California Family Firearm Transfer From Out of State: What Actually Works

## The six scenarios and what each one actually requires

Every “can my dad in Texas give me his gun in California” question is one of six scenarios. They are not the same law. The table is the shortest honest answer we can give.

Now the detail on each one.

## The rule that traps everyone: the intrafamilial affidavit stops at the state line

California's intrafamilial exemption is real and it is generous. Between two California residents in immediate family — which under Penal Code § 16720 means parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild, and nothing else — you can transfer a firearm without a dealer, without DROS, without the 10-day wait. Fill out BOF 4544A, mail $19, done. Living transfers between spouses and registered domestic partners are handled separately under PC § 27915, treated by the DOJ as an operation-of-law transfer under PC § 16990(g), with report and fee similar to the intrafamilial path. Post-death transfers to a surviving spouse or RDP by bequest or intestate succession are covered by PC § 27920(c). Neither the spousal nor RDP path is part of the § 27875 immediate-family list. Our full walkthrough of the California intrafamilial transfer covers those paths in detail.

Almost every reader who has heard about that path assumes it covers grandma in Nevada. It does not.

The operative statute is Penal Code § 27875. Read subdivisions (a) and (b) together carefully.

**Subdivision (a)** says: “Section 27545 does not apply to the transfer of a firearm by gift, bequest, intestate succession, or other means from one individual to another” if the transfer is infrequent, between immediate family members, reported within 30 days, and the recipient holds an FSC and is 18 or older. Section 27545 is the general requirement to route a transfer through a dealer. So § 27875(a) tells you the transfer itself can skip a dealer.

**Subdivision (b)** is the interstate carve-out. It exempts the recipient from PC § 27585(a) — the statute that requires an in-state California dealer to handle imports — but *only if* the firearm was “acquired from an immediate family member by bequest or intestate succession.” Bequest means “by a will.” Intestate succession means “by inheritance when there is no will.” Both mean the transferor is dead.

Living gifts, living sales, living trades from an out-of-state family member are not on that list. That is not an oversight. The California DOJ, the Bureau of Firearms, and the plain text of the statute all agree: while your out-of-state relative is alive, their firearm cannot cross the state line to you outside a California FFL.

Which puts us in scenario 1.

## Scenario 1: The living gift or sale from out-of-state family

This is the most common question we get, and it has the most misinformation attached to it. Here is the exact path when your Texan father wants to give you his hunting rifle while he is still alive.

**On the federal side.** 18 USC § 922(a)(3) makes it unlawful for a non-licensee to receive a firearm they obtained in another state. The exceptions are narrow: the firearm arrives through the FFL system, or it is a bequest, or it is a long gun bought over the counter from a dealer in another state under § 922(b)(3) conditions. A gift is none of those.

**On the California side.** Penal Code § 27585(a) makes it unlawful for a California resident to import a firearm obtained on or after January 1, 2015 without first having that firearm delivered to a California dealer. The exceptions are listed and short. Living intrafamilial gifts from out of state are not one of them.

**So the actual path.** The firearm is transferred to a California FFL. The California FFL runs it as a standard interstate incoming delivery, not a private-party transfer. You go to the dealer, fill out a federal 4473 and a California DROS, pay the fees, wait 10 days, do the safe-handling demonstration, and pick up the gun. All the usual delivery rules apply: FSC, safe-handgun roster if it is a handgun, magazine capacity limits.

The dealer fee is the part that surprises people. In our breakdown of California private party transfers, we walk through the $10 cap that Penal Code § 28055 puts on dealer fees for PPTs. That cap does not apply here. Section 28055 sits inside Chapter 5, which governs private-party transactions between two California residents through a dealer. An out-of-state incoming transfer is processed under Chapter 2 — that is the express cross-reference § 27585(a) itself makes. California dealers are free to set their own fee for interstate incoming transfers, and most charge $75 to $150. Some coastal shops charge $200. The state fees on top of that are fixed at $37.19 per firearm, plus $25 if you need an FSC.

Total realistic cost to a California resident receiving a rifle from their Texas father, live-and-well: about $130 to $200 all in, plus the shipping cost on the Texas side.

Then there is the shipping problem.

