A bill of sale for a firearm in Ohio is a written record of a private gun transfer between two people who are not licensed dealers, and because Ohio keeps no registry of privately owned firearms and does not require you to file anything with the state, that document is the only paper trail proving the gun left your hands, when it left, and who took it. A workable Ohio firearm bill of sale identifies both parties, describes the firearm by serial number, states the price and date, and carries both signatures.1ORC 1349.85(A)
What to Put on the Form
You can use a template from an online legal-document site or draft one yourself. Either way, it needs to cover the same ground:
- Seller’s full legal name, residential address, and driver’s license or state ID number.
- Buyer’s full legal name, residential address, driver’s license or state ID number, and concealed handgun license number if they have one. Ohio still issues these licenses even though concealed carry no longer requires one, and a valid CHL means the holder passed a background check within the last five years.
- Firearm details: manufacturer, model, caliber or gauge, and serial number. Copy the serial number directly from the frame or receiver and check it character by character. A single transposed digit makes the document useless for identification.
- Sale terms: the purchase price (or a statement that the firearm is a gift), the date, and the city or county where the exchange takes place.
- Signatures of both buyer and seller, dated.
Signing and Executing the Document
Fill the form out in permanent ink. Don’t leave empty fields; write “N/A” in any section that doesn’t apply so nothing can be added later. Have the firearm itself present at the signing so you can verify the serial number, make, and model against what’s written on the page.
Both parties should sign and date the document together, each in the other’s presence. Ohio does not require a notary for a firearm bill of sale, but having one witness the signatures adds authentication if the document is ever questioned. Ohio notaries may charge up to $5 per notarized signature. The Secretary of State’s office confirms that notarization is not legally required unless a document specifically calls for it, but notes that many documents are notarized to prevent fraud.
Print two originals. The buyer takes one, the seller keeps one. Some sellers also photograph the buyer’s ID and the firearm’s serial number as a personal backup; nothing requires it.
Who You Cannot Legally Sell To
Ohio does not require a background check, a waiting period, or state approval for a private sale between two residents, but that freedom carries real criminal exposure if the buyer turns out to be someone you were not allowed to sell to. Running through the categories below before you sign is the point of the transaction, not an afterthought.
Prohibited Persons
Under ORC 2923.20, recklessly selling, lending, or giving a firearm to someone legally prohibited from having one is a fourth-degree felony, carrying six to eighteen months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.2ORC 2923.20 Possessing a firearm with the intent to hand it to a prohibited person carries the same penalty. Knowingly encouraging a seller to transfer a firearm in a way that violates state or federal law, or giving a seller materially false information, is a third-degree felony punishable by nine to thirty-six months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
ORC 2923.13 lists who is barred from possessing firearms: anyone convicted of a felony involving violence, anyone convicted of a felony drug offense, anyone with a drug dependency or chronic alcoholism, fugitives from justice, and anyone adjudicated mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution.3ORC 2923.13 A person who possesses a firearm while under any of those disabilities commits a third-degree felony.
Minors
ORC 2923.21 makes it illegal to sell any firearm to anyone under eighteen, or to sell a handgun to anyone under twenty-one.4ORC 2923.21 The rule for furnishing (lending or giving, rather than selling) is narrower: an adult may provide a handgun to someone under twenty-one for lawful hunting, sporting, or educational purposes, including firearms safety instruction, as long as the minor is supervised by a responsible adult. Violations are a fifth-degree felony punishable by six to twelve months in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.
Out-of-State Buyers
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922, a private individual who is not a licensed dealer may not sell or transfer a firearm to a resident of another state.518 U.S.C. § 922 If the buyer lives outside Ohio, the transfer has to go through a federally licensed dealer (FFL) in the buyer’s home state, who will run a background check before releasing the gun. Doing it yourself is a federal crime, regardless of what Ohio law allows between residents.
Straw Purchases
Buying a firearm for someone who is prohibited from owning one, or for someone who simply wants to skip the paperwork, is a federal straw purchase. The penalty is up to fifteen years in prison, and up to twenty-five years if the firearm is later used in a violent felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking. If a buyer tells you the gun is actually for a friend or relative, that is the end of the transaction.
Firearms That Change the Process
Two categories of firearm need an extra step before a bill of sale means anything.
Items regulated under the National Firearms Act (suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, destructive devices) require ATF approval before the transfer happens. The buyer files ATF Form 4, submits fingerprints and photographs, and waits for ATF to process the application. Effective January 1, 2026, the federal transfer tax for NFA firearms other than machine guns and destructive devices is $0, but the approval process and paperwork requirements remain in place.
A privately made firearm built at home without a serial number is legal to possess in most circumstances, but selling it brings in an ATF rule: a federally licensed dealer must mark it with a unique serial number within seven days of receiving it or before transferring it, whichever comes first. The practical path is to take it to an FFL for serialization before the private sale, so the bill of sale has an actual serial number to list.
Keeping the Record
Ohio has no law requiring private sellers to retain sale records, and state law prohibits any government entity from maintaining a list or registry of privately owned firearms or their owners. Your bill of sale is the only proof the firearm left your possession. Keep it indefinitely. If the gun is recovered at a crime scene five or fifteen years later, a dated and signed bill of sale naming the person you transferred it to is what separates you from the investigation.
Store your copy somewhere secure, such as a fireproof safe, a scanned digital backup, or both. The buyer should keep their copy the same way; it’s their proof of lawful acquisition if the gun’s history is ever questioned.
If the Sale Produced a Gain
A firearm you own for personal use is a capital asset. If you sell it for more than you paid, the profit is a capital gain and goes on your federal return, reported on Form 8949 and summarized on Schedule D of Form 1040. If you sell it for less, which is common with used firearms, the loss is not deductible, because losses on personal-use property don’t qualify. A firearm held for more than one year is taxed at long-term capital gains rates; held for one year or less, the gain is taxed as ordinary income at your regular rate.