To transfer a gun to someone in Florida, you have two practical routes: hand it over directly in a private transfer between Florida residents, or run the exchange through a federally licensed dealer who performs a background check. Florida does not require a background check for private transfers, and no state permit or registration is involved. What the law does require is that both people meet eligibility rules under state and federal law, and that you have no reason to believe the person receiving the firearm is prohibited from having one.
Private Transfer or Licensed Dealer
A private transfer is any exchange of a firearm between two people who are not licensed dealers. You can sell, gift, or trade a firearm directly to another Florida resident as long as you reasonably believe they are legally allowed to possess it. No state paperwork is filed and no registry is updated.
The alternative is to route the transfer through a federally licensed dealer, who runs a background check, handles the paperwork, and gives both parties a clean record of the transaction. This costs money and takes longer, but it removes the biggest legal risk you carry as a private seller: guessing wrong about whether the recipient can legally own a gun.
Both people in a private transfer must be Florida residents. Federal law prohibits an unlicensed person from transferring a firearm to anyone the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe lives in a different state.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts For out-of-state recipients, the firearm must be shipped to a licensed dealer in the recipient’s state, who then processes the transfer and runs the check.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
Who Cannot Legally Receive a Firearm
The single biggest legal risk in any private transfer is handing a gun to someone who is prohibited from having one. Knowingly transferring to a prohibited person is a federal crime that carries up to ten years in prison,1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts and a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law.
A person is prohibited under federal law if they:
- Have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
- Are a fugitive from justice
- Unlawfully use or are addicted to a controlled substance
- Have been found mentally defective by a court or involuntarily committed to a mental institution
- Are in the country illegally or have renounced U.S. citizenship
- Were dishonorably discharged from the military
- Are subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order
- Have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
Florida adds a few categories. Anyone who received a withhold of adjudication on a felony charge, or on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge, cannot purchase a firearm until three years after completing all court-imposed conditions such as probation.4Justia Law. Florida Code 790.065 – Sale and Delivery of Firearms Florida also prohibits firearm possession by anyone subject to a final injunction for protection against domestic violence or a risk protection order (sometimes called a “red flag” order), which requires the person to surrender all firearms and ammunition while the order is in effect.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.401 – Risk Protection Orders
As a private seller, you cannot run a background check yourself. If you have any doubt about the recipient’s eligibility, use a licensed dealer.
Age Rules for the Recipient
Age rules for private transfers depend on the type of firearm. The minimum age to receive a handgun is 18. There is no minimum age to receive a long gun (a rifle or shotgun) in a private transfer, but selling or transferring any firearm to someone under 18 without their parent’s or guardian’s permission is a third-degree felony.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.17 – Furnishing Weapons to Minors Under 18 Years of Age or Persons of Unsound Mind and Furnishing Firearms to Minors Under 18 Years of Age Prohibited
With written parental permission, a rifle or shotgun can lawfully be transferred to a 16-year-old in a private sale. Without that permission, the same transfer is a felony. Keep the written permission with your records.
These age rules apply only to private transfers. Purchases from licensed dealers require the buyer to be at least 21 for all firearms under Florida law.
Writing a Bill of Sale
Florida does not require a bill of sale for a private firearm transfer, but writing one is the most useful thing you can do to protect yourself. Without documentation, there is no record you ever gave up possession. If that gun is later stolen, used in a crime, or recovered at a scene, the trail may still lead back to you.
A workable bill of sale includes:
- Full legal names, current addresses, and driver’s license numbers for both parties
- The firearm’s make, model, caliber, and serial number
- The date of the transfer
- A signed statement from the recipient that they are not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm
That last item is more than a formality. If the recipient later turns out to have been prohibited, the signed statement shows you took reasonable steps to confirm the transfer was lawful. Both parties should keep a copy. There is no state office to file it with.