## Handgun shipping: the ban most people do not know about

If the firearm your out-of-state relative wants to send you is a handgun, they cannot mail it. They cannot UPS it. They cannot FedEx it. Not one carrier will accept a handgun package from a private individual anywhere in the United States.

The statute is 18 USC § 1715: “Pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person are nonmailable and shall not be deposited in or carried by the mails.” Only licensed manufacturers and bona fide dealers may put a handgun through the Postal Service.

UPS’s published policy is that firearms are accepted “only from Shippers who are licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, or licensed collectors.” FedEx’s published policy is the same: no FFL, no firearm shipment. Both carriers tightened these policies in the last few years and both enforce them at the counter.

The three ways your out-of-state relative can actually get their handgun to a California FFL:

1. Take it to an FFL in their state. That FFL ships to the California receiving FFL. The FFL usually charges $50 to $100 to act as the shipping party.
2. Consign the handgun to an FFL that will handle the whole outbound.
3. Physically walk it into the California FFL in person. This is legal — once the firearm is at an FFL, the transfer paperwork runs normally.

If the family member is unwilling or unable to do any of this, the transfer does not happen. This is a hard stop in the law, not a paperwork inconvenience.

## Long guns: the one thing USPS will do that UPS and FedEx will not

Long guns are treated differently under § 1715, and the private carriers treat them the same as handguns for reasons of their own. The result is a rare situation where the Postal Service is the only carrier that will take the package.

The ATF’s own guidance is that a non-licensee may ship a long gun by USPS directly to a licensed dealer in any state. USPS Publication 52 § 432 lays out the rules: the package cannot be labeled as a firearm on the outside, tracking and signature capture are required at delivery. Publication 52 does not require the sender to verbally announce the contents to the clerk, but doing so is customary and avoids a package bouncing back from a route that will not carry it. Most receiving California FFLs will ask the sending party to include a copy of the FFL's license inside the package, and some prefer it faxed or emailed in advance.

Practical caveats. Some post offices routinely refuse the package because the clerk has never processed one. The workaround is to call the local postmaster in advance or take it to the main branch rather than a contract station. For high-value firearms, use USPS Registered Mail rather than Priority or Priority Express; Registered Mail supports insurance well beyond what the other services allow. And every step of this is only legal because the firearm is going to an FFL, not to a person.

If the relative shipping the long gun is uncomfortable with USPS, an FFL-to-FFL shipment through UPS or FedEx works fine. The cost is higher, but the sending FFL handles all of it.

## Scenario 2: Inheritance from immediate family in any state

Inheritance is the one place where the interstate barrier drops.

Both the federal statute and the California statute have carve-outs. 18 USC § 922(a)(3) explicitly exempts “the transportation or receipt of a firearm obtained… by bequest or intestate succession.” PC § 27875(b) exempts the import from § 27585(a) if the firearm was “acquired from an immediate family member by bequest or intestate succession.”

The two words matter. “Bequest” means the will names you as the recipient of the firearm. “Intestate succession” means there is no will and California's intestate rules or the decedent's state's intestate rules give you the firearm. Either one works.

**Immediate family** is a closed list under Penal Code § 16720: parent and child, grandparent and grandchild. Siblings do not qualify. Aunts, uncles, cousins do not qualify. Step-parents and step-children do not qualify. In-laws do not qualify. Surviving spouses and registered domestic partners have their own operation-of-law statute at PC § 27920(c), with similar effect. If you are inheriting from a deceased uncle, this direct-import path is not available to you and the estate has to route through PC § 27920(b) (the executor pathway) or through a California dealer.

Assuming you do qualify, the process:

1. Take possession of the firearm. You can physically drive it home, fly with it in checked baggage per airline and TSA rules, or receive it shipped through an FFL — whichever fits the circumstances.
2. File the report within 30 days. You have two options and both cover all firearm types: paper form BOF 4544A (“Report of Operation of Law or Intra-Familial Firearm Transaction”), which accepts handguns, rifles, shotguns, and combination guns in the same Section B; or the DOJ's online CFARS system, which accepts the same set of transactions online. Pick whichever fits. The fee is $19 per firearm either way.
3. You must hold a valid Firearm Safety Certificate (unless you are exempt under PC § 31700, which covers active-duty military, several peace-officer categories, licensed dealers, CCW holders, C&R collectors, and several other narrow categories), be at least 18, and the transfer must be “infrequent.” PC § 16730(a), as amended by SB 376 in 2019, defines infrequent as both of the following being true: fewer than six transactions per calendar year, and no more than 50 total firearms sold, leased, or transferred per calendar year. Both tests must be satisfied. The same numbers apply to every firearm type; the pre-2020 statute had separate handgun and long-gun limits and has been superseded.

