Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Questions and Answers

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)]

Processing Q&As (National Firearms Act (NFA))

Yes. The most common reasons attributable to trust processing delays include:

  • Failure to submit a responsible person questionnaire and fingerprint cards for each responsible person named on the trust;
  • Failure to submit a valid trust, e.g., there is only one person named in the trust who is the settlor, trustee, and beneficiary;
  • The settlor identifies a minor as a responsible person to the trust;
  • The name of the trust on the NFA application is different than the name of the trust in the trust document; and
  • The background check is delayed for one or more individuals identified as responsible persons. For example, if one of three identified responsible person’s background check is delayed by FBI-NICS, then NFA Division cannot process the application until the delayed background check is resolved.
Last Updated: January 21, 2026

ATF.gov

An official website of the U.S. Department of Justice

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov