Buying a gun for someone else is legal only when it’s a true gift: you use your own money, no one paid you or asked you to make the purchase, and the person receiving it can legally own a firearm. Anything outside that lane is a federal crime called a straw purchase, and the penalties start at 10 years in prison and climb from there.
The Genuine Gift Rule
Federal law does not prohibit giving a firearm as a present. You can walk into a licensed dealer, buy a rifle or handgun with your own funds, honestly certify on the paperwork that you are the actual buyer, and later hand that gun to a friend or family member. The transaction is lawful as long as two things are true: no money or anything of value changed hands to fund the purchase, and the person receiving the gun is legally allowed to possess one.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
A concrete example of the legal version: you buy a shotgun with your own money as a birthday present for your brother, who has no criminal record or other disqualifying history. That’s a bona fide gift. Nothing in federal law requires you to run it through a dealer or file any paperwork, though about half the states now require private transfers to go through a licensed dealer regardless of the reason, so check your state’s rules before handing the gun over.
When It Becomes a Straw Purchase
A straw purchase is what happens when you fill out the federal paperwork as if you’re the buyer, but the real buyer is someone else. The moment cash, a promise, or a request enters the picture, you are no longer the “actual transferee/buyer” the law recognizes.
ATF Form 4473, which every buyer completes at a licensed dealer, asks directly whether you are the actual buyer. The form’s instructions use a plain example: if Mr. Smith gives Mr. Jones the money to go buy a gun for him, Jones is not the actual buyer and must answer “no,” which ends the sale.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
The point that catches people off guard: it doesn’t matter whether the person you’re buying for could have passed the background check themselves. In Abramski v. United States (2014), the Supreme Court held that lying on Form 4473 about being the actual buyer is a federal crime regardless of whether the intended recipient is legally eligible to own a gun. The form exists so the government can trace who actually purchased the firearm. Defeating that system is the offense.
Two other setups fall on the wrong side of the line:
- Your brother gives you $600 and asks you to pick out a rifle for him. Even if he could legally buy it on his own, you are not the actual buyer.
- You buy a “gift” for someone you know is prohibited from possessing firearms. The Form 4473 instructions state directly that a gift is not bona fide if the recipient is barred by law from receiving it.
Federal Penalties
Prosecutors have two overlapping statutes to work with and can charge under either or both.
Lying on Form 4473, including falsely claiming you’re the actual buyer, violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) and carries up to 10 years in federal prison.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 added a dedicated straw-purchasing offense at 18 U.S.C. § 932. Knowingly buying a firearm for someone who is prohibited from possessing one carries up to 15 years. If the gun is tied to a felony, a federal terrorism offense, or drug trafficking, the maximum rises to 25 years.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
Both the straw buyer and the person who arranged the purchase can be charged. And a federal felony conviction permanently strips your own right to possess firearms, so the person who tried to help someone else get a gun loses their gun rights in the process.
Is the Person You’re Buying For Legally Allowed to Own a Gun
Before buying a firearm as a gift, you need to know whether the recipient is one of the categories federal law bars from possessing firearms or ammunition:4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, whether or not they served time
- Fugitives from justice
- Anyone who unlawfully uses or is addicted to a controlled substance
- Anyone formally adjudicated as mentally unfit or involuntarily committed to a mental institution
- Anyone dishonorably discharged from the military
- Former U.S. citizens who have renounced their citizenship
- Anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order or convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense
State laws frequently add to this list, including prohibitions tied to certain non-domestic misdemeanors, age floors above the federal minimum, or additional categories of protective orders.
The Marijuana Problem
This one blindsides people. Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and the ATF has stated explicitly that anyone who uses marijuana is an “unlawful user of a controlled substance” prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. That includes people with valid state-issued medical marijuana cards and people living in states where recreational use is fully legal.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Open Letter to All Federal Firearms Licensees
If you buy a gun as a gift for someone you know uses marijuana, even legally under state law, you are transferring a firearm to a prohibited person under federal law.
Buying a Gun as a Gift for a Minor
Federal age rules split by firearm type and by who is doing the transferring. Private gifts are treated more permissively than dealer sales:6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers
- Long guns (rifles and shotguns): no federal minimum age for a private gift. A parent can give a 12-year-old a hunting rifle. Dealers, however, cannot sell a long gun to anyone under 18.
- Handguns: a private transfer cannot go to anyone under 18. Dealers cannot sell a handgun to anyone under 21.
Federal law does carve out narrow situations where a minor can temporarily possess a handgun, such as farming, ranching, target shooting with written parental consent, or hunting. The written consent must be on the minor’s person while the handgun is being carried.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
State laws often set higher age floors. Several states bar anyone under 21 from possessing handguns, and some go further on long guns. Check your state before gifting a firearm to anyone under 21.
Gifting Across State Lines
If the person receiving your gift lives in a different state, you cannot simply drive it over and hand it to them. Federal law prohibits unlicensed individuals from transferring firearms to anyone they know or have reason to believe lives in another state. The gift has to be routed through a licensed dealer in the recipient’s state of residence, and that dealer handles the Form 4473 and NICS background check before the recipient takes possession.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts7Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS
Two Things That Aren’t Straw Purchases
Some transactions look like buying a gun for someone else but sit outside the straw-purchase rules.
Lending a firearm temporarily for lawful sporting purposes, such as hunting or target shooting, is permitted between unlicensed individuals, and the exception even reaches across state lines for a weekend hunting trip. The loan has to be genuinely temporary and to someone who can lawfully possess firearms. Handing a gun to someone to keep indefinitely is a transfer, not a loan, and lending to a person you know is prohibited is a separate federal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d).4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Inheritance is also treated separately. Firearms received through a will or intestate succession are exempted from the usual bar on interstate transfers between unlicensed individuals, as long as the heir can legally possess the gun in their state. For ordinary firearms, no federal background check is required on the heir, though some states still require the transfer to go through a licensed dealer.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Protect Yourself If You Give a Gun as a Gift
Federal law doesn’t require the giver of a firearm to keep records of the transfer, but doing so is worth the few minutes it takes. If the gun is ever recovered at a crime scene, ATF will trace the purchase back to you as the original buyer. A written note showing the date of the gift, the recipient’s name, and confirmation that the recipient is legally eligible to own a firearm gives you documentation that the transfer was a genuine gift and not a straw purchase.
The rules compress into a short checklist. Use your own money. Never accept cash or anything of value from the recipient before or after the purchase. Confirm the recipient is not in any prohibited category, including the marijuana category that people routinely overlook. Handle interstate gifts through a dealer. Follow your state’s private-transfer rules even for family. Get any of that wrong and the exposure starts at 10 years in federal prison.