What Do You Need to Buy a Gun in Missouri? Age, ID, and Rules

To buy a gun in Missouri, you need a valid government-issued photo ID showing Missouri residency, you need to meet the minimum age for the firearm you want, and you need to pass a background check if you’re buying from a licensed dealer. That’s it. Missouri requires no purchase permit, no firearms registration, and no waiting period. Pass the check at the counter and you leave with the gun the same day.

Private sales between individuals work differently, and both federal and state law still bar certain people from buying or possessing a firearm regardless of where the sale happens. The details below cover what you bring, what happens at the counter, and who can’t buy at all.

Minimum Age

The age requirement depends on the firearm and the seller. Buying from a licensed dealer, you must be at least 18 for a rifle or shotgun and at least 21 for a handgun.¹

Private sales follow different federal rules. An unlicensed seller cannot transfer a handgun to anyone they know or have reason to believe is under 18, but federal law sets no minimum age for private long gun transfers.² Missouri law separately makes it a Class A misdemeanor to recklessly give or sell any firearm to someone under 18 without their parent or guardian’s consent.³

ID and Residency

Buying from a licensed dealer, you must show a valid government-issued photo ID with your name, date of birth, and a Missouri residence address. A Missouri driver’s license or state-issued photo ID does the job.

No Permit, No Registration, No Waiting Period

Missouri does not require a permit or license to purchase any type of firearm. Some states use a “permit-to-purchase” system for handguns; Missouri does not, for either dealer sales or private transactions. The state also keeps no firearms registry and imposes no mandatory waiting period between purchase and delivery. Once NICS clears you, the transfer happens on the spot.

What Happens at a Licensed Dealer

The process at a Federal Firearms Licensee is the same in Missouri as anywhere in the country. You present your photo ID and fill out ATF Form 4473, a questionnaire designed to confirm you’re not a prohibited person. You sign it under penalty of perjury.⁴

The dealer then contacts the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), run by the FBI. Missouri routes all dealer checks directly through NICS rather than a state point of contact. NICS returns one of three answers:

Proceed. The transaction completes immediately.
Delayed. NICS needs more time to research a possible match. The dealer cannot transfer the firearm until three business days have passed. If NICS still hasn’t issued a denial after those three days, the dealer may complete the sale.
Denied. NICS found a prohibiting record, and the sale cannot go forward.

If you’re denied and think it’s wrong, you can appeal through the FBI. NICS assigns an appeals identification number, and if the denial is overturned, the dealer receives authorization to complete the transfer.⁴

Extra Steps if You’re Under 21

Since the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act took effect in 2022, buyers between 18 and 20 face an expanded check. NICS contacts the buyer’s state criminal history repository, juvenile justice system, mental health adjudication records, and local law enforcement. If nothing disqualifying surfaces within three business days, the sale proceeds. If NICS identifies a potentially disqualifying juvenile record that needs further investigation, the review period extends to 10 business days.⁵ So an 18-year-old buying a rifle in Missouri could wait up to two weeks in rare cases, even though Missouri itself imposes no waiting period.

Buying From a Private Seller

Missouri does not require a background check on a private sale between two individuals who aren’t licensed dealers. There’s no Form 4473, no NICS call, and no state paperwork.

Federal law still applies to the seller. It is a crime to sell or transfer a firearm to anyone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is prohibited from owning one.¹ There’s no duty to investigate the buyer, but willful ignorance is no defense when the circumstances made the buyer’s status obvious.

A written bill of sale isn’t required in Missouri, but it’s worth doing. Record each party’s name and address, the firearm’s make, model, and serial number, and the date of sale. If the gun later shows up somewhere it shouldn’t, that record protects the seller.

Who Cannot Buy a Firearm

Federal law bars nine categories of people from buying or possessing a firearm anywhere in the country. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), you cannot buy or possess a firearm if you:¹

Have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison (generally a felony)
Are a fugitive from justice
Are an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance, including marijuana even where state law permits it
Have been adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
Are in the United States illegally or, in most cases, on a nonimmigrant visa
Have been dishonorably discharged from the military
Have renounced U.S. citizenship
Are subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders
Have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

Missouri’s own prohibited-persons statute is narrower and carries independent state penalties. Under Section 571.070, you commit the state offense of unlawful possession if you possess a firearm and have been convicted of a felony, are a fugitive from justice, are habitually intoxicated or in a drugged condition, or have been adjudged mentally incompetent.⁶

Penalties for an Illegal Purchase

Buying around the rules is a serious offense at both levels. A straw purchase, where someone buys a firearm on behalf of a person who couldn’t pass a check or wants to avoid one, is a standalone federal felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If the firearm is used in a felony, an act of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime, the maximum sentence rises to 25 years.⁷

A prohibited person caught with a firearm in Missouri faces a Class C felony carrying 3 to 10 years in prison. If the person was previously convicted of a dangerous felony or has a prior for unlawful possession, the charge rises to a Class B felony carrying 5 to 15 years.⁶⁸

Carrying Is a Separate Question

Buying a gun and carrying one are different topics with different rules. Missouri has been a constitutional carry state since January 1, 2017, meaning most adults 19 or older (or 18 with military service) who are otherwise legally allowed to possess a firearm can carry concealed without a permit.⁹ A concealed carry permit is still available and useful mainly for reciprocity when traveling to other states.10 Certain locations, including courthouses, jails, polling places on election day, and secure areas of airports, remain off-limits whether or not you hold a permit.¹¹

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.060 – Unlawful Transfer of Weapons
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
5
Congress.gov. Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – Text
6
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.070 – Possession of Firearm Unlawful for Certain Persons
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
8
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment
9
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.030 – Unlawful Use of Weapons>
10
Attorney General Office of Missouri. Concealed Carry Reciprocity
11
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.215 – Permit Authorizes Carrying on Person or in Vehicle, Prohibited Areas