Legally Transferring Firearms During Life vs After Death: ATF Rules and FFL Transfers

Firearm transfers are one of the most confusing parts of senior estate planning, because the rules combine federal law from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), state law that varies widely, and the practical mechanics of working through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) dealer. Getting it right protects the gun owner, the recipient, and the rest of the family. Getting it wrong can mean a felony charge for the recipient even when both parties acted in good faith.

Start with federal law. Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, a private firearm transfer to a resident of the same state is legal under federal rules without going through an FFL — meaning a father can hand a hunting rifle to an adult son in the same state, and federal law does not require a background check (state law may, more on that in a moment). Transfers across state lines are different: any firearm crossing state lines as a transfer between non-licensees must go through an FFL in the receiving state. The recipient picks the firearm up from the FFL after passing a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check.

State law adds the next layer. About 18 states and the District of Columbia now require background checks on most private firearm transfers, including transfers between extended family in many cases. These states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington as of 2026. Most exempt direct family transfers between spouses, parents, and children. Some include siblings and grandchildren in the exemption. Some do not. The only safe approach is to check the state law (the Giffords Law Center maintains a current summary by state) or to use an FFL for the transfer regardless — many FFL dealers run transfers for 25 to 75 dollars and the paperwork is straightforward.

Gifts during life and transfers after death follow slightly different paths. A gift during life is treated as any other private transfer under federal and state rules. A bequest in a will — meaning the gun owner died and the firearm passes to an heir named in the will — is treated as an inheritance and is not considered a transfer under federal law. The executor of the estate gathers the firearms, holds them until probate names the heir, and then delivers them to the heir. If the heir lives in a different state, an FFL transfer is required. If the heir is legally prohibited from owning a firearm (felony record, certain mental health adjudications, dishonorable discharge, certain protective orders), the executor cannot deliver the firearm. The heir can sell through the executor or designate someone else in the family.

Machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors, and other items regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA items) follow a separate transfer process through Form 4 (gift) or Form 5 (inheritance through estate). Form 5 transfers tax-free to a lawful heir, but require ATF approval, fingerprints, and roughly six to twelve months of processing time as of 2026. If the gun owner has any NFA-regulated item, the family should work with a firearms-focused estate attorney well before the owners death to set up an NFA gun trust, which streamlines the entire process.

(Sources: ATF.gov private transfer guidance; Gun Control Act of 1968; National Firearms Act of 1934; Giffords Law Center state firearm law summary 2026; National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action state law guides)