No dealer. No 10-day wait. The roster does not apply, so an inherited handgun that is not on California’s safe-handgun list can still come in this way. This is a real advantage that inheritance has over any other transfer path.

A word of caution about roster and off-list handguns. The exemption from the roster in PC § 32110(b) covers firearms exempt from § 27545 under this article, including § 27875. Most California dealers who help process the paperwork will run this in the DES system as an “Exempt Handgun Sale” and cite § 27875(b) in the comment field. This is the practitioner workflow; different dealers vary in how they handle it, and if you are inheriting an off-roster or older handgun it is worth calling ahead.

## Scenario 3: You are a California resident sending to family out of state

Send-side rules are different because California's import restrictions do not apply to what you are shipping out. What controls is federal law and the receiving state's law.

18 USC § 922(a)(5) prohibits a non-licensee from transferring, selling, trading, giving, transporting, or delivering a firearm to any person who they know or have reason to believe does not reside in their state. The exceptions are narrow: (i) transfers by bequest or intestate succession, and (ii) the loan or rental of a firearm to any person for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes. A “loan for sporting purposes” is not a workaround for a gift or sale — a hunting-trip loan that never comes back is the transfer § 922(a)(5) prohibits, and prosecutors treat it that way. A real gift or sale to your out-of-state adult sibling fits neither exception.

The federal solution is that the transfer itself — the moment the firearm changes hands to the recipient — happens at an FFL in the recipient's state. Your out-of-state family member walks into their local FFL, does a 4473, complies with their state's waiting-period and background-check rules if any, and takes possession there. You never actually transfer the firearm to them directly.

The shipping mechanics are the same as scenario 1 in reverse. Long gun: you can USPS it yourself to the recipient's FFL, following the same rules covered above. Handgun: you cannot ship it. You must take it to a California FFL and have them ship it to the recipient's FFL.

California does not add a report or fee for outbound shipments to a receiving FFL. There is no California outgoing-transfer registration.

Two practical points. Check the destination FFL will accept your firearm before you ship: many refuse unusual calibers, older firearms, or anything they consider a legal risk. And check the destination state's law: New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and several others have their own registration, waiting-period, roster, or magazine rules that can trap your family member. A rifle that is legal in California may be an assault weapon in Connecticut.

## Scenario 4: Out-of-state family moving to California with their own firearms

This is the “new resident” scenario, and it is more permissive than most people expect.

The statute is Penal Code § 27560. Any personal firearm importer — an individual who acquired a firearm out of state and later moves to California as a resident — must within 60 days of bringing the firearm into the state either file a report with the Department of Justice, transfer the firearm through § 27545 or an exemption, transfer it to a licensed dealer, or transfer it to law enforcement.

For a family member moving in with their own firearms, the report is the normal path. Form is BOF 4010A (“New Resident Report of Firearm Ownership”). Fee is $19 per firearm. The report can be filed online through the DOJ's CFARS system for most firearm categories. See the DOJ's new-resident firearms information page for the current forms and process.

**What can come in.** Firearms the new resident lawfully acquired in their prior state before establishing California residency, that they still own, and that are legal in California for personal possession. The acquisition timing matters. A handgun bought during a trip to Nevada after you have already moved your household to California cannot come in as a new-resident report; that is a fresh out-of-state acquisition and it falls under scenario 1. The distinction is who was your state of residence on the day the firearm changed hands to you.

The rule allows unrostered handguns to come in because California's safe-handgun roster in PC § 32000 is a sales and dealer-import restriction, not a personal-possession restriction. If your father lawfully owned a Glock 43X in Texas before he moved, he can bring it with him and report it. He just cannot then sell it, or give it to your brother as a normal transfer, later on.