Running the Transfer Through a Dealer
If you would rather not carry the risk of verifying eligibility yourself, take the firearm to a federally licensed dealer. Both parties meet at the dealer’s location, and the recipient fills out ATF Form 4473, which collects identifying information and asks a series of eligibility questions.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 The dealer contacts the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which processes the background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.8Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Requirements to Purchase a Firearm If the check clears, the dealer completes the transfer.
Waiting Period
A mandatory three-day waiting period applies between the purchase and delivery of any firearm through a dealer, excluding weekends and legal holidays.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms; Mandatory Waiting Period; Exceptions; Penalties Some counties extend this to as many as five days.8Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Requirements to Purchase a Firearm
If the buyer holds a valid Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License, the state waiting period does not apply.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms; Mandatory Waiting Period; Exceptions; Penalties The waiting period also does not apply to trade-ins or to the purchase of a rifle or shotgun by someone who has completed a 16-hour hunter safety course and holds a valid hunter safety certification card.
Dealer Fees
Dealers charge a transfer fee for handling the paperwork and background check. Fees vary, but most shops charge somewhere between $25 and $75, with some urban retailers charging more. Call ahead to confirm the fee before scheduling the transfer.
Shipping a Firearm to an Out-of-State Recipient
If the recipient lives outside Florida, or if the buyer is not local, shipping rules apply. Federal law allows an unlicensed person to mail a rifle or shotgun through the U.S. Postal Service to another person within the same state, or to a licensed dealer in any state.10U.S. Department of Justice. Constitutionality of 18 USC 1715 Handguns and other concealable firearms cannot go through USPS; they must move by common carrier such as UPS or FedEx.
In practice, UPS and FedEx generally require the shipper to be a licensed dealer with an existing shipping agreement. An unlicensed person usually cannot walk into a UPS store and ship a handgun. The common workaround is to bring the firearm to a local licensed dealer and pay them to ship it to the receiving dealer on your behalf.
Whichever method you use, declare the firearm to the carrier, follow their packaging requirements, and never ship a loaded firearm.
Straw Purchases
A straw purchase is when one person buys a firearm on behalf of another, particularly when the actual recipient is prohibited or intends to use the gun in a crime. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 932, knowingly purchasing a firearm for a prohibited person, or for someone who intends to use it in a felony, a terrorism offense, or a drug trafficking crime, carries up to 15 years in prison. If the firearm is intended for use in one of those serious offenses, the maximum rises to 25 years.11Justia Law. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
This applies to casual favors too. If a friend asks you to buy a gun for him because “the dealer gave him trouble last time,” the reason for that trouble is almost certainly a failed background check. Completing the purchase on his behalf is a federal crime.
Transferring Suppressors and Other NFA Items
Suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and other items regulated under the National Firearms Act follow a completely different process. You cannot simply hand one to another person, even in a private sale between Florida residents.
Transferring an NFA item between individuals requires filing ATF Form 4 with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and waiting for approval before the transfer takes place.12Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Handbook – Chapter 9 – Transfers of NFA Firearms The application must include the recipient’s fingerprints on FBI fingerprint cards and passport-style photographs. A local law enforcement official, typically a sheriff or chief of police, must also sign a certification confirming they have no information suggesting the transfer would violate state or local law.
As of January 1, 2026, the federal transfer tax that previously cost $200 per NFA item has been eliminated, bringing the tax stamp cost to $0 for most NFA firearms. The registration requirement still applies. ATF approval is still needed, and the item must be registered in the new owner’s name in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Interstate NFA transfers between unlicensed individuals are not approved by the ATF.
Cash Sales Over $10,000
If you sell a firearm, or multiple firearms in related transactions, and receive more than $10,000 in cash, federal law requires you to report the transaction to the IRS by filing Form 8300.13Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 8300 Reference Guide This applies whether the cash arrives in a single payment or in installments that add up to more than $10,000 within a year of the first payment. It reaches anyone conducting the sale as a trade or business, not just licensed dealers, and failing to file can bring civil and criminal penalties.