Buying a gun from a friend is legal under federal law in most situations, as long as you both live in the same state, neither of you is barred from having firearms, and your friend isn’t in the business of selling guns for profit. Federal law doesn’t require a background check, paperwork, or a waiting period for that kind of private sale. About 20 states have added their own rules that do, so the answer depends heavily on where you live.
Same-State Sales Under Federal Law
When you and your friend both genuinely reside in the same state, federal law lets you complete the sale directly. No background check, no ATF form, no waiting period, no dealer involvement. This is often called the private sale exemption.
The exemption depends on three things being true at once. You both live in the same state. Your friend isn’t “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms and isn’t required to hold a Federal Firearms License. And you, the buyer, don’t fall into any of the federally prohibited categories. If any one of those fails, the sale is illegal even if no one asked for paperwork.
If Your Friend Lives in Another State
Federal law flatly prohibits an unlicensed person from transferring a firearm to a resident of a different state. That applies to handguns, rifles, and shotguns.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The only legal path is to route the sale through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in your state.
In practice, your friend ships the gun to an FFL near you. That dealer runs a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check, has you fill out ATF Form 4473, and hands over the firearm only after the check clears.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide Transfer fees typically run somewhere between $20 and $75.
Making Sure You Can Legally Receive a Gun
Your friend cannot legally sell you a firearm if you fall into any federally prohibited category, and doing so knowingly is a crime carrying up to 15 years in federal prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties The federal categories are:1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
- Fugitives from justice.
- Unlawful users of controlled substances or people addicted to them.
- People adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution.
- Unauthorized immigrants and most people admitted on nonimmigrant visas.
- Dishonorably discharged veterans.
- People who have renounced U.S. citizenship.
- People subject to certain domestic restraining orders protecting an intimate partner or child.
- Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
A private seller has no way to run a NICS check. Your friend is relying on what they know about you, so if either of you has any doubt, running the sale through an FFL removes the risk.
The Marijuana Trap
One category catches people off guard. Marijuana is still a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and regular users are federally prohibited from possessing firearms no matter what their state has legalized. As of January 2026, ATF revised its definition to require evidence of “regular and recent” use before someone qualifies as a prohibited person; isolated or past use that has stopped does not.4Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance Still, if you’re a regular marijuana user, buying a gun from a friend is illegal under federal law even in a state where marijuana is fully legal.
State Rules That Add Requirements
Federal law is the floor. At least 20 states have laws requiring background checks on most or all private firearm transfers, which effectively means friend-to-friend sales in those states have to run through an FFL who performs a NICS check.
Some states layer on more:
- Waiting periods, ranging from 72 hours to about two weeks depending on the state and the type of firearm.
- Purchase permits or firearm owner identification cards you must hold before you can legally acquire a gun, including in a private sale.
- Registration of the firearm with a state or local agency after the transfer.
Check the rules for your specific state before agreeing on a price. A sale that is perfectly legal federally can be a state crime if you skip a required background check, waiting period, or permit step.
Age Rules in Private Sales
Federal law bars an unlicensed seller from transferring a handgun to anyone under 18, with narrow exceptions for employment, ranching, hunting, and formal instruction that come with their own conditions.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
For long guns, federal law sets no minimum age on private transfers.6ATF. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers Many states, however, set their own minimums, often 18 or 21, so the federal rule is only part of the picture. Note that buying from a licensed dealer requires you to be 18 for long guns and 21 for handguns; private sales have a lower federal floor.
Straw Purchases and Gifts
If your friend is asking you to buy a gun on their behalf, or you’re asking them to buy one for you, that’s a straw purchase and it is a federal crime. It applies even if the person who ultimately gets the gun could legally buy one themselves. A conviction carries up to 15 years, or up to 25 if the firearm is meant for use in a felony, drug trafficking, or terrorism.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
A genuine gift, where your friend picks out the gun, pays for it with their own money, and gives it to you without expecting to be paid back, is generally legal as long as you can lawfully possess firearms. The distinction turns on who is actually funding and directing the purchase.
Borrowing Is Not the Same as Buying
Federal law treats a temporary loan differently from a sale. If your friend lends you a rifle for a hunting trip and you both live in the same state and you’re not prohibited, no background check or FFL is required. Federal law also carves out an exception for temporary loans for lawful sporting purposes across state lines, so a friend visiting from another state can lend you a shotgun for the weekend even though selling it to you would require an FFL.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Some states with universal background check laws treat any transfer as needing a check unless it fits a specific exemption, often for immediate family or short loans at a shooting range. Confirm your state’s rule before assuming a casual loan is legal.
If the Gun Is a Suppressor or Other NFA Item
A suppressor, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, machine gun, or destructive device is regulated under the National Firearms Act, and none of the ordinary private-sale rules apply. The transfer requires ATF approval before the gun changes hands. Your friend files ATF Form 4, and you submit fingerprints, passport-style photos, and notify your local chief law enforcement officer.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm (Tax-Paid) Approval can take weeks or months. As of January 1, 2026, the federal transfer tax was eliminated for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons,” though machine guns and destructive devices still carry the $200 tax. The approval and paperwork requirements are unchanged.
Paperwork and Checking the Gun Isn’t Stolen
Even where no law requires it, write up a bill of sale. If the gun is later reported stolen or used in a crime, that paper is the only proof of who had it when. A workable bill of sale contains:
- Both parties’ full names, addresses, and government ID numbers.
- The firearm’s manufacturer, model, caliber, and serial number.
- The sale date and price.
- Signatures from both of you.
Each of you keeps a copy. Some sellers also ask the buyer to sign a short statement confirming they aren’t prohibited from owning firearms. It doesn’t replace a NICS check, but it documents a good-faith effort.
Verifying the gun isn’t stolen is harder than it should be. The FBI’s National Crime Information Center database, where stolen firearms are logged, is not open to private citizens; only law enforcement and licensed dealers can query it.9Federal Register. Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – Access to Records of Stolen Firearms in the National Crime Information Center Some local police departments will run a serial number for you on request. Otherwise, routing the sale through an FFL gets you the check as part of the transfer. At a minimum, look at the serial number yourself. If it has been scratched off or altered, walk away; that’s a federal crime on its own and a strong sign the gun is stolen.