Unlicensed Persons
An individual between 18 and 21 years of age may acquire a handgun from an unlicensed individual who resides in the same state, provided the person acquiring the handgun is not otherwise prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under federal law. A federal firearms licensee may not, however, sell or deliver a firearm other than a shotgun or rifle to a person the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under 21 years of age.
There may be state or local laws or regulations that govern this type of transaction. Contact the office of your State Attorney General for information on any such requirements.
[18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1)]
If a person maintains a home in two states and resides in both states for certain periods of the year, they may, during the period of time they actually reside in a particular state, purchase a firearm in that state. However, simply owning property in another state does not alone qualify the person to purchase a firearm in that state.
[27 CFR 478.11]
An unlicensed person who is not prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms may purchase a firearm from an out-of-state source, provided the transfer takes place through a federal firearms licensee in their state of residence.
[18 U.S.C 922(a)(3) and 922(b)(3); 27 CFR 478.29]
Generally, a person may only acquire a firearm within the person’s own state. Exceptions include the acquisition pursuant to a lawful bequest, or an over-the-counter acquisition of a rifle or shotgun from a licensee where the transaction is allowed by the purchaser’s state of residence and the licensee’s state of business. A person may borrow or rent a firearm in any state for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes.
[18 U.S.C 922(a)(3); 27 CFR 478.29]
No. Curios or relics are still firearms subject to the provisions of the GCA; however, curio or relic firearms may be transferred in interstate commerce to licensed collectors or other licensees.
[18. U.S.C. 921(a)(3) and (13) and 923(b); 27 CFR 478.11]
No. Although generally the Gun Control Act (GCA) prohibits the receipt and possession of firearms and ammunition by persons subject to disqualifying restraining orders, the GCA does not prohibit a law enforcement officer subject to a restraining order from receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition for use in performing official duties. Possession of the firearm for official purposes while off duty would be lawful if such possession is required or authorized by law or by official departmental policy. An officer subject to a disabling restraining order would violate the law if the officer received or possessed a firearm or ammunition for other than official use.
[18 U.S.C. 921(a)(32), 922(g)(8) and 925(a)(1); 27 CFR 478.11, 478.32 and 478.141]
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her or her own state or to a licensee in any state. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.
In addition, federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm or ammunition, prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm and requires obtaining written acknowledgement of receipt.
[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a)(5), 922(e) and (f); 27 CFR 478.30 and 478.31]
A nonlicensee may not transfer a firearm to a non-licensed resident of another state. A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of their own state or to a licensee in any state.
The U.S. Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms.
Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.
[18 U.S.C. 1715, 922(a)(5) and 922 (a)(2)(A); 27 CFR 478.31]
Yes. However, persons less than 18 years of age may only receive and possess handguns with the written permission of a parent or guardian for limited purposes, e.g., employment, ranching, farming, target practice or hunting.
[18 U.S.C. 922(x)]
Yes. A person who lawfully possesses a firearm may transport or ship the firearm interstate when changing their state of residence. If using a moving company, you must notify the mover that firearms are being transported.
Certain NFA firearms must have prior approval from ATF before such firearms may be moved interstate. You should also check state and local laws where relocating to ensure that movement of firearms into the new state does not violate any state law or local ordinance.
[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(4) and 922(e); 27 CFR 478.28 and 478.31]
An alien legally in the U.S. is not prohibited from purchasing firearms unless the alien is admitted into the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visa and does not meet one of the exceptions as provided in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2), such as possession of a valid hunting license or permit.
[18 U.S.C. 922 (d)(5), (g)(5) and (y)(2); 27 CFR 478.11 and 478.32(a)(5) ]
Yes, provided they are not prohibited from possessing or receiving ammunition.
[18 U.S.C. 922(g) and (n)]
A person may transfer a firearm to an unlicensed resident of their state, provided the transferor does not know or have reasonable cause to believe the transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under federal law. There may be state laws that regulate intrastate firearm transactions. A person considering transferring a firearm should contact their State Attorney General’s Office to inquire about the laws and possible state or local restrictions.
