1. (a) If a court has ordered a law enforcement agency to retain an individual's firearm under section 6 of this chapter, the individual or the rightful owner of the firearm, as applicable, may petition the court to order the law enforcement agency to:

   1. (1) transfer the firearm to a responsible third party as described under section 1.5 of this chapter;
   2. (2) transfer the firearm to an individual who possesses a valid federal firearms license issued under 18 U.S.C. 923 for storage or an eventual lawful sale whose terms are mutually agreed upon between the licensee and the individual or rightful owner, as applicable; or

   3. (3) sell the firearm at auction under IC 35-47-3-2 and return the proceeds to the individual or the rightful owner of the firearm, as applicable.

      The responsible third party who accepts transfer of the firearm from the law enforcement agency under a court order under this section shall enter into a written court agreement that obligates the responsible third party to the reasonable care and storage of the firearm, including not providing access or transferring the firearm to the individual found to be dangerous in a hearing under section 6 of this chapter.

2. (b) An individual or rightful owner of the firearm may petition the court as described in subsection (a):

   1. (1) at the hearing described in section 6 or 9 of this chapter; or
   2. (2) at any time before the hearing described in section 6 or 9 of this chapter is held.

3. (c) If an individual or rightful owner timely requests a sale or transfer of a firearm under subsection (a), the court shall order the law enforcement agency having custody of the firearm to transfer the firearm or sell the firearm at auction under IC 35-47-3-2 , unless:

   1. (1) the serial number of the firearm has been obliterated;
   2. (2) the transfer of the firearm would be unlawful; or
   3. (3) the requirements of subsection (a) have not been met.

4. (d) If the court issues an order under subsection (c), the court's order must require:

   1. (1) that the firearm be sold not more than one (1) year after receipt of the order; and
   2. (2) that the proceeds of the sale be returned to the individual or rightful owner of the firearm.
5. (e) A law enforcement agency may retain not more than eight percent (8%) of the sale price to pay the costs of the sale, including administrative costs and the auctioneer's fee.

As added by P.L.157-2014, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.289-2019, SEC.13.