How to Fill Out the Minnesota Private Party Firearm Transfer Form

The Minnesota private party firearm transfer form is the state record two individuals complete when one sells, gives, or trades a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to the other without going through a licensed dealer. Download it free from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.¹ Fill in both parties’ details and the firearm’s identifying information, attach copies of the buyer’s permit and photo ID, sign every page, and each keep a copy for ten years.²

When You Need This Form

Minnesota requires documentation for private transfers of two kinds of firearms: pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons.² Ordinary rifles and shotguns outside that classification can change hands between private parties without state paperwork.³

The form is only one of the two legal paths. If both parties walk into a federally licensed dealer, the dealer runs a federal background check and completes Form 4473, and the state form is not used. The private party transfer form is the right tool when you want to handle the sale yourselves and the buyer already holds a valid permit.

Some transfers are exempt from the form entirely. Transfers between spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren (including step-relations) do not need it. Neither does lending a firearm to someone while you remain physically present with them, a temporary transfer to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, a transfer by operation of law to the personal representative of an estate, or a transfer of an antique firearm as a curiosity. Even when an exemption applies, the recipient still cannot be someone prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm.

What the Buyer Must Have Before You Start

Do not open the form until the buyer can produce two things in person.

First, a valid transferee permit issued under § 624.7131 or a valid permit to carry issued under § 624.714. The transferee permit is good for one year; the permit to carry runs five years and doubles as a transferee permit.⁴ Either one confirms the buyer has already cleared a background check through local law enforcement, which is why no additional waiting period applies when you use this form.³

Second, a current state or federally issued photo ID showing the buyer’s name, residential address, date of birth, and photograph.² A Minnesota driver’s license or state ID is the usual choice. Confirm the name and photo match the person in front of you and that the ID is not expired.

If the buyer does not have a qualifying permit, the form on its own will not complete a legal transfer. Your options then are to go through a licensed dealer, or to file a report of transfer with the local chief of police or county sheriff under § 624.7132 and wait up to 30 days for a decision.⁵ Most buyers find it faster to get a transferee permit first.

Filling Out the Form, Section by Section

The form is a short PDF available free from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.¹ Some county sheriff’s offices also post it. You can print it and complete by hand or type into the PDF and print.

Personal Information for Both Parties

Both the seller (transferor) and the buyer (transferee) write out their full legal name, including middle name and any suffix. The form also asks for maiden names or other names previously used. Each person fills in current residential address, city or township, state, zip code, county, and date of birth.¹

Attach Copies of ID and Permit

The record must include a clear copy of each person’s photo ID and a clear copy of the buyer’s transferee permit or permit to carry.² Photocopy both sides of the buyer’s ID and permit, copy the seller’s ID, and keep these attached to the completed form.

Firearm Details

The form asks for four pieces of information about the gun:

Type: pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.
Manufacturer and make, such as Smith & Wesson or Glock.
Model, as stamped or printed on the firearm.
Serial number from the frame or receiver.

Every page of the form must carry the firearm’s serial number.² Read it directly off the firearm and double-check each digit. A transposed number can cause real trouble later if the weapon is ever traced.

Transferee Statement and Signatures

The buyer signs a printed statement swearing they are not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm.⁶ Both the seller and the buyer then sign and date every page. No signature line can be left blank. Once both have signed, the firearm can change hands.

What the Seller Should Check Before Handing Over the Gun

A valid permit shows the buyer passed a background check when it was issued, but permits last one to five years and a person’s status can change. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits firearm possession by, among others, anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, fugitives from justice, unlawful users of controlled substances, people committed to a mental institution, those subject to qualifying domestic violence restraining orders, and people convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.⁷ Minnesota’s prohibited-person list under § 624.713 mirrors much of this and adds state-specific categories. If you have reason to believe the buyer currently falls into any of these categories, do not complete the transfer regardless of what their permit shows.

One other boundary matters here. Federal law bars a private individual from transferring any firearm to a resident of a different state.⁸ If the buyer lives outside Minnesota, this form is not an option. The firearm has to be shipped to a licensed dealer in the buyer’s state, who hands it over after a background check.

Keep Your Copy for Ten Years

Both parties must retain a copy of the completed form and attachments for ten years from the transfer date. A photo or scan on your phone counts.² A peace officer can ask to see your record, and failing to produce it is a misdemeanor.³ Store the file somewhere you will actually find it a decade from now: a dedicated cloud folder, a fireproof box, or both.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Transferring a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon in violation of Minnesota’s transfer laws is a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.⁹ Lying on the form to become a transferee carries the same classification. If the transfer involves a person under 18, the offense is elevated to a felony. These stakes are what makes the five minutes of careful paperwork worth doing right the first time.

1
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Minnesota Private Party Firearm Transfer Form
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7134 – Private Party Transfers; Background Check Required
3
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Permit to Purchase/Transfer a Firearm
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7131 – Transferee Permit
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7132 – Report of Transfer
6
Wright County Minnesota. Minnesota Private Party Firearm Transfer Form
7
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.02 – Definitions