How to Transfer a Gun From Father to Son in PA

In Pennsylvania, a father can transfer a gun to his son directly, without a licensed dealer, thanks to a family exemption in the state’s Uniform Firearms Act. Handguns move under that exemption with no background check and no state paperwork. Standard-length rifles and shotguns aren’t covered by the transfer rules at all, so they change hands even more simply. Two conditions still have to be met: the son must be legally allowed to possess a firearm, and both father and son must be Pennsylvania residents at the time of the transfer.

Handguns and Long Guns Follow Different Rules

The word “firearm” in Pennsylvania’s transfer law is narrower than most people expect, and that definition drives everything. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6102, a “firearm” for transfer purposes means a pistol or revolver with a barrel under 15 inches, a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches, or any gun with an overall length under 26 inches.¹ In practice, that captures handguns and short-barreled weapons.

The dealer and background-check requirements in 18 Pa.C.S. 6111 only apply to guns that fit that definition. A standard hunting rifle or shotgun sits outside the transfer statute entirely.² A father can simply hand a rifle or shotgun to his adult son. No forms, no check, no dealer under state law. The family exemption discussed next only matters for handguns, because handguns are what would otherwise require dealer processing.

The Parent-Child Exemption for Handguns

Normally, a private handgun sale in Pennsylvania has to take place at a licensed dealer or at a county sheriff’s office, with a background check run before the buyer leaves with the gun. Section 6111(c) carves out an explicit exception: the transfer requirements “shall not apply to transfers between spouses or to transfers between a parent and child or to transfers between grandparent and grandchild.”² Father to son fits squarely inside that language, whether the transfer is a gift, a sale, or a loan. No dealer, no PICS check, no state forms.

What the exemption doesn’t do is excuse the father from making sure his son can legally own the gun. It waives the process. It doesn’t waive the underlying eligibility rules, and a knowing transfer to a prohibited person is still a crime.

Age Rules to Check First

If the son is a legal adult, age isn’t an issue for a private family transfer. The federal age-21 requirement for handgun purchases applies to sales by licensed dealers, not to private transfers between family members. A son who is 18, 19, or 20 can lawfully receive a handgun from his father directly.³

If the son is a minor, the picture changes. Pennsylvania generally bars anyone under 18 from possessing or transporting a firearm, with exceptions for supervised activities like target shooting, safety training, organized competition, and lawful hunting or trapping under the supervision of a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian.⁴ Handing a firearm to a minor outside those exceptions is a third-degree felony for the adult.

Federal law adds a separate handgun-specific rule under 18 U.S.C. 922(x): transferring a handgun to anyone under 18, or possession of a handgun by anyone under 18, is illegal. Narrow exceptions allow temporary possession for hunting, target practice, or employment with prior written parental consent, and the minor must carry that written consent while in possession of the handgun.³

Confirm the Son Is Eligible to Possess

Because the exemption skips the background check, the father is the one making the eligibility call. It’s worth doing carefully. Pennsylvania and federal law each have their own list of disqualifiers, and either list is enough to bar possession.

Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105, a person cannot possess a firearm if convicted of certain enumerated offenses, subject to an active protection-from-abuse order, adjudicated incompetent, or a fugitive from justice, among other categories.⁵ Federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) adds anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, anyone dishonorably discharged from the military, anyone subject to certain domestic restraining orders, and anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.⁶

Medical Marijuana Is a Real Trap

Marijuana is still a federally controlled substance, even though Pennsylvania runs a medical marijuana program. An ATF interim final rule effective January 2026 revised the definition of “unlawful user” to require regular, ongoing use without a lawful prescription; isolated or sporadic use no longer automatically triggers the prohibition, and a patient deviating slightly from a doctor’s instructions on a lawfully prescribed controlled substance isn’t treated as an unlawful user.⁷ But marijuana has no federally recognized prescription, so a son who uses marijuana regularly, medical card or not, can still fall inside the federal prohibition. Worth asking about before the handoff.

When You Still Need a Dealer

The exemption is narrower than it looks. A few common situations pull a father-son transfer back into the dealer channel.

Interstate transfers. If father and son live in different states, federal law forbids the private transfer. The firearm has to be shipped to a licensed dealer in the son’s home state, and the son picks it up there after a background check.⁸
Non-covered relatives. The exemption reaches parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, and spouses. It does not reach stepchildren, sons-in-law, siblings, nieces, or nephews. Those transfers go through a dealer.
NFA items. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns can’t just be handed over even between father and son; the ATF has to approve the transfer first (more on that below).

