Yes, you can sell a gun privately in the United States. Federal law lets an unlicensed person sell a firearm to another unlicensed person who lives in the same state, and no federal background check is required for that transaction.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Best Practices: Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers What you have to get right is who you sell to, what your state requires on top of the federal floor, and how you document the handoff. Sell to someone federal law bars from owning a gun and you face up to 15 years in federal prison, so the details below are not paperwork for its own sake.
The Federal Rule for Private Sales
Two unlicensed private citizens who both live in the same state can transfer a firearm between themselves without going through a licensed dealer, without a background check, and without any federal recordkeeping requirement.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Best Practices: Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers That is the federal baseline.
The clearest federal line is the state border. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5), it is a federal crime to sell or transfer a firearm to someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe lives in a different state, with narrow exceptions for inherited firearms and temporary loans for lawful sporting purposes.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Out-of-state sales have to run through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in the buyer’s home state.
Age matters too. In a private sale, you cannot sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun or handgun ammunition to anyone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is under 18.3Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers Federal law sets no minimum age for a private transfer of a rifle or shotgun, but many states set their own, higher floors.
What Your State Adds On Top
The federal rule is a floor, not a ceiling. More than 20 states and the District of Columbia require background checks on some or all private firearm sales. In those states, you cannot meet a buyer in a parking lot and hand over the gun. The transaction has to happen at an FFL, who runs the buyer through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and keeps the paperwork.
State requirements are not uniform. Some cover every firearm transfer. Some apply only to handguns. Several exempt transfers between immediate family members or antique firearms. Check your own state’s rule before you agree on a price, because the answer changes everything about how the sale has to go.
Two practical consequences follow when your state pushes a private sale through an FFL. First, any state waiting period usually applies. Waiting periods that reach private sales run anywhere from 72 hours to 14 days depending on the state and the type of firearm. Second, the FFL charges a transfer fee, typically $20 to $75, sometimes more for high-value guns. That fee covers the NICS check, the ATF Form 4473, and the dealer’s recordkeeping. Buyer and seller should settle who pays it before meeting at the shop.
People You Cannot Legally Sell To
Whether or not a background check is required in your state, you commit a federal felony if you sell a firearm to someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is a prohibited person. A knowing violation carries up to 15 years in federal prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
Federal law bars the following people from possessing firearms:2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
- Anyone currently fleeing from justice
- Anyone who unlawfully uses or is addicted to a controlled substance
- Anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution at age 16 or older
- Anyone dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces
- Anyone who has renounced U.S. citizenship
- Anyone subject to a court order restraining them from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or their child
- Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
As a private seller you have no access to NICS and no way to verify most of this. That does not let you off the hook. The legal test is not whether you confirmed the buyer was prohibited. It is whether you had reasonable cause to believe they were. If a buyer says something that fits one of the categories above, or the circumstances of the meeting feel wrong, walk away from the sale.
Watch for Straw Purchases
A straw purchase happens when someone buys a gun on behalf of a person who is either barred from owning one or plans to use it in a crime. Federal law treats straw purchasing as its own felony, separate from selling to a prohibited person, with a penalty of up to 15 years, or up to 25 years if the firearm is intended for a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
Signs to watch for: a buyer who keeps texting or calling someone during the meeting, seems unfamiliar with the gun they are supposedly buying, or is being coached by a third party standing nearby. If someone tells you the gun is really for a friend or a relative, stop the sale. Even if the real recipient could legally own the firearm, the deception itself is the crime.
If Your Buyer Lives in Another State
You cannot hand or ship a firearm directly to a buyer in another state. The transfer has to run through a licensed dealer in the buyer’s state of residence. You send the firearm to that FFL, the FFL runs the NICS check and completes ATF Form 4473, and the FFL delivers the gun to the buyer.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide The receiving FFL is on the hook for making sure the transfer complies with the buyer’s state law, and will charge the buyer a transfer fee.
The same rules apply when you find your buyer through a site like GunBroker or Armslist. The listing platform changes nothing legally. In-state sale to a same-state buyer follows the in-state rules; out-of-state sale routes through an FFL. Many sellers choose to complete even in-state online sales at an FFL for their own protection, since the background check and paperwork insulate them if the buyer later turns out to be prohibited.
Shipping the Firearm
Shipping is more restricted than most sellers expect. UPS accepts firearms only from licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, or collectors with a pre-approved shipping agreement, so an unlicensed private seller cannot ship a gun through UPS.7UPS. How to Ship Firearms FedEx has the same restriction for non-licensees.
The Postal Service has long prohibited non-licensees from mailing handguns and other concealable firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 1715, while permitting non-concealable rifles and shotguns under certain conditions. In January 2026, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion concluding that the prohibition is unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected firearms and recommended that USPS update its regulations.8Department of Justice. Constitutionality of 18 USC 1715 USPS Publication 52 had not been updated as of this writing, and the day-to-day effect on mailing is unsettled.
The reliable path for a private seller who needs to ship: bring the firearm to a local FFL and have them ship it to the receiving FFL. FFLs have carrier accounts and standing procedures to do it correctly.
When Frequent Sales Turn You Into a Dealer
Selling a gun from your personal collection once in a while is not the same as running a firearms business, and the difference is a felony. Dealing in firearms without a Federal Firearms License carries up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and any firearms involved can be seized and forfeited.9Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Do I Need a License to Buy and Sell Firearms
Under federal law you are “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms if you devote time, attention, and labor to selling firearms with the intent to predominantly earn a profit. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act tightened that standard in 2022. Selling a gun you no longer want or trading up for a different model does not make you a dealer.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Definition of Engaged in the Business of Selling Firearms Buying and reselling guns frequently, flipping firearms for profit at gun shows, or maintaining an inventory that looks more like a small business than a personal collection can. If your pattern starts to look commercial, you need a license.
Write a Bill of Sale
Federal law does not require a private seller to keep records of the transaction.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Best Practices: Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers Skip it anyway and you are exposed. If the firearm is later recovered at a crime scene, law enforcement traces the serial number back through the chain of ownership. A bill of sale is your proof that you transferred the gun to a specific person on a specific date and are no longer the person responsible for it.
A good bill of sale includes:
- Full legal names, current addresses, and driver’s license or state ID numbers for both buyer and seller
- Firearm make, model, caliber, and serial number
- Date of the sale and the purchase price
- A signed statement from the buyer affirming that they are not a prohibited person under federal or state law and are legally eligible to possess the firearm
Both parties sign and date the document, and each keeps a copy. Some sellers photograph the buyer’s ID with permission for an added layer of documentation. There is no required format. A handwritten page covering these details works as well as a printed form.
Meeting the Buyer
Meet in a safe, public location. Many police station parking lots are set up for this kind of exchange, with cameras and lighting, and some departments designate “safe trade zones” for private sales.
Check the buyer’s government-issued photo ID first, before anything else moves.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Best Practices: Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers Confirm their name, age, and state of residence, and make sure the person in front of you matches the photo. Then fill out and sign the bill of sale together. Only after the paperwork is complete should the firearm and the payment change hands. Each party leaves with a signed copy.
You are never obligated to complete a sale. A buyer who refuses to show ID, gets cagey about their name, or drops a comment that the gun is really for someone else is handing you exactly the kind of warning “reasonable cause to believe” was written to cover. Lose the sale.