There is no federal gun purchase waiting period. Once a licensed dealer runs your background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and gets a “proceed” response, the sale can happen the same day.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Firearms Checks (NICS) Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have their own mandatory waits, running from 72 hours to 30 days depending on where you live and what you’re buying.
States With a Mandatory Wait
A state waiting period runs no matter how quickly your background check clears. Even an instant “proceed” from NICS doesn’t shorten it. As of early 2025, these are the jurisdictions that impose one:
- 72 hours: Colorado, Florida, Maine, and Vermont. Illinois requires 72 hours for handguns and 24 hours for long guns.
- 7 days: Maryland (handguns and assault weapons), New Jersey (handguns), New Mexico, and Rhode Island.
- 10 days: California and the District of Columbia. Washington state requires 10 business days.
- 14 days: Hawaii.
- 30 days: Minnesota, for handgun and assault weapon purchases from dealers.
In Florida, the rule is whichever takes longer, the mandatory wait or the background check. The clock generally starts when the dealer initiates the background check or when you submit a completed application, depending on state law. Every other state relies solely on the federal NICS check, so if the check clears immediately, you can walk out with the firearm the same day.
Violating a state waiting period can cost a dealer their federal firearms license and expose both parties to criminal charges for an unauthorized transfer.
Waiting Period vs. Background Check Delay
These are two different things, and buyers frequently confuse them.
A background check delay happens when NICS can’t immediately confirm your eligibility, often because of a common name, an incomplete record, or a flag that needs manual review. The FBI has three business days to resolve it. If those three days pass with no final answer, the dealer is legally allowed to complete the sale anyway. This is called a “default proceed,” sometimes referred to as the Charleston loophole after the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, which was committed with a firearm sold this way.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Dealers are permitted, not required, to proceed after three days.
A mandatory waiting period is different. It exists to create a cooling-off period between the decision to buy and taking possession. It runs regardless of how quickly the background check comes back.
Longer Reviews for Buyers Under 21
Buyers between 18 and 20 face a longer potential wait even in states without a waiting period. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in 2022, gave the FBI up to 10 business days to investigate delayed checks in this age group when the system flags a potentially disqualifying juvenile or mental health record.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. NICS Enhanced Background Checks for Under-21 Gun Buyers Showing Results
The check runs in two stages. First, the system looks for cause to investigate juvenile records. If nothing surfaces within three business days, the transfer can go forward. If the system does find a potentially disqualifying record, the FBI gets seven additional business days, up to 10 total, before the default proceed rule kicks in.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Who Can Skip the Wait
Concealed Carry Permit Holders
Federal law lets buyers with certain state-issued permits, usually concealed carry permits, bypass the NICS check entirely. The permit has to have been issued within the past five years, in the state where the sale occurs, and only after the issuing agency ran a background check that searched NICS.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart Twenty-eight states currently issue permits that qualify.
Important caveat: this federal exemption only waives the NICS check. It does not override a state waiting period. Some states with waits carve out an exception for permit holders; others don’t. You may skip the background check and still wait days before taking the gun home.
Law Enforcement Officers on Duty Purchases
Officers buying firearms for official duty use are exempt from Form 4473 entirely if they present a certification letter on agency letterhead, signed by a supervisor, confirming the purchase is for official use and that a records check shows no disqualifying convictions.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 27 CFR 478.134 – Sales to Law Enforcement Officers Officers buying for personal use go through the standard process.
Antique Firearms
Firearms manufactured in or before 1898, along with certain replicas that don’t use modern ammunition, are excluded from the federal definition of “firearm.”6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions That puts them outside the whole federal framework: no Form 4473, no NICS check, no waiting period. State law may still regulate them, so the federal exemption isn’t a guarantee everywhere.
Private Sales Are Not Covered
Federal waiting rules only touch sales by federally licensed dealers. A private individual selling a firearm to another private individual triggers no federal background check and no federal waiting period. The ATF published a rule in April 2024 expanding the definition of who counts as “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms, which would require more sellers to get licensed and run checks.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Final Rule: Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms A federal court has blocked enforcement of that rule against several states and organizations pending litigation, and its status remains in flux.
Some states independently require background checks on all firearm sales, including private ones, which brings any state waiting period into those transactions as well. In states without such laws, a private sale can happen on the spot.