College Students Living Out of State

If a son is away at college in another state, whether the transfer counts as interstate depends on where he currently maintains a home. ATF treats a college student as a resident of the state where they’re currently living, dorm or off-campus, during the school term, and a resident of their home state when they’re home on break.⁹ The clean approach is to complete the transfer while the son is physically home in Pennsylvania.

If a Dealer Is Involved

When the transfer has to go through a dealer, both people show up at the dealer’s location. The dealer runs the son through the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) and completes the paperwork.

That paperwork includes an ATF Form 4473, which records both parties’ identities and the firearm’s make, model, and serial number.¹⁰ For a handgun, the dealer also completes a Pennsylvania State Police Application/Record of Sale, form SP4-113.¹¹

The PICS check itself costs $2, and handgun sales include an additional $3 surcharge, for $5 in state fees on a handgun. The dealer will charge a private-transfer fee on top of that, commonly $25 to $75. Interstate shipping adds more. If PICS denies the transfer, the son can appeal the result through the Pennsylvania State Police.

Suppressors, Short-Barreled Guns, and Altered Serial Numbers

NFA-regulated items don’t move under the family exemption. Transferring a registered suppressor, short-barreled rifle, or short-barreled shotgun requires filing an ATF Form 4 and passing a federal background check, and the ATF has to approve the transfer before the son takes possession. Approval times often run several months. Families who want shared access to NFA items sometimes set up a gun trust and name the son as co-trustee, which lets him possess the item without the registered owner present.

Under 18 Pa.C.S. 908, possessing a machine gun, sawed-off shotgun, or other “offensive weapon” is illegal unless the item is registered under the NFA; compliance with the NFA is an affirmative defense to the state charge.¹² And any firearm with an altered or obliterated serial number is illegal to possess no matter how it was acquired; possession is a second-degree felony.¹³ Don’t hand over a gun with a compromised serial number.

Inheritance Works Differently

If the transfer isn’t happening now but will happen when the father dies, Pennsylvania explicitly permits it. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6115, a firearm can pass through a bequest or intestate succession as long as the recipient isn’t prohibited under section 6105. No dealer or state paperwork is required for inherited firearms.

NFA items are the exception: the executor files an ATF Form 5 to transfer a registered NFA firearm to a lawful heir tax-free, and the heir still undergoes a federal background check.¹⁴

Write Down What You Did

Pennsylvania doesn’t require a private record of a family transfer, and there is no state firearms registry. Even so, a written bill of sale is worth the five minutes. Include the date, the firearm’s make, model, caliber, and serial number, and both full names, and have both people sign. Each keeps a copy.¹⁵ If the gun is later lost, stolen, or turns up somewhere it shouldn’t, that record shows exactly when ownership changed hands.

What It Costs to Get This Wrong

Pennsylvania treats transfer violations at two levels. Selling or transferring a firearm in violation of section 6111’s procedural requirements is a second-degree misdemeanor under 6111(g)(1). Knowingly transferring a firearm to a person who is legally barred from possessing one is a third-degree felony under 6111(g)(2), carrying up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.²¹⁶ Knowingly providing a firearm to a minor in violation of 18 Pa.C.S. 6110.1 is also a third-degree felony.⁴

Federal penalties are heavier. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(d), transferring a firearm to someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is a prohibited person carries up to ten years.¹⁷ Straw purchases, where one person buys from a dealer on behalf of someone who can’t, are a separate federal offense under 18 U.S.C. 932, punishable by up to 15 years.¹⁸

The higher penalties turn on knowledge, and “I didn’t ask” isn’t the same as “I had no reason to know.” If anything about a son’s eligibility gives the father pause, the cleanest fix is to run a voluntary transfer through a dealer and let PICS answer the question.

1
Pennsylvania Legislature. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Chapter 61 – Firearms and Other Dangerous Articles
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Section 6111 – Sale or Transfer of Firearms
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
4
Pennsylvania Legislature. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Section 6110.1 – Possession of Firearm by Minor
5
Pennsylvania Legislature. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Section 6105 – Persons Not to Possess, Use, Manufacture, Control, Sell or Transfer Firearms
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
7
Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 27 CFR 178.11 – Meaning of Terms / ATF Ruling 80-21
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
11
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Firearms Forms
12
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Section 908 – Prohibited Offensive Weapons
13
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Section 6117 – Altering or Obliterating Marks of Identification
14
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm – ATF Form 5
15
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Best Practices – Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers
16
Pennsylvania Bulletin. 101 Pennsylvania Code 15.66 – Offenses and Penalties
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms