept at the store or premises of gunsmiths, including store and plant security, employment, record keeping and product quality control for the protection of the public safety, health and welfare. The foregoing enumeration shall not be construed as a limitation of the police commissioner's authority to promulgate rules and regulations hereunder.
(3) The violation of such rules and regulations shall be triable by a judge of the criminal court of the city of New York and punishable by not more than thirty days imprisonment or by a fine of not more than fifty dollars, or both.
p. The annual license fee for a license issued pursuant to this section shall be twenty-five dollars for gunsmiths, wholesale manufacturers and assemblers of firearms, fifty dollars for dealers in firearms, and one hundred fifty dollars for dealers in rifles and shotguns and special theatrical dealers.
q. Failure to obtain a license, by any person, firm, partnership, corporation or company, as required by the provisions of this section shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor.
r. No dealer in rifles and shotguns may dispose of a rifle or shotgun to any person unless such person produces a valid rifle and shotgun permit, or proof of lawful authority as a police or peace officer, or is an exempt person as provided in this chapter.
s. Any suspension, denial or revocation of a license may be appealed by the applicant or licensee pursuant to procedures established by the police commissioner for administrative review.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1991/078 and L.L. 2006/030.