Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office launches voluntary firearm turn-in program

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — According to a July 24, 2026, press release from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), the agency has launched Whatcom Safe Exchange, a voluntary firearm turn-in program designed for residents to dispose of unwanted firearms.

According to the press release, participants can receive gift cards in exchange for surrendered firearms. Gift card values are $50 for non-functional firearms, $100 for rifles and shotguns, $200 for handguns and $300 for AR-15, AK-47 or machine gun style firearms.

According to Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell Tanksley, the program provides an anonymous means for community members to remove firearms from homes to reduce risks of theft, accidents or misuse.

Friday morning appointments can currently be scheduled online between 9am to 11:30am through July 30, 2027. Drop-offs at scheduled times occur at a WCSO parking area in downtown Bellingham. Firearms are to be unloaded and secured within a vehicle. Deputies will retrieve and secure the firearms upon arrival.

According to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, funding for the program comes from a $125,000 grant awarded to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. The agency was 1 of 12 statewide law enforcement agencies selected to receive funding from a $3,000,000 settlement with Federal Way Discount Guns regarding sales of high-capacity magazines.

According to the Federal Way Police Department, another law enforcement agency funded by the same grant program, a firearm buyback event conducted on August 16, 2025, collected 70 firearms and distributed $9,875 in grant-funded gift cards. That total included 21 rifles, 18 handguns, 17 shotguns, 6 revolvers, 6 AR or carbine rifles, 1 muzzle loader, and 1 non-functional firearm.

According to the WCSO, accepted items include handguns, rifles, shotguns, assault-style weapons, and antique or inherited firearms. Ammunition and explosives are not accepted. Turned-in firearms are documented and destroyed according to department policy and law, except those converted for department training or display purposes.