To transfer a gun to a family member legally, first make sure they are not barred from owning firearms under federal or state law, then use the process that matches where they live: an in-state handoff (subject to your state’s rules), a transfer through licensed dealers if they live in another state, or the inheritance process if the firearm is passing after a death. Get any step wrong and a well-meant gift can become a federal felony carrying years in prison.
Make Sure Your Relative Can Legally Own a Gun
Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly transfer a firearm to a “prohibited person,” punishable by up to 15 years in prison.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the federal categories include anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, fugitives from justice, unlawful users of or people addicted to controlled substances, anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, people in the country illegally, anyone dishonorably discharged, people who have renounced U.S. citizenship, anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons A single qualifying conviction or status is enough. Some states add categories of their own.
Age matters too. In a private transfer between unlicensed individuals, you cannot give or sell a handgun to anyone you know or reasonably believe is under 18, with narrow exceptions for temporary use during employment, ranching, target practice, hunting, or firearms instruction with written parental consent.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Federal law sets no minimum age for private long gun transfers, but many states do.4ATF. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers If the transfer goes through a dealer, the dealer cannot sell handguns to anyone under 21 or long guns to anyone under 18.
A Gift Is Legal. A Straw Purchase Is a Felony.
The line between a legitimate gift and a straw purchase catches people off guard. A gift is when you buy a firearm with your own money as a present for a specific person who is legally allowed to own it. A straw purchase is when you buy the gun on someone else’s behalf, especially someone who couldn’t or wouldn’t pass a background check themselves. Who chose to buy the gun, and why, is the deciding factor.
Congress made straw purchasing a specific federal crime in 2022 under 18 U.S.C. § 932. The maximum is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, rising to 25 years if the firearm is later used in a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy When you buy a gun through a dealer, ATF Form 4473 asks whether you are the actual buyer. Answering yes when you’re really buying for someone else is a federal offense, even if the recipient could legally own the gun. Family relationships give no exception. If a relative hands you cash and asks you to go pick up a gun for them, that is a straw purchase.
Transferring to a Family Member in Your State
Federal law is relatively permissive here. An unlicensed person can transfer a firearm to another unlicensed person in the same state without going through a dealer, so long as the transferor has no reason to believe the recipient is prohibited.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Best Practices – Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers No federal paperwork or background check is required.
State law is where the process actually gets decided. More than 20 states require that all private firearm transfers run through a licensed dealer, who runs a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) before the recipient can take possession. Some of these states exempt immediate family; others don’t. Waiting periods, state permits, and firearm registration are also possible. The variation from state to state is wide enough that you have to check your own state’s law before doing anything.
Write It Down
Even where your state doesn’t require paperwork, a bill of sale protects both people. Include the date, the make, model, caliber, and serial number of the firearm, and each person’s name and state of residence. Both sign and keep a copy. This won’t substitute for a state-required dealer transfer, but it establishes a chain of ownership if the gun ever comes up in a police report or dispute later.
Transferring to a Family Member in Another State
The rules tighten sharply across state lines. Federal law prohibits an unlicensed person from transferring a firearm to anyone they know or reasonably believe lives in a different state.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Violating this is a federal felony for both parties, with penalties up to five years in prison.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties
The standard method uses two licensed dealers. You bring the firearm to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in your state, who ships it to an FFL in the recipient’s state. Your relative goes to that second dealer, fills out ATF Form 4473, and clears a NICS background check before taking possession. Only after the check clears is the transfer complete.
The Long Gun Exception
A licensed dealer can sell or transfer a rifle or shotgun directly to a person from another state, over the counter, as long as the transaction complies with federal law and the laws of both states.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide This applies only to complete rifles and shotguns, not to handguns, frames, or receivers. Practically, you may be able to bring a rifle to a single FFL and have your out-of-state relative meet you there rather than shipping it between two dealers. The dealer still runs the background check.
Temporary Sporting Loans
Federal law also permits temporarily loaning a firearm to someone from another state for lawful sporting purposes like hunting.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The loan has to be genuinely temporary and tied to a specific sporting activity. Handing a shotgun to your out-of-state brother for a weekend hunt is covered. Leaving it with him indefinitely is not. Some states restrict or eliminate this exception, so check both states before relying on it.
When You’re Inheriting a Firearm
Firearms passing through a will or intestate succession get a specific federal exemption from the interstate transfer rules. An eligible heir can receive an inherited gun directly, even from a deceased relative in another state, without routing through a licensed dealer.8ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.29 Out-of-State Acquisition of Firearms by Nonlicensees The statute exempts firearms acquired “by bequest or intestate succession” from the interstate prohibition.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
Two conditions apply. The heir cannot be a prohibited person. The executor is responsible for confirming eligibility, and transferring an inherited gun to a prohibited person carries the same penalties as any other illegal transfer. And the transfer has to comply with the laws of the heir’s state, some of which require inherited firearms to be registered or reported to a state agency even when the federal exemption applies.
Executors should document the transfer: provide the heir with the death certificate, the relevant portion of the will, and a letter confirming the transfer. If there’s any doubt about eligibility, routing the transfer through an FFL for a voluntary background check is the safest path, and some probate courts recommend it.
NFA Items Follow Different Rules
Items regulated under the National Firearms Act (short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors, machine guns, destructive devices) can’t be handed over or shipped between dealers the way ordinary firearms can. Transferring an NFA item to another person requires filing ATF Form 4 and paying a $200 federal transfer tax per item.9Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). NFA Handbook – Chapter 4 – Taxes Imposed by the NFA The ATF has to approve the transfer before it happens, and approval can take months. The recipient is background-checked as part of the process.
Inherited NFA items follow a different track. The executor files ATF Form 5, which waives the $200 tax, and submits the appointment papers, death certificate, and a copy of the will.10ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 479.90a Estates If no beneficiary wants the item, or it needs to go to someone not named in the will, the tax-paid Form 4 process applies.
Shipping the Firearm
If the transfer crosses state lines, the firearm has to get to a dealer in the recipient’s state, and how it ships matters. Federal law classifies handguns as nonmailable by private individuals through the U.S. Postal Service, with violations carrying up to two years in prison.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1715 – Firearms as Nonmailable; Regulations Long guns aren’t covered by that specific prohibition, and unlicensed individuals may generally ship them via USPS to a licensed dealer.
Private carriers set their own policies, often stricter than federal law. UPS accepts firearm shipments only under contractual agreements, generally from licensed dealers rather than private individuals.12UPS. How To Ship Firearms The reliable move is to bring the firearm to an FFL in your state and let that dealer handle the shipping to the FFL in the recipient’s state. They do this routinely.
What It Costs
Dealer transfer fees usually run $20 to $75 per firearm, and specialty items can cost more. An interstate transfer through two dealers may cost a fee on each end. Some states charge a separate background check fee, generally under $40. Call ahead: pricing varies from one shop to the next and there’s no legal cap. For NFA items, the $200 federal transfer tax is separate from any dealer fees. Inherited NFA items on Form 5 skip the tax but may still cost dealer or legal fees for preparing the paperwork.