Buying a gun in a different state is legal under federal law, but the rules split sharply by firearm type. A rifle or shotgun you can buy over the counter from a licensed dealer and take home the same day. A handgun you cannot: the out-of-state dealer has to ship it to a licensed dealer in your home state, and you complete the transfer there. Every interstate sale runs through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), and the transaction has to comply with the laws of both states.
Rifles and Shotguns: Same-Day Purchase Allowed
You can walk into an FFL in another state, buy a rifle or shotgun, and leave with it that day. The dealer must be federally licensed, you must meet the dealer in person, and the sale must comply with the laws of both the state where you’re buying and your home state.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
This dual-compliance rule matters. If your home state imposes a waiting period, the out-of-state dealer has to honor it. If the specific model is banned where you live, the dealer cannot sell it to you. Some out-of-state shops decline these sales entirely because verifying another state’s laws takes time and carries legal risk. Call before you drive.
You must be at least 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun from any FFL.2U.S. Department of Justice. Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws Bring a valid government-issued photo ID showing your name, date of birth, and current address. If your photo ID doesn’t show your address, a second government document that does will fill the gap.3Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Ruling 2001-5
Handguns: Must Ship to Your Home State
An out-of-state FFL cannot transfer a handgun to you directly. Federal law prohibits a licensed dealer from selling or delivering a handgun to anyone who doesn’t reside in the state where that dealer is located.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts You can browse, handle, and pay for a handgun on the spot, but you leave without it.
The selling dealer then ships the handgun to an FFL in your home state. You go to that local dealer, complete the federal paperwork, pass a background check, and take possession there.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide The receiving FFL runs the Form 4473 and the background check.
You must be at least 21 to buy a handgun from any FFL, regardless of which state you’re buying in or which state you call home.2U.S. Department of Justice. Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws
Private Sales and Online Orders
Federal law prohibits private firearm sales between residents of different states. If neither you nor the seller has a federal firearms license, you cannot legally transfer a gun to each other across state lines. This includes gun shows.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Gun Show Guidelines The only lawful path is to route the sale through an FFL in the buyer’s home state.
Online purchases follow the same rule. Whether you’re buying from a dealer’s website or an individual on a firearms marketplace, the gun ships to an FFL in your state, and you complete the transfer paperwork and background check there. Antique firearms manufactured in or before 1898 sit outside the federal definition of “firearm” and can ship directly to you.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions Your state may still regulate them.
How Your Home State Can Block the Sale
Federal law is the floor. Your home state’s rules travel with you and can shut down an otherwise legal purchase.
- Waiting periods. Roughly a dozen states impose mandatory waits ranging from a few days to several weeks. An out-of-state dealer selling you a long gun must honor your home state’s waiting period even if the seller’s state has none.
- Purchase permits. Some states require a permit or firearm owner identification card before any dealer can transfer a firearm to you. Without it, no sale can proceed.
- Banned firearms and accessories. Several states prohibit categories of semi-automatic rifles often described as “assault weapons,” and others restrict magazine capacity. If the gun or magazine is illegal where you live, the sale cannot go through.
The selling dealer is supposed to verify compliance, but enforcement varies, and a mistake can create criminal exposure for you. Check both states’ laws before you travel or place an order.
The Paperwork and Background Check
Every FFL transfer requires you to complete ATF Form 4473, the Firearms Transaction Record.7ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.124 – Firearms Transaction Record The form collects your personal information and asks a series of eligibility questions. You certify under penalty of law that your answers are truthful. Lying on a Form 4473 is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
The dealer then runs your information through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Results come back one of three ways:
- Proceed. The dealer can transfer the firearm immediately, assuming any state waiting period has been satisfied.
- Delayed. The FBI needs more time. If no final answer comes back within three business days, the dealer may complete the transfer, though some dealers and some states don’t allow it.
- Denied. The FBI has identified a disqualifying record, and the transfer cannot happen.
Federal law bars several categories of people from buying or possessing firearms, including anyone convicted of a crime carrying a potential sentence over one year, fugitives, unlawful drug users, people committed to a mental institution, and anyone subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders or convictions.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The Form 4473 questions screen for these disqualifiers.
What the Transfer Fee Costs
When a firearm ships to your local FFL, the receiving dealer charges a fee for the paperwork and background check. Federal law doesn’t set this fee, so it varies. Most dealers charge between $20 and $75, though shops in high-cost areas or those that rarely handle transfers may charge more. Call ahead and confirm the fee, because you’ll owe it whether or not the sale ultimately closes.
Getting the Gun Home Legally
Completing the purchase is only half the trip. You still have to move the firearm home without breaking any state’s law along the way. The Firearm Owners Protection Act gives you a federal safe-passage right: you may transport a firearm through any state as long as you can legally possess it at your starting point and your destination.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
During transport the firearm must be unloaded, and neither the gun nor any ammunition can be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. If your vehicle has no separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition go in a locked container. The glove compartment and center console do not qualify.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms A locked hard case in the back seat or cargo area works.
Safe passage covers travel through a state, not extended stops. Checking into a hotel overnight in a state with restrictive gun laws puts you in a gray area the statute may not cover. Keep stops in those states brief.
Active-Duty Military Buyers
Federal law treats service members as residents of the state where their permanent duty station is located, even if they live off-base in a different state.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Questions and Answers A soldier stationed at a base in Georgia but living across the state line can buy firearms as a resident of either state.
To claim residency at your duty station, show your military photo ID and your permanent change of station orders. The dealer records both the duty station address and your actual residence on the Form 4473.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Questions and Answers This treatment applies only to the service member. Spouses and dependents buy based on where they actually live.
Gifts and Inheritance Across State Lines
Giving a firearm to someone in another state follows the same rules as any other interstate transfer. The gun has to go through an FFL in the recipient’s home state, even between close family members. Ship it or bring it to a dealer in the recipient’s state, where they complete the Form 4473 and background check.
Inheritance is the exception. Federal law lets someone who receives a firearm through a will or intestate succession bring it into their home state without an FFL transfer, as long as they can legally possess it there.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts If you inherit a gun from a relative in another state, you can carry it home directly, provided you’re not a prohibited person and the firearm isn’t banned where you live.