Washington’s New Gun Control Law Creates Permit-To-Purchase System and De Facto Registry
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has signed House Bill 1163 into law—ushering in one of the most burdensome firearm regulations in state history. Branded as a “permit-to-purchase” system, this new law forces all Washington residents to obtain government permission before they can buy a firearm, while building out the framework for what amounts to a de facto gun owner registry.
“Gun Safety” advocates, who I suspect couldn’t tell you a single rule of gun safety, gather at the Washington Capitol building to support this and other gun control bills earlier this year. Image courtesy of KomoNews.com
A New Era of Pre-Approval
Under HB 1163, residents must apply for and receive a permit from the Washington State Patrol before purchasing any firearm. The permit is valid for five years, but it doesn’t come easily. Applicants must be at least 21 years old, submit to a background check, be fingerprinted, and—perhaps the greatest financial and time burden—complete a live-fire training course certified by the Washington State Patrol.
This isn’t just a one-time hassle. Anyone who wants to buy a gun in the state of Washington, for any reason, will be required to jump through these hoops in advance.
Mandatory Training—With Government-Approved Curriculum
The bill also creates a state-controlled training regime. The Washington State Patrol is tasked with developing a certification program for firearms safety instructors. Only training courses approved by WSP will satisfy the permit requirement. The course must include a minimum of eight hours of instruction, including suicide prevention, state and federal gun laws, secure storage, and live-fire training.
Even those seeking a concealed pistol license (CPL) will be required to undergo similar training under new rules also created by the bill.
Washington. Looks like the permit to purchase bill (HB 1163) will be signed by the Governor on Tuesday. Remember the law goes into effect May 1, 2027. pic.twitter.com/2hHGZuc5ha
— WashingtonGunLaw (@GunWashington) May 18, 2025
Unlimited Fees & Bureaucratic Incentives
Perhaps one of the most quietly dangerous elements of HB 1163 is its unlimited fee structure. The law authorizes the Washington State Patrol to set permit fees at any amount necessary to cover administrative costs—without any cap or third-party oversight.
That means the very agency tasked with implementing the program has a financial incentive to bloat its own operations, driving up the cost of exercising a constitutional right.
Crushing Burdens on Gun Dealers
HB 1163 also includes a slew of new compliance mandates on firearm and ammunition dealers. These include expanded recordkeeping, data submission requirements, and structural changes that are expected to put small gun stores out of business. Once again, the law targets the lawful gun-owning community—not criminals.
Building a Backdoor Registry
While the bill’s supporters claim HB 1163 doesn’t create a registry, the law tells a different story:
- The new permit system creates a centralized database of every resident who applies to buy a gun.
- Dealers will be required to submit purchase records directly to the state.
- Although serial numbers won’t be included in those submissions, names and firearm purchase activity will be, creating a near-complete picture of who is acquiring firearms in Washington.
Make no mistake: this is a foundational step toward a state-run registry, despite political claims to the contrary.
Effective Date
The permit system won’t be implemented until May 1, 2027, contingent upon funding being approved by June 30, 2025.
House Bill 1163 is a blatant attack on the Second Amendment rights of Washingtonians. It punishes lawful citizens, discourages self-defense, and builds infrastructure for future gun control expansion. Legal challenges are not just likely—they are necessary.
When is the NRA or the Gun owners of America going to help the citizens of Washington? this law is another attempt to deprive the legal gun owners in this state of their rights. The Democratic controlled legislature will not be satisfied until every law abiding citizen can not have firearms. If they prosecuted the criminals for their violations instead of just letting them go it would be a great first step.
I live in the state of Illinois another Democratic nightmare state. We have what is called a FOID Card ( Firearm Owner Identification Card ). This state is absolutely horrible regarding gun laws. Restrictions on AR type firearms, the number of rounds allowed in a magazine and the list goes on. And God forbid if you think you are doing the right thing by only having ( max allowed ) 15 round handgun mag. and enter Cook County. The have a very strict law that says if you have more than 10 rounds in your gun you are going to JAIL!!! We have very specific laws regarding firearm possesion the problem is the Staes Attorneys her ( Democratic ones ) will not charge these morons with the crime. (ie) Two years ago the Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx would not prosecute 4 hard core gangbangers after they had a shoutout in broad daylight that was cought on video. Non of these mopes had a FOID card AND in this state it a class 4 felony. Kim Foxx merely said it was mutual combat ?!?!?!?!? WTF!!!!!!!!!!! I rest my case. Mike
This sounds like a great step forward in building a society that balances the freedoms afforded by the wisdom of the 2nd amendment and the realities implicated by a nation with more firearms than citizens.
Tonight, for the first time in my life in this state, I was asked by a bartender to leave the premises in response to the increasingly vocal threats of violence from a homophobic fellow patron of the establishment. I am, this very evening, thinking about how different this situation would have been if I had not needed to fear for the physical safety of either myself or the bartender, and for this exact reason I went googling for ‘washington concealed carry laws 2025″
I hate to disappoint the comments section: I agree with every new development in this law and moreso. I am glad & unconcerned that I, with a clean record & all the other relevant prerequisites, am able to exercise my right to carry in this state. I am pretty sure the same would not be found to be the case of the fellow I encountered this evening, who I have since learned is out on bail from a domestic violence charge, and for that – under this law – I’m quite happy.
I say this despite having been myself *falsely accused* of sexual misconduct in the past, a circumstance that could have – had things played out only differently – resulted in my long-term prohibition from that very same right.
If that wasn’t explicit enough, please let me enumerate:
1) We should have a gun registry. We should have a state that knows who is, at any given moment, capable of inflicting mass violence upon their fellow citizens for whatever reason seems fit to them.
2) You should be required by law to take a certified training course to carry a firearm in this state. I have met more than enough strangers (to say nothing of that one cousin) to whom I would not, in a thousand years, extend the right to carry a firearm if I was given the choice. There are unstable, ill-motivated, unscrupulous people all over the place whose right to carry lethal force not only *can* be questioned, but morally *must* be questioned.
Unpopular as I am sure it is, to me this is the crux of the 2nd amendment: if “a well-regulated militia” is not to be understood as strictly sanctioning a state-controlled national guard (eg), then it must at least be understood as “a sane group of citizens”. Such a limit demands a test for sanity, and on this front – kitch though it may be – I actually *do* trust the government, in most circumstances, to establish definitive membership amongst that broadest of technical categories:
Sane, and not sane.
If you think *everyone* everywhere in this country should carry lethal force, you are not sane.
If you think *nobody* in this country needs a gun because the police have them if it comes to that: you are not sane.
If you (yes you) think the 3rd way: that is, that reality exists somewhere between the aforementioned poles of pure fact and ancient fantasy…?
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