Effective January 1, 2025, regulatory changes will require all Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) to include a firearms policy in their admission agreements. This new requirement applies whether the facility permits or prohibits firearms.

For facilities that permit firearms, the admission agreement must specify that storage will comply with Health & Safety Code Section 1569.282, signed into law in October 2019 as part of Senate Bill 172, known as the “Keep Our Seniors Safe Act.” Under that law, RCFEs permitting firearms must centrally store firearms unloaded in a DOJ-compliant locked gun safe, with ammunition centrally stored separately in a different locked location.

While Section 1569.282’s storage requirements have been in effect for several years, the recent regulatory change requires RCFEs to address their firearms policy in their admission agreements, or attachments thereto. RCFEs should review and update their admission agreements accordingly before the January 1, 2025, effective date.