To buy a gun in Washington, you complete the Washington State firearm transfer application at a licensed dealer’s counter, pay an $18 state fee, and wait at least ten business days while the Washington State Patrol runs a background check. The dealer gives you the form at the point of sale; you cannot fill it out at home in advance. Once you sign it, the dealer submits your information through the state’s Secure Automated Firearms E-Check (SAFE) system and holds the firearm until the check clears and the ten-business-day window has passed.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 – Dealer Deliveries Regulated, Hold on Delivery, Fees Authorized
What to Bring to the Dealer
Bring your Washington driver’s license or state ID card. The application asks for the number, but the dealer also needs the physical card to confirm your identity.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 – Dealer Deliveries Regulated, Hold on Delivery, Fees Authorized Make sure the address on the card matches your current residence. Mismatches between your ID and what you write on the form are a common cause of counter delays.
You also need proof of a completed firearms safety training program. The training must cover safe handling, secure storage, state and federal firearms law, suicide prevention resources, and the consequences of firearm violence. The certificate is valid for five years from the date it was issued.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.1132 – Firearm Sales and Transfers, Firearms Safety Training Program, Exceptions
You can shave time off the visit by using the Washington State Patrol’s SAFE Transferee Entry Portal before you go. The portal lets you enter your personal information online and generates an eight-character buyer code. Hand that code to the dealer and the system auto-fills your data into the background check form. If you make a mistake after submitting, there’s no edit option; you’ll need to run a fresh entry and get a new code.3Washington State Patrol. Transferee Entry Portal – SAFE
What the Application Asks For
The dealer hands you the form at the store. By statute, it collects:
- Your full legal name, including any suffix
- Your current Washington residential address
- Date and place of birth, race, and gender
- The date and hour you submit the application
- Your driver’s license or state ID number
- A description of the firearm: make, model, caliber, and serial number
- A signed statement that you are eligible to purchase and possess a firearm under state and federal law
If the serial number isn’t available when you apply, the dealer can still process the paperwork, but cannot release the firearm until the serial number is recorded and transmitted to the Washington State Patrol.
The form has a field for your Social Security number. Providing it is optional, but it helps distinguish you from people with similar names and reduces the chance of a mistaken delay or denial.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record Physical descriptors like height and weight also appear, so the state can match you against official records.
Eligibility Questions and Your Signature
After the identifying fields, the form moves into eligibility questions covering criminal history, domestic violence convictions, active protective orders, and mental health adjudications. Any of these can disqualify you from possessing a firearm under state or federal law. Your signature at the bottom is a sworn statement that your answers are true and complete.
Answer honestly. Knowingly making a false statement about identity or eligibility on the firearm transfer application is false swearing under RCW 9A.72.040,5Washington State Legislature. E2SHB 1163 – S COMM AMD a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.92.020 Separate federal charges under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922 may apply to false statements on the accompanying ATF Form 4473.
The $18 Fee and Dealer Service Charges
The Washington State Patrol collects a flat $18 fee for every firearm transfer application. The dealer collects it from you when you complete the form, whether you’re buying from the dealer’s inventory or routing a private sale through the shop.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 43.43.580 – Firearm Transfer Application, Fee
For a private transfer, the dealer may also charge a separate service fee for handling the paperwork. State law allows the dealer to charge an amount that reflects the fair market value of the work.8Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.113 These fees vary from shop to shop, so call ahead if the cost matters.
The Background Check and Ten-Business-Day Hold
Once you sign and pay, the dealer submits your information to the SAFE system, which cross-references state and federal databases to determine whether you’re prohibited from possessing a firearm.9Washington State Patrol. Firearms Background Division
No matter how fast the result comes back, the dealer cannot release the firearm until two things are true: the check shows you’re not prohibited, and ten business days have passed since the dealer requested the background check.10Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.092 Business days exclude weekends and state holidays, so the real calendar wait is often closer to two weeks.
The state returns one of three results: proceed (no disqualifying records found; the dealer can release the firearm after the ten-business-day period), denied (a disqualifying record was found and the transfer cannot be completed), or placed on hold (the state needs more time to resolve ambiguous records). If the state hasn’t responded at all after ten business days, the statute allows the dealer to release the firearm once that window closes, provided the dealer has notified the Washington State Patrol director and received confirmation that you are eligible.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 – Dealer Deliveries Regulated, Hold on Delivery, Fees Authorized
If You’re Denied or Delayed
A denial doesn’t necessarily mean you’re actually prohibited. Records errors, common-name mix-ups, and outdated court data all show up as denials. If yours was denied or indefinitely delayed, contact the Washington State Patrol’s Firearms Background Check Program at 1-877-928-8343 or firearms@wsp.wa.gov.11Washington State Legislature. WAC 446-09-010 Be ready to provide fingerprints or additional documentation to resolve whatever triggered the result. The dealer cannot override a denial; the fix goes through the WSP.
Private Sales and Family Transfers
Washington requires a background check for almost every firearm sale or transfer, not just retail purchases. If you’re buying from a friend, a coworker, or someone online, the transaction must go through a licensed dealer. The seller delivers the firearm to the dealer, the buyer fills out the same transfer application and goes through the same background check, and the dealer processes it as if the firearm were coming from the shop’s own inventory. If the check comes back denied, the dealer returns the firearm to the seller.8Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.113
A handful of transfers are exempt from the dealer and background check requirement:
- Genuine gifts or loans between immediate family members: spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, parents-in-law, and siblings-in-law. A sale between relatives is not covered.
- Antique firearms that meet the legal definition.
- Emergency transfers to prevent imminent death or serious harm, lasting only as long as the emergency.
- Temporary transfers to prevent self-harm, lasting only as long as reasonably necessary.
- Supervised use at an established shooting range, an organized competition, or by a minor hunting or receiving instruction under direct adult supervision.
Even when an exemption applies, the firearm still cannot go to anyone prohibited from possessing one under state or federal law. The exemption skips the paperwork, not the underlying eligibility rule.
A Permit Requirement Is Coming in 2027
Starting May 1, 2027, Washington will require a permit to purchase any firearm. Under E2SHB 1163, applicants will need to complete a certified firearms safety training program, submit fingerprints, and pass a background check before receiving the permit. The permit will be valid for five years, subject to annual eligibility verification. Dealers will keep using the SAFE system for the point-of-sale check, but the permit adds a pre-screening step that has to happen before you walk into the store. If you’re planning a purchase in 2027 or later, build that lead time into your timeline.