**What cannot come in.** Assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles as defined by California statute are prohibited across the board under PC § 30600. California's AW registration windows are closed and cannot be re-opened for a new resident. Magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds have been unlawful to bring into the state since 2000, and unlawful to possess since July 1, 2017 under PC § 32310. Machine guns are prohibited absent specific federal and California dangerous-weapons permits.

The new resident should divest anything on that list before moving. There is no amnesty program and no registration route. A California-legal 10-round magazine is fine; a 15-round factory magazine is not, regardless of when or where it was purchased.

**FSC.** The new-resident report itself is not a “transfer” and does not require an FSC to file. But any subsequent acquisition in California will, so the practical move is to get the FSC in the first weeks of California residency.

## Scenario 5: You are moving out of California with your own firearms

Nothing California requires. You are permitted to lawfully transport firearms you own to your new state of residence. There is no California report, no California fee, no California waiting period on an outbound move. The destination state's registration or reporting rules may apply once you arrive.

Common mistakes on the outbound move: shipping firearms to yourself at the new address before you have established residency there (which puts the receiving side into interstate-transfer territory), and failing to check whether the destination state has its own configuration rules that California-legal firearms do not satisfy — some states restrict certain calibers, feature combinations, or magazine capacities differently.

## Who counts as “immediate family” — the closed list

This trips people up more than any other single detail on the intrafamilial and inheritance paths. Penal Code § 16720 defines immediate family for firearms purposes as one of two relationships and only two: parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild.

Not immediate family under this statute:
– Siblings (brother-to-brother, sister-to-sister)
– Step-parents and step-children
– Half-siblings
– Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins
– In-laws of any kind
– Godparents and godchildren
– Legal guardians who never adopted

Spouses and registered domestic partners have their own statutory paths. For a living spouse-to-spouse or RDP-to-RDP transfer, the California DOJ's public FAQ cites PC §§ 16990(g), 27915, and 27920(b), treating the transfer as an operation of law consistent with interspousal transmutation under family-law principles. For a surviving spouse or surviving RDP receiving by bequest or intestate succession, PC § 27920(c) applies. Both paths use the same operation-of-law report form and produce a similar cost outcome. Adopted children and their adoptive parents qualify as parent and child in the normal legal sense. Foster relationships without adoption do not.

For the interstate inheritance path in § 27875(b), this closed list matters. A California resident inheriting a rifle from a deceased uncle in Nevada cannot use the direct-import path. The estate must either route through PC § 27920(b) (personal representative acting in a fiduciary capacity) or send the rifle to a California FFL.

## The California cost stack when receiving from out of state

Here is the honest number when you are the California resident receiving a firearm from your out-of-state relative through a California FFL.

Compare to the intrafamilial CA-to-CA path in our intrafamilial transfer walkthrough: $19 total, no dealer, no wait. The interstate version is not a small variation on the intrafamilial path. It is a fundamentally different transaction.

And compare to the inheritance path: $19 fee, no dealer, no wait, roster does not apply. If a firearm your parent owns is coming to you eventually anyway, the estate-planning difference between “gift it now” and “leave it in the will” is thousands of dollars and several months of dealer coordination.

## Assault weapons, unrostered handguns, magazines: what stops at the border

Three categories bear repeating because they trip up almost every family situation involving older or non-California firearms.

**Assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles.** Prohibited to import under PC § 30600(a). California defines assault weapons two ways: the enumerated list of specific makes and models in PC § 30510, and the features test in PC § 30515. The features test is what catches almost every modern AR-15 built in the last decade: a centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine combined with any of a pistol grip, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, flash suppressor, forward pistol grip, or grenade launcher, plus fixed-magazine rifles that hold more than 10 rounds and rifles under 30 inches in overall length. California's registration windows are closed. There is no path to register or grandfather an out-of-state assault weapon after moving, and the operative bar for an inherited or family-transferred one is § 30600(a)'s import prohibition, not the transfer restrictions on already-registered AWs in PC § 30910. The only lawful options for an out-of-state AR-15 that a California relative would inherit are: sell it out of state, transfer it to an FFL in the decedent's state, or destroy it. If a California family member wants it in a California-featureless configuration (typically no pistol grip, no flash hider, fixed 10-round magazine), that modification has to happen at an FFL in another state before it can be imported, and the reconfigured rifle has to satisfy every prong of the features test on arrival.

