The new Washington gun laws passed since 2022 reshape almost every step of buying and owning a firearm in the state: assault weapons and magazines over 10 rounds can no longer be sold here, every purchase now carries a 10-day wait and a safety-training requirement, open carry is barred from a growing list of public places, and starting May 1, 2027, you’ll need a state-issued permit before a dealer can transfer any firearm to you.
Permit to Purchase Starting May 1, 2027
This is the biggest change still ahead. House Bill 1163, signed in 2025, requires anyone buying a firearm in Washington to first obtain a permit through the Washington State Patrol. The system takes effect May 1, 2027.
To get the permit, you’ll submit fingerprints through your local law enforcement agency, pay a fee, and show proof of completing a certified firearms safety training program within the previous five years.1Washington State Legislature. HB 1143 Bill Report Once in force, a dealer cannot transfer a firearm unless you produce a valid permit, the background check clears, and the 10-day waiting period has passed. The permit is valid for five years.
If you’re planning a purchase around that date, build in time for the fingerprinting, training, and application steps.
The 10-Day Wait and Training Requirement on Every Purchase
Under House Bill 1143, no firearm — handgun, semi-automatic rifle, shotgun, or other long gun — can be released to you until at least 10 days have passed since the background check was initiated and the check has come back clear.1Washington State Legislature. HB 1143 Bill Report Both conditions have to be met. Time alone won’t do it if the check hasn’t returned a proceed status, and a cleared check doesn’t shorten the 10 days.
Before the dealer can even start the transfer, you also have to show proof of completing a recognized firearms safety training program within the last five years.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 The curriculum covers safe handling and storage, suicide prevention, and the legal responsibilities of ownership. Active-duty military and law enforcement officers are exempt. Courses are offered through local law enforcement agencies and certified instructors, and fees vary.
Assault Weapons Ban
House Bill 1240, signed April 25, 2023, prohibits the sale, manufacture, importation, and distribution of firearms Washington classifies as assault weapons.3Washington State Legislature. HB 1240 – 2023-24 The law identifies restricted firearms two ways: a list of specific makes and models, and a set of physical characteristics that trigger the classification. For a semi-automatic, centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine, a single listed feature is enough — thumbhole stocks, folding or telescoping stocks, flash suppressors, threaded barrels designed to accept a suppressor, and muzzle brakes or recoil compensators all qualify.4Washington State Legislature. House Bill 1240
Selling or distributing an assault weapon is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.390 The ban is prospective. If you owned one of these firearms before April 25, 2023, you can keep it. You don’t have to surrender, register, or modify it.4Washington State Legislature. House Bill 1240 What you generally cannot do is sell or transfer it to another person inside Washington. The ban remains in full effect while legal challenges work through state and federal courts.
10-Round Magazine Limit
Senate Bill 5078 prohibits the sale, manufacture, importation, and distribution of any ammunition feeding device holding more than 10 rounds.6Washington State Legislature. SB 5078 – 2021-22 Possession isn’t the target — if you already owned a higher-capacity magazine before the law took effect, you can keep using it for lawful purposes like range practice or self-defense.
Because the statute covers importing, you cannot legally buy a larger magazine out of state and bring it back, and online retailers cannot ship restricted magazines to Washington addresses. Violations are handled under the Consumer Protection Act, and each sale or offer for sale counts as a separate violation.
Buyers Under 21
No one under 21 may purchase a pistol or a semi-automatic assault rifle, and no one may sell or transfer a semi-automatic assault rifle to a person under 21.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.240 Washington’s definition of semi-automatic assault rifle sweeps in most common semi-auto rifles with certain features. Buyers 18 to 20 can still purchase bolt-action rifles, pump-action shotguns, and other firearms outside the restricted categories.
Background Checks on Private Transfers
Nearly every firearm transfer in Washington requires a background check, not just sales at a gun store. If you sell, gift, or lend a firearm to someone, both of you have to go through a licensed dealer who runs the check through the Washington State Patrol.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 That applies to friends, family, and strangers alike.
Narrow exceptions exist for transfers between spouses and domestic partners, bona fide gifts between immediate family members in some circumstances, temporary transfers at a shooting range, and transfers tied to legitimate hunting activities. Outside those, handing a firearm to a friend without going through a dealer is illegal even if both of you would pass a check. The 10-day waiting period applies to these dealer-facilitated private transfers as well.
Ghost Guns and Unserialized Firearms
House Bill 1705 bans untraceable firearms — the kind typically built from parts kits or produced with 3D printers and lacking the serial numbers federal law requires on commercially made firearms. Assembling or selling one has been illegal since June 30, 2022. Knowingly possessing or transporting one has been illegal since March 10, 2023.8Washington State Legislature. ESHB 1705 Bill Report
Penalties escalate with repeat offenses:
- First violation: civil infraction with a $500 monetary penalty.
- Second violation: misdemeanor, up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
- Third or subsequent violation: gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.
- Possessing three or more untraceable firearms at once: gross misdemeanor, regardless of whether it’s a first offense.
If you already own an unserialized firearm, you can bring it into compliance by having a federally licensed dealer or gunsmith engrave a serial number that meets federal standards.9Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.326 The law also reaches unfinished frames and receivers, so buying a partially completed frame without a serial number falls under the same restrictions.
Where You Can No Longer Openly Carry
Washington keeps adding to the list of places where open carry is prohibited. In 2024, the legislature added public libraries, zoos and aquariums, and transit stations and transit facilities. In 2025, restrictions extended to government buildings, public park facilities, and fairgrounds. Law enforcement and holders of a valid concealed pistol license have exemptions in certain designated areas, and concealed carry with a valid license generally remains permitted in the 2024 additions where open carry is not. These sit on top of longstanding bans on firearms in schools, courthouses, jails, and other secure facilities.
Industry Liability and Dealer Reporting
Washington’s Firearm Industry Responsibility and Gun Violence Victims’ Access to Justice Act, codified in part at RCW 7.48.330, treats improper marketing or distribution of firearms as a public nuisance. Manufacturers, distributors, and dealers are expected to maintain reasonable controls to prevent sales to prohibited buyers, straw purchasers, and traffickers. The attorney general can seek injunctions and civil penalties, and individuals harmed by violations can bring their own suits under the state’s public nuisance statutes or its Consumer Protection Act.10Washington State Legislature. RCW 7.48.330 – Firearms, Marketing, Public Nuisance
A separate law effective July 1, 2025, requires retail gun dealers with average monthly sales exceeding $1,000 to file annual reports with the attorney general’s office on law enforcement trace requests for firearms they sold.11Washington State Office of the Attorney General. Firearms