How to Legally Sell a Gun at a Gun Show: Rules and Penalties

To legally sell a gun at a gun show, you need to be a genuine private seller rather than an unlicensed dealer, verify the buyer is an in-state resident of legal age who isn’t prohibited from owning firearms, follow your state’s rules on background checks and waiting periods, and document the transfer with a bill of sale. Federal law sets the floor. Roughly 18 states and the District of Columbia require more, and getting the basics wrong can carry up to 15 years in federal prison.

Are You a Private Seller or an Unlicensed Dealer?

This is the first question, and it’s where most legal trouble starts. Selling a handful of guns from a personal collection is a private sale. Buying firearms with the plan of reselling them for profit is dealing, and dealing without a Federal Firearms License is a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison.¹

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed in 2022, changed the definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms. The old standard required the government to show that selling guns was your livelihood. The new standard dropped that. Anyone who sells firearms with the primary intention of “predominantly earning a profit” through repetitive purchases and resales may need an FFL.²

There is no minimum number of guns that triggers licensing. Even a single sale, combined with evidence you intend to buy and resell more for profit, can cross the line. The ATF’s implementing regulation identifies several activities that create a presumption you’re dealing for profit, including renting table space at gun shows to display guns for resale, advertising firearms for sale repeatedly, and reselling guns within 30 days of purchase.³

Selling firearms from a genuine personal collection is explicitly excluded, even if you make a profit. The distinction is intent. Did you buy the gun to use, and later decide to sell it? That’s a private sale. Did you buy it planning to flip it? That looks like dealing.

One caveat on the 2024 regulation: a federal district court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the rule against certain plaintiffs, and that litigation was still pending as of early 2026.² The underlying statute from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act remains law regardless. If you attend gun shows regularly and sell for profit, the safest path is to get an FFL.

Who You Cannot Sell To Under Federal Law

Prohibited Buyers

You cannot sell a firearm to anyone you know, or have reasonable cause to believe, is a prohibited person. The major categories include people convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order, people convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, unlawful users of controlled substances, and anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.⁴

The “reasonable cause to believe” standard matters. Federal law doesn’t require a private seller to run a formal background check for an intrastate sale, but you can’t ignore obvious warning signs. If a buyer mentions a felony conviction, seems intoxicated, or asks you to put someone else’s name on the paperwork, you’re on notice. Completing the sale anyway is a federal crime carrying up to 15 years in prison.¹

Out-of-State Buyers

Federal law prohibits a private seller from transferring a firearm to anyone the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe lives in a different state.⁴ This catches people off guard at shows near state borders. If the buyer’s driver’s license shows an out-of-state address, you can’t hand over the firearm directly. The sale has to go through an FFL in the buyer’s home state. In practice, most private sellers just decline out-of-state buyers.

Age

For handguns, federal law prohibits transferring to anyone under 18 in a private sale.⁴ For long guns like rifles and shotguns, there is no federal minimum age for private transfers.⁵ Many states set higher minimums, so check yours. Licensed dealers face stricter rules: 21 for handguns, 18 for long guns.

State Rules That Add More on Top

Federal law is the floor. Roughly 18 states and the District of Columbia require background checks on all private firearm transfers, including at gun shows. In those states, the sale has to be routed through a licensed dealer who runs the check before the buyer can take possession. The dealer usually charges a transfer fee, commonly $20 to $75.

Several states also impose waiting periods between purchase and possession. Others restrict private sales of specific categories. Firearms federally regulated under the National Firearms Act, including short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and machine guns, face additional restrictions or outright bans on private transfers in many states, often with felony penalties.

Before setting up at a show, look up three things in your state: whether a background check is required, whether a waiting period applies, and whether the type of firearm you’re selling carries any transfer restrictions beyond the federal rules.

What to Do at the Show

Check the Buyer’s ID First

Ask for a current, government-issued photo ID before you talk price. You’re checking two things: age and residency. For handguns, the buyer must be at least 18, and the ID needs to show an in-state address. If the license is expired or shows an out-of-state address, don’t complete the sale. Some sellers also ask for a concealed carry permit as a secondary check. That doesn’t substitute for a background check where one is required, but it does confirm the buyer passed one at some point.

Write a Bill of Sale

Federal law doesn’t require private sellers to create a bill of sale, but skipping it is a mistake. A written record protects you if the firearm later turns up at a crime scene. The document should include full names and addresses of both parties, the firearm’s make, model, caliber, and serial number, the date of the transaction, and the sale price. Both parties sign it. Keep your copy indefinitely. Some states require transfer documentation by law; even where it’s optional, this is the single easiest thing you can do to prove the gun left your possession lawfully.

Watch for Straw Purchases

A straw purchase is when someone buys a firearm on behalf of another person who is the actual intended recipient, usually because that person can’t pass a background check. Federal law made straw purchasing a standalone federal crime in 2022, carrying up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If the firearm is later used in a violent crime, terrorism, or drug trafficking, the penalty jumps to 25 years.⁶

Red flags that should stop a sale: a buyer who seems unfamiliar with the firearm, someone on the phone during the transaction apparently taking instructions from a third party, or a buyer who says the gun is “for a friend.” You have no legal obligation to play detective, but if the signs are obvious and you sell anyway, you’re at serious risk.

Venue Rules

Most show organizers enforce their own safety rules on top of the law. Common requirements include keeping all firearms unloaded on the table, zip-tying actions so guns can’t be operated, and displaying ammunition only in closed containers. Firearms brought in by attendees are typically checked at the door, cleared of ammunition, and tagged before entry. Check with the show promoter in advance, especially if you’re a walk-in seller with a gun or two rather than a table vendor.

The Transfer

Once the ID checks out, the buyer is an in-state resident of legal age, and no red flags have appeared, sign the bill of sale. In states requiring a background check, walk to an FFL’s table (larger shows almost always have at least one dealer who processes transfers for a fee) and have them run the check before the firearm changes hands. Hand the gun over in whatever condition the venue requires, usually unloaded with the action secured. Keep your copy of the bill of sale.

Federal Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Selling to a prohibited person, when you know or have reasonable cause to believe they’re prohibited: up to 15 years in federal prison.¹
Dealing firearms without an FFL: up to five years.¹
Facilitating a straw purchase: up to 15 years and a $250,000 fine, rising to 25 years if the firearm is used in a violent crime or drug trafficking offense.⁶
Selling to an out-of-state resident without an FFL: violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5), up to five years.⁴

State penalties stack on top of federal ones. Violating a state universal background check requirement or selling a restricted weapon type can bring separate state felony charges, and the federal government and your state can both prosecute for the same transaction. Double jeopardy doesn’t apply across sovereigns.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Final Rule – Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms
3
Federal Register. Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Dont Lie for the Other Guy