Minnesota Permit to Purchase: Eligibility, Application, and Use

A Minnesota permit to purchase, formally called a Transferee Permit, is a free, one-year statewide authorization to buy pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons from dealers or private sellers. You get one by submitting the state’s Uniform Firearm Application to your local chief of police or county sheriff, who has 30 days to run a background check and either issue or deny the permit.¹

Which Firearms the Permit Covers

Two categories of guns trigger the permit requirement: pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons. Standard rifles and shotguns outside those definitions do not require a permit.

A pistol under Minnesota law is any weapon designed to be fired with one hand, or any firearm with an overall length under 26 inches, a shotgun barrel under 18 inches, or a rifle barrel under 16 inches. BB guns, scuba guns, nail guns, and toy guns are excluded.²

The semiautomatic military-style assault weapon category is a defined list of named platforms (AK-47, AR-15, Uzi, MAC-10, MAC-11, and others) plus their variants, redesigns, and models made under licensing agreements with the original manufacturers.² If you are not sure whether a specific model is on the list, check the statute before applying.

Who Can Qualify

The chief of police or sheriff must deny the permit if you are prohibited from possessing a pistol under state or federal law, if you are determined to be a danger to yourself or the public, or if you appear in the state’s criminal gang investigative data system.¹

The main state-law disqualifiers are:

Being under 18 (with narrow exceptions for supervised target practice, military drill, or marksmanship courses).
A conviction, in Minnesota or any other state, for a crime of violence, including juvenile adjudications for violent offenses.
A judicial commitment as mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or mentally ill and dangerous, or a finding of incompetence to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental illness, unless firearm rights have been restored.
A judicial commitment for chemical dependency, unless treatment is complete or rights are restored.
A misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor controlled substance conviction, unless three years have passed without another drug conviction.

Federal law adds more. Licensed dealers cannot sell handguns to anyone under 21, so in practice buying a pistol from a dealer requires being 21 even if you can hold a Transferee Permit at 18.⁴ Federal law also bars possession by anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, anyone subject to certain domestic violence protective orders, and unlawful users of controlled substances.⁵

How to Apply

Download the Minnesota Uniform Firearm Application/Receipt Permit to Purchase/Transfer form from the Department of Public Safety website, or pick up a paper copy at your local law enforcement office.⁶ The form asks for your full legal name, aliases, Minnesota driver’s license or state ID number, date of birth, and current and previous addresses.⁷

Confirm your ID shows your current residential address before you submit. Incomplete applications are denied, and knowingly putting false information on the form is a felony.¹

Where you submit the form depends on where you live. If your city has a full-time police department, the application goes to the chief of police. If not, it goes to the county sheriff. Most agencies require you to appear in person.

What Happens After You Apply

The issuing authority has 30 days from receiving your completed application to issue or deny the permit.¹ During that window, the agency checks criminal history, mental health records, and other databases.

If you are approved, the permit comes by mail or by pickup, depending on the agency. If you are denied, the agency must give you written notice stating the specific reason and the factual basis for the decision.¹

What the Permit Lets You Do

The permit is valid statewide for one year from the date of issue and can be used for multiple purchases during that time.¹ At a dealer, you present the permit along with a government-issued photo ID.

The permit is free. State law bars any government employee or agency from charging for forms, background investigations, notifications, or any other work connected to the Transferee Permit, including renewals.¹

The permit also works for private sales. Minnesota does not limit the permit requirement to dealer transactions, so buying, receiving as a gift, or borrowing a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a private individual requires either a valid Transferee Permit or routing the transfer through a licensed dealer. When you use a permit, both parties fill out a record of transfer form (free from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), attach copies of each person’s ID and the permit, and record the firearm’s make, model, and serial number. Both the buyer and seller keep a copy for 10 years.⁸

You May Not Need This Permit

Two other paths exist, and whether to use them depends on how many guns you plan to buy and what credentials you already hold.

If you only want to buy one firearm from a dealer and do not already have a Transferee Permit or Permit to Carry, the dealer can file a transfer report with local law enforcement on your behalf. The default waiting period is 30 days before the dealer can hand over the gun, though the chief of police or sheriff can waive part or all of it if the background check clears early or there is an immediate safety threat. For multiple purchases, the permit saves time because each separate transfer report would otherwise require its own waiting period.⁹

If you already hold a valid Minnesota Permit to Carry, you do not need a Transferee Permit at all. The Permit to Carry satisfies the background check requirement for both dealer and private sales, and no transfer report is required.⁶

If You Are Denied

A denial based on a determination that you pose a danger to yourself or the public can be challenged first at the agency level. You have 20 business days to submit additional documentation, and the chief of police or sheriff must reconsider and respond within 15 business days.¹

Beyond that, you can appeal to the district court in the county where you applied. The court must hold a hearing within 60 days and reviews the matter from scratch. The chief of police or sheriff carries the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that you are disqualified. If they cannot, the court orders the permit issued.¹

If the denial comes from a federal NICS background check error rather than a state-level finding, you can challenge it with the FBI through its electronic portal or by mail. Minnesota is a point-of-contact state for some checks, so the FBI may redirect you to a state agency depending on which system flagged the denial.¹⁰

Keeping the Permit Valid

If something changes during the year that makes you prohibited from possessing firearms, the permit is automatically void and you have five days to return it to the issuing authority. Failing to return a voided or revoked permit is a gross misdemeanor, unless the court finds that physical or mental circumstances prevented compliance.¹

The permit is personal to you. Handing it to another person to use is a misdemeanor, and knowingly providing false information on the application is a felony.¹ In private sales, failing to produce the record of transfer when a peace officer requests it during a criminal investigation is a separate misdemeanor.⁸

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7131 – Transferee Permit; Penalty
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.712 – Definitions
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.713 – Certain Persons Not to Possess Firearms
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
6
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Permit to Purchase/Transfer a Firearm
7
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Minnesota Uniform Firearm Application/Receipt Permit to Purchase/Transfer
8
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7134 – Private Party Transfers of Pistols and Semiautomatic Military-Style Assault Weapons
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7132 – Report of Transfer
10
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Requesting Reason for and/or Challenging a NICS-Related Denial