Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-24 (2026)

Alteration of marks of identification on firearms

✓ current as of July 2026

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(a) No person shall change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer’s number then any other mark of identification on any firearm.

(b) No person shall, absent recertification paperwork, knowingly receive, transport, or possess any firearm which has had the name of the maker or manufacturer’s serial number removed, altered, or obliterated, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer’s number then any other mark of identification on any firearm.

(c) Possession of any firearm, absent recertification paperwork, upon which the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer’s number then any other mark of identification on any firearm has been changed, altered, removed, or obliterated shall be prima facie evidence that the possessor has changed, altered, removed, or obliterated.

(d) A person in possession of a firearm, with proof of ownership and/or transfer from a FFL dealer, may apply for recertification of that firearm from a Rhode Island based licensed firearms business owner who also is an FFL dealer or a local police chief and/or police department official if the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer’s number then any other mark of identification on the firearm has been only partially damaged.

(e) The Rhode Island based licensed firearms business owner who is also an FFL dealer or a local police chief and/or police department official shall, within sixty (60) days of the application if he or she is reasonably able to verify the firearm ownership and identifying marks recertify the firearm or return the firearm to the person who presented it, certify by written notarized documentation that the firearm’s name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer’s number then any other mark of identification on the firearm has been partially damaged and is still identifiable and traceable to the record owner.

(f) The sale or transfer of a recertified firearm and/or the submission of a report by the record owner that the firearm was stolen immediately voids all recertification documentation.

(g) Violation of the provisions of this section may be punished by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years.

(h) This section shall not apply to the lawful exchange of component parts of any firearms, nor to any antique and collectible weapons legally possessed by collectors and dealers of firearms as provided in § 11-47-25.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases, 1972–2008 · leading case: Mosby v. Devine, 851 A.2d 1031 (R.I. 2004).

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Mosby v. Devine, 851 A.2d 1031 (R.I. 2004). · cites it 4× “[18] Section 11-47-24. [19] Section 11-47-20. [20] Section 11-47-20.”

State v. HUY, 960 A.2d 550 (R.I. 2008). · cites it 8× “1956 § 11-47-8(a) (count 1), and altering the marks of identification on a firearm, in violation of § 11-47-24 [1] (count 2). On count 1, the trial justice sentenced Huy to a suspended term of six years imprisonment, with probation and a monetary fine, and on count 2, the…”

In Re Vannarith D., 731 A.2d 685 (R.I. 1999). · cites it 2× “01(C)(1)(a), and removal of a serial number on a firearm in violation of G.L.1956 § 11-47-24. 1 Upon a determination of delinquency, Vannarith D.”

State v. Dufresne, 436 A.2d 720 (R.I. 1981). “General Laws 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 11-47-24, as amended by P.L.1975, ch. 278, § 1.”

Pelliccia v. Sharkey, 292 A.2d 862 (R.I. 1972). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) §11-47-24. The second indictment charged unlawful carrying of a pistol in a motor vehicle in violation of now §11-47-8.”

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