**Unrostered handguns.** The safe-handgun roster in PC § 32000 is a sales and dealer-import restriction. Personal possession of an unrostered handgun by someone who lawfully acquired it is not itself prohibited. The exemptions in PC § 32110 allow unrostered handguns to move through several non-sale channels: PPTs between two CA residents, intrafamilial transfers under Article 6, and by extension the inheritance path under § 27875(b). So an off-roster inherited handgun can come in through inheritance. A dealer-mediated interstate delivery for a *living* gift, though, runs into the roster: most California dealers will not process an off-roster handgun on the standard delivery workflow, because that pathway is treated as a sale for roster purposes.

**Large-capacity magazines.** More than 10 rounds. Prohibited to import, sell, give, lend, or possess since July 1, 2017 under PC § 32310, subject to litigation and narrow exceptions. There is no family exception. A magazine that is legal wherever your relative lives cannot come with them into California and cannot be shipped to you as part of a firearm package.

## Common mistakes and legal traps

**Assuming BOF 4544A works for a living gift from out of state.** It does not. That form is for California-to-California intrafamilial transfers and for interstate inheritance under § 27875(b). Filing it for a living interstate gift is not just a paperwork error; the underlying transfer itself was unlawful, and the report cannot cure that.

**Having grandma's handgun mailed to you.** Even if the transfer is a valid inheritance under § 27875(b), the shipping side still has to comply with § 1715 and the carrier bans. The handgun still has to move dealer-to-dealer, or in person. The intrafamilial exemption is about paperwork and the wait, not about shipping physics.

**Shipping to yourself while still an out-of-state resident.** If you are moving to California and you send your firearms ahead by mail or by moving company before you actually become a California resident, you are not yet a “personal firearm importer” under § 27560 — and the receiving side is an interstate transfer to a non-resident. Move first, then bring the firearms with you, or arrange for a family member already in California to receive through an FFL.

**Assuming a rifle you shipped to yourself in California can be picked up without DROS.** It cannot. If you were still an out-of-state resident at the time of shipping, the pickup on the California side is treated as a regular interstate delivery. Full DROS applies.

**Forgetting that spouses have their own statute.** Surviving spouses and registered domestic partners are covered by PC § 27920(c), which has its own form and requirements and is not the same as § 27875. Do not use BOF 4544A for a surviving-spouse import if the operation-of-law form is what you actually need.

**Bringing pre-ban magazines from a legal state.** There is no pre-ban grandfather clause for out-of-state large-capacity magazines under California law. It does not matter when or where you legally bought them. They cannot come in.

## When to call a lawyer

The scenarios above cover the most common family-firearm situations. Some situations warrant a call to a firearms attorney before you move any firearm across the state line.

– Inheritance where the will is unclear, contested, or names beneficiaries who cannot legally possess firearms in their state.
– Any assault-weapon or .50 BMG involvement, including inherited AR-15s or fixed-magazine California-configured rifles.
– Curio and relic firearms where a C&R licensee is involved on either side of the transfer — separate federal shipping and record rules apply.
– Firearms belonging to a decedent's estate where the personal representative is out of state and the beneficiary is in California.
– Any situation involving a prohibited person (felony conviction, misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, restraining order, mental-health commitment) in the chain.
– NFA-regulated items (short-barrel rifles, suppressors, machine guns) where the state-of-residence transfer paperwork is materially different from a normal firearm.

The California DOJ Bureau of Firearms will answer general questions but will not give you individual legal advice. A firearms-specialty attorney costs a fraction of what a bad transfer costs.

## Frequently asked questions

Can my parent in Nevada legally gift me their handgun in California without going through a dealer?

No, not while they are alive. Living gifts and sales from out-of-state family require the firearm to be routed through a California licensed dealer under PC § 27585(a) and 18 USC § 922(a)(3). The intrafamilial affidavit path (BOF 4544A) applies only to California-to-California transfers and to interstate inheritance under PC § 27875(b). Full DROS, 10-day wait, and dealer fee apply.

My father in Texas died and left me his rifle in his will. Do I have to use a dealer?

