18.2-295 - Registration of machine guns.

§ 18.2-295. Registration of machine guns.

Every machine gun in this Commonwealth shall be registered with theDepartment of State Police within twenty-four hours after its acquisition or,in the case of semi-automatic weapons which are converted, modified orotherwise altered to become machine guns, within twenty-four hours of theconversion, modification or alteration. Blanks for registration shall beprepared by the Superintendent of State Police, and furnished uponapplication. To comply with this section the application as filed shall benotarized and shall show the model and serial number of the gun, the name,address and occupation of the person in possession, and from whom and thepurpose for which, the gun was acquired or altered. The Superintendent ofState Police shall upon registration required in this section forthwithfurnish the registrant with a certificate of registration, which shall bevalid as long as the registrant remains the same. Certificates ofregistration shall be retained by the registrant and produced by him upondemand by any peace officer. Failure to keep or produce such certificate forinspection shall be a Class 3 misdemeanor, and any peace officer, may withoutwarrant, seize the machine gun and apply for its confiscation as provided in§ 18.2-296. Upon transferring a registered machine gun, the transferor shallforthwith notify the Superintendent in writing, setting forth the date oftransfer and name and address of the transferee. Failure to give therequired notification shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor. Registrationdata shall not be subject to inspection by the public.

(Code 1950, § 18.1-265; 1960, c. 358; 1972, c. 199; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1978,c. 618; 1988, c. 460.)