Extreme Risk Protection Orders Must Now Be Filed On Statewide Registry

A new provision of the state’s “Red Flag Law” took effect on February 6, requiring broader notifications about those who may pose a danger to themselves or others.

The Extreme Risk Protection Orders are meant to prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves from possessing firearms, either temporarily or permanently, depending on the circumstances of their case.

A bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in October 2024 (S.3340/A.5873) requires courts to notify the statewide registry of orders of protections and warrants when judges issue an Extreme Risk Protection Order. This safeguard ensures that ERPOs aren’t overlooked and codifies what courts have already been doing in practice. 

“Police officers can now quickly see if someone has an outstanding ERPO and better protect victims who face an ongoing risk of violence from someone in their life – and those who pose a risk to themselves,” said Senate bill sponsor Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers.

The Assembly bill was sponsored by Charles Lavine, D-North Shore. 

As of Feb. 3, 2025, approximately 14,000 temporary and permanent ERPOs have been ordered by courts statewide. This is 12 times more than before state laws took action after a racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, on May 14, 2022. 

After the shooting, Hochul required all police departments to file for ERPOs when applicable. The list of people able to request an ERPO extended to include health care practitioners who have examined an individual within the last six months and required reports by mental health practitioners.

“By empowering law enforcement and judges to take action, we’re getting guns off our streets and making our communities safer,” Hochul said in a press release. 

Hochul hopes to continue the state’s efforts against gun violence, as reflected in her FY26 Executive Budget, by funding police technology and equipment through a grant program and the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, and proposes to create a mass violence crisis response team and increase the crime victim compensation cost of burial and funeral expenses.