A Maine firearm bill of sale is a written record of a private gun transfer between a buyer and seller. Maine does not require a specific form, but a well-drafted bill of sale, paired with a background check run through a licensed dealer and the state’s 72-hour waiting period, is how private sellers and buyers protect themselves and complete a sale legally.
What to Put in the Bill of Sale
Maine doesn’t prescribe a form, so you’re free to draft your own. A useful bill of sale includes:
- Full names and addresses of both the buyer and the seller
- Firearm details: make, model, caliber, and serial number
- The date the parties agreed to the sale and the date the firearm is actually delivered (these will be at least 72 hours apart under state law)
- The purchase price, or a statement that the firearm was a gift
- Signatures of both parties
- A statement from the buyer that they are not prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law
Both parties should keep a copy. The document is not filed with any government agency. Notarization is not required, though some sellers ask for it as an extra layer of verification. The bill of sale becomes the private record of who owned the firearm and when it changed hands, which matters if the gun is later stolen, recovered at a crime scene, or the subject of a dispute.
Background Check Through a Licensed Dealer
Since August 2024, Maine has required most private firearm sellers to run their transactions through a federally licensed dealer. Under Title 15, Section 395, a seller who is not a licensed dealer may not complete a covered sale unless the dealer runs a background check on the buyer through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the same process used for retail gun sales.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 15, Part 1, Chapter 15, Section 395 – Background Checks of Firearms Buyers If the check shows the buyer is prohibited, the dealer notifies the seller and the sale cannot go forward.
The dealer can charge a reasonable fee for handling the transfer. Rates at licensed dealers generally run from $25 to $50, though some charge more. Confirm the fee with the dealer before you meet to complete the sale, and decide in advance who pays it.
The 72-Hour Waiting Period
Maine law prohibits a seller from delivering a firearm to a buyer sooner than 72 hours after the two agree to the sale.2Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 25, Part 5, Chapter 252-A, Section 2016 – Waiting Period After Sale of Firearm The clock runs at the same time as any wait for background check results, so in practice the two processes overlap rather than stacking.3Maine.gov. Advisory on 72 Hour Waiting Period Governor Mills allowed the law to take effect without her signature in April 2024.4Maine.gov. Governor Mills’ Statement on 72 Hour Waiting Period Bill
Because the agreement date and the delivery date will differ by at least three days, the bill of sale should record both. Signing the document on the day of the agreement and dating the delivery when the firearm actually changes hands makes the timeline clear.
Transfers That Are Exempt
Some transactions fall outside both the background check requirement and the waiting period. The exempt categories include:
- Sales between family members: spouses, domestic partners, parents, stepparents, foster parents, children, stepchildren, foster children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews3Maine.gov. Advisory on 72 Hour Waiting Period
- Transfers to federally licensed firearms dealers
- Active-duty law enforcement and corrections officers
- Licensed private security guards and people employed by contract security companies
- Sales of curio or relic firearms between licensed collectors, and sales of antique firearms as defined under federal law5Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 15, Section 395 – Background Checks of Firearms Buyers
- Temporary loans or rentals where ownership is not transferred, such as lending a firearm at a shooting range
- Any transaction for which neither federal nor state law requires a background check (the waiting period follows the background check rule in these cases)
Even in an exempt transfer, a written bill of sale is still worth creating. Giving a shotgun to your nephew doesn’t require a background check, but a signed record of the gift protects both of you later.
One thing the exemptions do not change: it remains illegal to transfer a firearm to someone you know or have reason to believe cannot legally possess one. The exemptions remove procedural steps, not the underlying responsibility.
Who Cannot Legally Buy the Firearm
The eligibility statement in your bill of sale is not a formality. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922 bars firearm possession by anyone who:
- Has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
- Is a fugitive from justice
- Is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
- Has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally unfit at age 16 or older
- Is in the United States unlawfully or on most nonimmigrant visas
- Was dishonorably discharged from the military
- Has renounced U.S. citizenship
- Is subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders
- Has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
The domestic violence misdemeanor prohibition applies even when the conviction was not labeled “domestic violence,” as long as the offense involved physical force or a deadly weapon and the offender had a qualifying relationship with the victim, such as a spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating partner.6Department of Justice. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
Maine adds its own prohibitions under Title 15, Section 393, which bars firearm possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by a year or more of imprisonment, among other categories that largely mirror the federal list.7Legislature of Maine. Maine Code Title 15, Section 393 – Possession of Firearms Prohibited for Certain Persons The Maine State Police note that state prohibitions can also stem from qualifying domestic violence misdemeanors, protection-from-abuse orders, dishonorable discharge, certain mental health adjudications, and conditions of bail or probation.8Maine.gov. Concealed Carry in Maine
Knowingly selling or giving a firearm to a prohibited person carries up to 10 years in federal prison, regardless of whether the seller is licensed.9Department of Justice. Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws Straw purchases — buying a firearm on behalf of someone who is the actual recipient — are a separate federal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 932, with penalties reaching 15 years, or 25 years if the firearm is later used in a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy
Out-of-State Buyers and Age Limits
A Maine private seller cannot legally hand a firearm directly to a buyer who lives in another state. Federal law requires interstate transfers to be shipped to a licensed dealer in the buyer’s home state, where the buyer completes ATF Form 4473 and passes a background check before taking possession.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide Meeting an out-of-state buyer in a parking lot to complete the sale is a federal crime.
Age limits also apply. Licensed dealers cannot sell handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21, or long guns to anyone under 18. Private sellers are prohibited under federal law from transferring a handgun to anyone they know or have reason to believe is under 18. Because Maine now routes most private sales through a dealer, the dealer’s age restrictions effectively apply as well.
NFA Items Need Their Own Paperwork
If the firearm is regulated under the National Firearms Act — a suppressor, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or machine gun — a bill of sale is not enough. NFA transfers require filing ATF Form 4, paying a federal transfer tax, submitting fingerprints and photographs, and receiving ATF approval before the transfer occurs.12Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Handbook – Chapter 9 – Transfers of NFA Firearms Approval can take months. Draft a bill of sale by all means, but don’t treat it as a substitute for the ATF process.
Keeping the Record
Maine doesn’t require firearm registration and doesn’t specify how long private parties must retain transaction records. The safest practice is to keep your bill of sale and any related background check documentation indefinitely.8Maine.gov. Concealed Carry in Maine If a firearm you sold surfaces years later in a criminal investigation, that document is what shows when and to whom you transferred it.
The federal system is not going to do this for you. The FBI’s NICS destroys identifying information on approved transactions within 24 hours of notifying the dealer and purges most remaining data within 90 days.13eCFR. 28 CFR 25.9 – Retention and Destruction of Records in the System Licensed dealers retain the ATF Form 4473 for at least 20 years, and five years if the background check ran but the sale didn’t close.14ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR Section 478.129 – Record Retention Your own copy of the bill of sale is what ties those records to you.
The same habit is worth applying to every firearm you own: keep a private list of makes, models, serial numbers, and acquisition details. That record helps law enforcement recover a stolen firearm and gives you proof of ownership for an insurance claim.