Do I Need To Register Long Guns Bought From An Individual

Practice I Have To Register My Gun?

Firearms  |  September 2, 2020

I get this question a lot, and it'south clear that there is some confusion out at that place near what it means to "register" a firearm.  It is the purpose of this article to lend some clarity to the subject field.

In order to comprehensively address the topic of firearms registration, I will make two distinctions.  The first distinction is between the categories of firearms: those which are subject to the National Firearms Act ("NFA Firearms"), and those which are not ("not-NFA Firearms").  (I am avoiding other ofttimes-used terms, like "Title I Firearms," "Title II Firearms," or "Class 3 Firearms" as they are inaccurate and misleading.)  The second distinction I volition make is between registering a firearm, on the 1 mitt, and undergoing an ownership transfer groundwork check, on the other.

Categories of Firearms

Returning to the 2 types of firearms, "non-NFA Firearms" are the nigh commonly owned guns, and this category includes handguns (revolvers and semi-automatic pistols) and long guns (rifles and shotguns).  Only a handful of states require registration of these types of guns.  In fact, here in Pennsylvania nosotros have laws that affirmatively prohibit registration of firearms.  The premise of such a prohibition is that firearm registration is a step down a glace slope, leading to eventual confiscation.  Conversely, the motivation behind background checks is to ensure that those who are "Prohibited Persons" (such every bit felons, for instance) are not allowed to ain guns.

However, the law still requires the transferee (the recipient) of certain not-NFA Firearms to undergo a groundwork bank check (as mentioned above, for the purpose of making sure a transferee is non a "Prohibited Person").  This is washed at a Federal Firearms Licensee ("FFL," i.east. a dealer) who runs a background cheque on the transferee through the NICS (the National Instant Criminal Background Check Organization) database, though here in Pennsylvania we utilise the "PICS" (Pennsylvania Instant Check System).  This is always accompanied by the completion of an ATF Form 4473, besides equally the Pennsylvania State Police Application/Record of Sale form (SP 4-113) which is the grade that lists the various factors prohibiting gun ownership.

(Circumspection: nosotros take had many clients stumble into problem past filling out ane of these forms without a proper understanding of what they hateful – read the instructions on the back of the forms earlier completing them, because an wrong answer can pb to criminal charges.)

All Pennsylvania handgun transfers must be subjected to a PICS check, with the completion of a Form 4473 by the transferee of the handgun.  However, PICS checks (and therefore ATF Form 4473s) are not required for long gun (i.e. rifles and shotguns) transfers in Pennsylvania (equally long as the barrels are not shortened).  That means that a handgun which is endemic in Pennsylvania only which was non properly transferred at an FFL (with a PICS check and ATF Course 4473) is an illegal handgun, and its possession will field of study the owner to criminal penalties.  (There are some exceptions to this, though, such as transfers betwixt a parent and an adult kid.)  A long gun, nevertheless, as indicated higher up, can exist transferred in Pennsylvania without an FFL-completed PICS check and ATF Course 4473, and therefore y'all can transfer ownership of a long gun in Pennsylvania with just a hand shake.  (It is, withal, strongly recommended that at to the lowest degree a Bill of Sale always be completed for such transfers.)

What's the Difference Betwixt Background Checks and Registrations?

As distinguished from a background check as described above, the registration of firearms is not permitted in Pennsylvania.  In those other states requiring firearms registration, the process commonly involves bringing the firearm to the local police force station for the purpose of alerting the municipality of its presence in their jurisdiction.  This is an boosted pace that some other states require, and is typically washed almost immediately afterward the ownership transfer and NICS background check.  (Residents of other states should check their local laws on specific procedures.)

Information technology has been claimed, and rightly so, that many states' background check procedures in fact institute 'dorsum door' registrations, since the terminal issue is the same – the authorities knows who has what guns.  Pennsylvania is a practiced example of this.  Even though we take a statute on the books which specifically outlaws any firearm registration, a dealer-facilitated groundwork check must accompany all handgun transfers, the course that the transferee fills out is then kept past the dealer, and a copy is sent to the Pennsylvania State Police force.

Withal, the storage of firearm purchaser information, while currently an unfortunate feature of our firearms transfer procedure, is not a necessary feature of a groundwork bank check per se.  In other words (and hither I describe not what the law is, but what it could be) it would be entirely reasonable for a dealer to carry a background cheque on a transferee past simply calling the state police and getting a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' on the transferee, without generating unnecessary paperwork for storage purposes.  The state police could limit its tape-keeping to the fact that a background check was done on a specific firearm at a specific dealer, without whatsoever reference to the identity of the transferee.  Only the dealer would maintain a photocopy of the transferee'due south driver's license, which he would only be mandated to provide to police enforcement if a warrant was issued for its provision, in the case that a law-breaking had been committed with the firearm in question.

Such a procedure would prevent a background check from becoming a 'back door' registration, but would likewise address legitimate law enforcement needs.  Since this is not the case at present, the only firearms owners in Pennsylvania who are currently not subject field to any kind of 'dorsum door' registration are those who have purchased their long guns privately.

Registering an NFA Firearm

Returning to the law as information technology is, the other category of firearms is "NFA Firearms," which term is defined as including any of the post-obit: (A) a "short-barreled shotgun," the butt(due south) of which measure(southward) less than 18 inches, or the overall length of which is less than 26 inches; (B) a "brusque-barreled rifle," the barrel of which measures less than 16 inches, or the overall length of which is less than 26 inches; (C) "any other weapon" ("AOW") (a pen gun, for example); (D) a car gun; (E) a silencer (a/k/a "suppressor"); or (F) a destructive device (a grenade, for example).  As in all other states, in Pennsylvania all NFA Firearms must exist registered with the federal Agency of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (which is still commonly referred to as the "ATF").

A "Class 4" is the ATF class required to transfer and register an NFA Firearm.  Upon approval of a Form 4, an owner is issued a "tax stamp" (since the National Firearms Act is simply a chapter within the Internal Revenue Code), and just then may the applicant have possession of the NFA Firearm.

Pennsylvania prohibits the possession of "destructive devices," calling them "Prohibited Offensive Weapons," but allows for the possession of any of the other higher up-listed NFA Firearms, provided they are properly registered with the ATF.

Let us go along in mind, then, that the PICS background bank check (in theory at to the lowest degree) just ensures that a transferee is non a Prohibited Person, and, with some exceptions, virtually all firearms (both NFA and non-NFA) are subject to groundwork checks. Registration, on the other manus, while required for the transfer of NFA Firearms, is non officially permitted in Pennsylvania.  May we be precise in our terminology, and zealous to continue these terms distinct, both in theory and in do, remembering that background checks are intended to proceed guns out of the easily of the bad guys, whereas registration may eventually continue them out of the easily of the good guys.

Josh Bodene, Esq., an associate in the law firm of Trinity Law, is a firearms enthusiast and handles all aspects of firearms police force.

Source: https://www.yourlawfirmforlife.com/individual/firearms/do-i-have-to-register-my-gun/

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