A non-resident can buy a gun in Florida, but what you take home depends on the type of firearm. Rifles and shotguns can be sold directly to an out-of-state buyer who meets the dealer in person. Handguns cannot: federal law requires the dealer to ship a handgun to a licensed dealer in your home state, where you complete the transfer. Every buyer in Florida, resident or not, must be at least 21, and the sale has to comply with the laws of both Florida and your home state.
The Age Floor Applies to Everyone
Florida sets the minimum purchase age at 21 for every type of firearm, including rifles and shotguns. That rule applies regardless of where you live. A bill to lower the age back to 18 passed the Florida House in early 2025 but had not become law as of this writing, so the 21 floor still governs every sale at a licensed Florida dealer.
Buying a Rifle or Shotgun From Out of State
Federal law lets a licensed dealer sell a rifle or shotgun to a resident of another state, provided the buyer appears in person and the sale complies with the laws of both Florida and the buyer’s home state.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The dual-compliance part trips people up. If your home state bans a particular rifle configuration or requires a permit before purchase, a Florida dealer cannot legally complete the sale unless those conditions are satisfied. Dealers near state lines often know the big regional restrictions, but the responsibility to get it right on both ends is yours.
Once the background check clears and the waiting period runs, you take possession of the long gun directly from the Florida dealer.
Buying a Handgun From Out of State
Handguns work differently. A Florida dealer cannot hand a handgun to someone who lives in another state. Federal law prohibits it outright.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts You can start the purchase in Florida, but the gun must then be shipped to a licensed dealer in your home state. You pass a second background check and complete any paperwork your state requires before taking possession there.
This adds both time and money. The Florida dealer will charge for shipping, and the receiving dealer in your home state will charge a transfer fee, commonly $25 to $75 depending on the shop. Factor both into what the handgun actually costs you.
If You Own a Second Home in Florida
If you keep a home in Florida and actually live in it part of the year, you may count as a Florida resident for firearm purchases during the stretches you are physically there. Federal regulations define your state of residence as whichever state you are living in with the intention of making it your home. A person who keeps a house in Ohio and a condo in Florida is an Ohio resident while living in Ohio and a Florida resident while living in Florida.2ATF eRegulations. 478.11 Meaning of Terms
The practical payoff: while you are residing at your Florida home, you can buy a handgun directly from a Florida dealer without the ship-to-home-state detour. You will need identification showing your Florida address. Vacationing in the state or passing through does not count. The test is whether you are actually living at your Florida home.
Non-Citizens: Green Card Holders
Lawful permanent residents who live in Florida are treated essentially the same as U.S. citizens for firearm purchases. The federal prohibition on non-immigrant aliens does not reach green card holders because their status is immigrant, not non-immigrant.3FBI. NICS FFL Tip Sheet for Non-US Citizens Purchasing Firearms A permanent resident living in Florida can buy any firearm a citizen could, handguns included.
The difference is paperwork. You present your Permanent Resident Card along with your alien number (eight or nine digits), and you complete the standard ATF Form 4473 and background check like anyone else. No hunting license or exception documentation is required.
Non-Citizens: Visa Holders
Tourists, students, and others in Florida on a non-immigrant visa face a federal prohibition on buying or possessing firearms.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The exceptions are narrow. The most commonly used is holding a valid hunting license issued by any U.S. state. Others include being an official representative of a foreign government on duty, or having been admitted to the country specifically for lawful sporting purposes.
If you qualify under an exception, documentation runs longer. You will need your passport, visa, I-94 arrival record, and proof of the exception you are claiming, such as a physical valid hunting license.4FBI UCR NICS. An FFL Tip Sheet for Processing NICS Checks for Non-U.S. Citizens/Aliens A former federal rule requiring 90 days of continuous state residency before purchase was eliminated in 2012, so non-immigrant aliens now meet the same residency standards as U.S. citizens.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Residency Requirements for Aliens Acquiring Firearms – Interim Final Rule
The Three-Day Waiting Period
Florida imposes a mandatory waiting period of three business days (weekends and legal holidays do not count) between purchase and delivery. If the background check takes longer than three days, you wait until it clears, whichever is later.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms; Mandatory Waiting Period; Exceptions; Penalties For a non-resident on a short trip, this is often the real obstacle. Plan the timeline around it.
Two categories of buyer skip the waiting period. Holders of a concealed weapons or firearms license under Florida law are exempt, as are law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and active-duty servicemembers. Buyers who have completed at least a 16-hour hunter safety course and hold the certification card are also exempt for rifle and shotgun purchases, and hunters exempt from the course requirement who hold a valid Florida hunting license qualify as well.
Non-residents carrying a concealed carry permit from their home state should know that Florida’s exemption references a Florida concealed weapons license and the specific categories named in the statute. Whether an out-of-state permit qualifies depends on how the dealer reads the law.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms; Mandatory Waiting Period; Exceptions; Penalties
What You Cannot Do
Two shortcuts tempt non-residents, and both carry serious federal consequences.
The first is asking a Florida friend to buy a handgun for you so you can skip the ship-to-home-state process. This is a straw purchase, and it is a standalone federal felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, rising to 25 years if the firearm is intended for use in a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms ATF Form 4473 asks the buyer whether they are the actual purchaser, and answering falsely is a separate federal offense carrying up to 10 years.
The second is buying from a private seller at a gun show or through a personal connection. Federal law prohibits a private person from selling or giving a firearm to someone they know or have reason to believe lives in a different state.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The only exceptions are inheritance and a temporary loan for lawful sporting purposes. Any other interstate transfer between private parties has to go through a licensed dealer.
Getting the Firearm Home
Driving home, federal law provides a safe-passage protection for transporting a firearm through states where you might not otherwise be allowed to carry it. The firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, it has to be in a locked container other than the glove box or center console.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms The protection only applies if you can legally possess the firearm at both your starting point and your destination. If your home state bans the type of firearm you bought, federal transport protection does not cover you, and charges may wait at the other end.
Flying home, TSA requires firearms to be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case, and declared to the airline at check-in. Ammunition must be in its original packaging or a container designed for it. Airlines set additional restrictions and fees of their own, so confirm with yours before heading to the airport.10Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition