Legal CA DROS REQUIRING OCCUPATION BEFORE SUBMISSION STARTING 8/27/2026

[tedster]

I just did a DROS, I'm retired. That's officially my occupation. Of course, you'd had to be as old as I am. lol.

 

[Bobalover209]

I just went through this, my luck doing a DROS on the day it went into effect. I use my CCW and DL, which are both scanned and photocopied by the FFL as my proof of residencies. My CCW has my stated occupation on the front so they would already have that info so I just have them that matching occupation.

 

[Eatdirt]

you dang old timers!!!!!!

But , I Still Rock !!!!

Seen All the Good Bands
Acquired Good size gun collection
Went to Glamis when it was Free to go there

 

[bigan86]

Jobless…

 

[skb720]

It will be most likely used by "research" at colleges for data collection and analysis. Will be too funny if the suckers actually used that data point for real.

 

[mrbieler]

Occupation "professional bowler"

 

[Shellbackitup]

I just went through this, my luck doing a DROS on the day it went into effect. I use my CCW and DL, which are both scanned and photocopied by the FFL as my proof of residencies. My CCW has my stated occupation on the front so they would already have that info so I just have them that matching occupation.

The thing is, this "occupation" is now a sortable, searchable field in the state database.

It's reasonable that before, the state/authorities could track down your occupation thru your CCW if "YOU" were a target of a investigation.

NOW, they can sort by occupation and find every person who is, for example, a "teacher" who owns a gun. Or "union rep", "pastor", "fireman", "social worker" etc etc

This is the part that bothers me. This is an opportunity for future abuse of citizens' rights.

Casting a wide net and telling those being caught "if you have nothing to hide you wouldn't be against this" is just too d@√n authoritarian for me.

 

[Bobalover209]

The thing is, this "occupation" is now a sortable, searchable field in the state database.

It's reasonable that before, the state/authorities could track down your occupation thru your CCW if "YOU" were a target of a investigation.

NOW, they can sort by occupation and find every person who is, for example, a "teacher" who owns a gun. Or "union rep", "pastor", "fireman", "social worker" etc etc

This is the part that bothers me. This is an opportunity for future abuse of citizens' rights.

Casting a wide net and telling those being caught "if you have nothing to hide you wouldn't be against this" is just too d@√n authoritarian for me.

It's certainly troubling to me that they added yet another field to gather information on us. I probably would have just put "employed" if I had used a different second proof of residency, but as I said since I used my CCW which clearly states my profession, they already have access to that info if they wanted it.

 

[Shellbackitup]

It's certainly troubling to me that they added yet another field to gather information on us. I probably would have just put "employed" if I had used a different second proof of residency, but as I said since I used my CCW which clearly states my profession, they already have access to that info if they wanted it.

Yeah I get it. If you search my name in Google my employer and work contact info come right up, so it's not like I'm hiding or hard to find, it is just as you said perfectly, *troubling*

 

[sonofeugene]

you dang old timers!!!!!!

With the passage of time and a bit of luck, you will get there.

 

[kemasa]

What is actually quite funny is that this isn't anything remotely new, so the question is why has the CA DOJ failed to follow the law for decades? This has been a DROS requirement for a long time as well, but they didn't have the field.

In 1909, California enacted Statutes 1909, c. 110, requiring retail pistol sellers to maintain a register of purchaser details (name, age, occupation, residence, pistol identification), open to peace officers:

Section 1: Every person engaged in the business of selling at retail pistols shall keep a register in which shall be entered the name, age, occupation, and residence (if residing in a city then the street number of such residence) of each and every purchaser of such pistols, together with the number or other mark of identification if any on such pistol, which said register shall be open to the inspection of all peace officers at all times.

The standardized Dealer’s Record of Sale (DROS) form, which is legally processed by gun retailers and explicitly submitted to the state, was officially created in 1917.
Under Statutes 1917, Chapter 221, Section 7, the California Legislature established the true ancestor of the modern DROS system. This statute introduced two foundational pillars that differentiated it from the 1909 law:

1. It required gun store transactions to be recorded on a specific, uniform state-mandated paper form labeled the "Dealer's Record of Sale of Revolver or Pistol."
2. It legally mandated that the dealer mail a physical copy of that record directly to the state (originally to the city police/magistrate and the state bureau) on the very day of the sale, which directly evolved into today's California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) background check submissions.

California Statutes 1917, Chapter 221, Section 7 explicitly mandated the creation, layout, and processing of the standardized state firearm background check form.
The original text of Section 7 established the following legal requirements:

1. The Standardized Form Layout
The law required the State Printer to provide formal book registries containing pages in a specific, standardized format titled: "Dealer's Record of Sale of Revolver or Pistol." The statute explicitly dictated that the text of the form include blanks to capture the following exact data points:

• 
  
• Name of the city, town, or county
  
  
• Date and hour of the sale
  
  
• Name of the salesman
  
  
• Description of the firearm (make, number, caliber)
  
  
• The Purchaser's Identity Profile: Name, occupation, age, physical height, skin color, hair color, and eye color
  
  
• Residence address
  
  
• The purchaser's physical signature and the salesman's signature

 

[irongunner]

I tell people I am a 'Professional Desk Jockey' I hope DOJ will accept the same response.

 

[Gawernator]

The thing is, this "occupation" is now a sortable, searchable field in the state database.

It's reasonable that before, the state/authorities could track down your occupation thru your CCW if "YOU" were a target of a investigation.

NOW, they can sort by occupation and find every person who is, for example, a "teacher" who owns a gun. Or "union rep", "pastor", "fireman", "social worker" etc etc

This is the part that bothers me. This is an opportunity for future abuse of citizens' rights.

Casting a wide net and telling those being caught "if you have nothing to hide you wouldn't be against this" is just too d@√n authoritarian for me.

It’s been the law for many decades… honestly not really tripping about it