Generally, for a person to lawfully transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides out of state, the firearm must be shipped to a federal firearms licensee (FFL) within the transferee’s state of residence. The transferee may then receive the firearm from the FFL upon completion of an ATF Form 4473 and a NICS background check.
A person may loan or rent a firearm to a resident of any state for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes, if they do not know or have reasonable cause to believe the person is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under federal law. Another exception is provided for transfers of firearms to nonresidents to carry out a lawful bequest or acquisition by intestate succession. This exception would authorize the transfer of a firearm to a nonresident who inherits a firearm under the will of a decedent.
A person may transfer a firearm to a licensee in any state. However, a firearm other than a curio or relic may not be transferred interstate to a licensed collector.
[18 U.S.C 922(a)(5) and 922(d); 27 CFR 478.30, 478.32]
For Gun Control Act (GCA) purposes, a person is a resident of a state in which he or she is present with the intention of making a home in that state. The state of residence for a corporation or other business entity is the state where it maintains a place of business.
A member of the Armed Forces on active duty is a resident of the state in which his or her or her permanent duty station is located. If a member of the Armed Forces maintains a home in one state and the member’s permanent duty station is in a nearby state to which they commute each day, then the member has two states of residence and may purchase a firearm in either the state where the duty station is located or the state where the home is maintained.
[18 U.S.C. 921(b), 922(a)(3), and 922(b)(3); 27 CFR 478.11]
Processing Q&As (National Firearms Act (NFA))
No. While “first in, first out” is a guiding principle, NFA Division will focus its resources on processing those NFA applications that have received a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check. NFA applications were previously processed on a “first in, first out” basis, which resulted in delayed processing for NFA applications with a proceeded background check. For example, previously, a NFA application with a proceeded background check would not be processed until a NFA application with a delayed background check was resolved. Now, the NFA application with a proceeded background check gets priority for processing. NFA will continue to submit background checks to FBI-NICS in the order applications are received. NFA Division will then process NFA applications as it receives background check responses from FBI-NICS.
The NFA examiners are assigned specific application types. For example, certain examiners will be assigned to process individual applicants while others are assigned to process trust applicants. Further, applications that are put into problem status will be processed at the end of the week. Examples for when an application is placed into problem status include failure to submit fingerprint cards, failure to submit photographs, failure to submit a responsible person questionnaire, or to research whether the applicant may make, possess, or receive the firearm under State law.
Due to the high volume of NFA application submissions and ATF's limited resources, NFA Division submits background checks to FBI-NICS in batches to maximize efficiency. As the number of pending NFA applications decreases, the background checks will be submitted to FBI-NICS closer to when the NFA application was received by NFA Division. Currently, background checks for individual applicants are sent to FBI-NICS the same week the NFA application is received by NFA Division.
NFA Division will not approve a NFA application unless it receives a “proceed” from FBI-NICS. Some background checks may take longer to process because FBI-NICS must perform additional research on the applicant’s background. As a result, two individuals who submit NFA applications at the same time may have their NFA application processed at different times because the background checks are completed by FBI-NICS and transmitted to NFA Division at different times.
While it is not required, the simplest way to help ensure your background check is processed timely and accurately is to provide your social security number with the NFA application. Without the social security number, FBI-NICS may have to perform additional research to ensure the applicant is not prohibited, thereby delaying the background check response to NFA Division. For example, without a social security number, FBI-NICS will have to perform additional research to properly identify the applicant when the applicant has the same name as someone else with prohibiting information in the NICS database.
No. NFA Division must receive a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check.
No. NFA Division must receive a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check.
No. NFA Division must receive a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check.
Yes. Provided everything else is in order, NFA Division may approve the NFA application because FBI-NICS responded with a “proceed” to the required background check.
No. FBI-NICS must prioritize background checks submitted by FFLs for transfers of firearms regulated under the Gun Control Act (GCA). NFA background checks that require further research by FBI-NICS will be performed as resources allow.