No. This is the one scenario where the state line does not matter. PC § 27875(b) exempts the import from the dealer-routing requirement of § 27585(a) if the firearm was acquired from an immediate family member by bequest or intestate succession. You file BOF 4544A on paper or through CFARS online within 30 days of taking possession, pay $19, and hold a valid FSC unless you are exempt under PC § 31700. You must be 18 or older and the transfer must be infrequent under PC § 16730, which since 2020 requires both fewer than six transactions per calendar year and no more than 50 total firearms per calendar year.

Can my sister in Oregon ship her handgun directly to my California dealer?

No. 18 USC § 1715 makes handguns nonmailable except by licensed manufacturers and dealers, and UPS and FedEx both refuse handgun shipments from non-licensees. Your sister must either take the handgun to an FFL in Oregon and have that FFL ship it, or physically bring the handgun to your California FFL in person.

Can my uncle in Ohio ship his rifle directly to my California dealer?

Yes, by USPS only. Non-licensees cannot ship firearms through UPS or FedEx, but the ATF and USPS both permit a non-licensee to send a long gun by USPS to a licensed dealer in any state. Publication 52 § 432 requires that the package not be marked as containing a firearm and that tracking with signature capture be used at delivery. Verbal disclosure to the postal clerk is customary practice, not a Publication 52 rule. Most California FFLs will want a copy of their license sent to the shipper first.

I am moving to California from Texas with a Glock that is not on the California roster. Can I bring it?

Yes. The California safe-handgun roster in PC § 32000 is a sales and dealer-import restriction, not a possession restriction. A handgun you lawfully owned in another state before moving can come with you and can be reported on BOF 4010A within 60 days for $19. You cannot later sell it or give it as a normal transfer in California, but you can keep it for your own personal use.

Can I bring my AR-15 to California when I move?

Only if it is in a California-featureless configuration when it arrives. California defines assault weapons through both the enumerated list at PC § 30510 and the features test at PC § 30515, and prohibits importing any assault weapon under § 30600. Most stock AR-15s are caught by the features test (detachable magazine plus pistol grip, flash suppressor, or telescoping stock). A featureless build — no pistol grip, no flash hider, fixed 10-round magazine — is legal to own and import in California, and the modification must be done at an FFL in another state before the rifle enters California. California's registration windows for as-built assault weapons are closed and there is no route to register or grandfather one after moving.

Can I bring my 15-round magazines to California?

No. PC § 32310 prohibits importing, selling, giving, lending, buying, receiving, and possessing magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds, without a pre-ban grandfather clause for out-of-state acquisitions. Where and when you legally purchased them does not matter under California law.

My cousin died and left me her handgun. Can I use the § 27875(b) inheritance path?

No. Cousins are not on the immediate-family list in PC § 16720, which is closed to parent-child and grandparent-grandchild relationships only. The estate's personal representative can transfer under PC § 27920(b) with its own report and FSC requirements, or the firearm can be transferred to a California FFL and processed as an interstate delivery. Talk to a firearms attorney if the estate involves multiple firearms or contested beneficiaries.

What does the intrafamilial transfer cost when the sender is out of state?

For inheritance under § 27875(b), $19 total plus the cost of getting the firearm to California (in-person or through an FFL for a handgun). For a living gift or sale, it is not an intrafamilial transfer at all; it is a standard interstate delivery through a California FFL. Expect $100 to $250 all in, depending on firearm type and shipping arrangements. See the cost stack table above.

Do I need an FSC to file the new-resident report?

No. The new-resident report itself is not a firearm transfer and does not require an FSC. But any subsequent firearm acquisition in California will, so getting an FSC in the first weeks after moving is a practical priority. See the DOJ FSC FAQs.

My out-of-state parent wants to sell me their rifle, not gift it. Does that change anything?

No. Federal § 922(a)(3) and California § 27585(a) treat any receipt of a firearm from out of state the same regardless of whether money changed hands. The intrafamilial paths in § 27875 also do not distinguish gift from sale, only the family relationship and the paperwork.

Related California transfer guides

• What you need to transfer a gun in California — DROS, safety certificate, waiting period, the general overview
• California intrafamilial firearm transfer — the CA-to-CA parent/child/grandparent path, BOF 4544A and the $19 fee
• California private party transfer — the $10 dealer-fee cap and how a PPT actually runs