How private gun sales work in Wisconsin

Private sales between Wisconsin residents

A private sale on this site is a sale between private parties. Wisconsin Gun Trader does not sell the firearm, hold it, ship it, or take the payment for it. The buyer and the seller complete that transfer themselves.

Wisconsin’s dealer handgun rule is Wis. Stat. § 175.35. It applies when a firearms dealer sells a handgun. The dealer may not transfer the handgun until the buyer has provided identification, completed the Department of Justice notification form, and the dealer has received an approval number from a firearms restrictions record search. Section 175.35(2f) says a person may request that search only if the person is a firearms dealer.

That statute does not require the same Department of Justice search for a sale between two private parties. The Wisconsin Department of Justice rule for the dealer search is Wis. Admin. Code ch. Jus 10. The department’s site is doj.state.wi.us.

Federal law still applies to the private sale. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says an unlicensed person may transfer a firearm to an unlicensed resident of the same state, provided the transferor does not know or have reasonable cause to believe the transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under federal law. ATF cites 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5) and § 922(d) and 27 CFR 478.30. See ATF’s page, “To whom may an unlicensed person transfer firearms under the GCA?”

Interstate transfers go through an FFL

An unlicensed person may not directly transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides in another state. ATF’s same page says that, generally, the firearm must be shipped to a federal firearms licensee in the buyer’s state of residence. The buyer then receives it from that licensee after an ATF Form 4473 and a NICS background check. The regulation is 27 CFR 478.30. That rule covers firearms, not handguns only.

A handgun sold by a licensee has an additional limit. A licensed dealer may not sell or deliver a handgun to a person who does not reside in the dealer’s state. The out-of-state buyer’s own-state licensee is the path ATF describes. Do not hand a firearm to a private party from another state and do not ship one to that person’s house.

Wis. Stat. § 175.30 says a Wisconsin resident may purchase a rifle or shotgun in another state if the transfer complies with federal law and the laws of both states. That is the long-gun rule. It is not permission for a private interstate handgun sale.

ATF describes narrow exceptions, including a loan or rental for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes, and a transfer to carry out a lawful bequest or intestate succession. Those exceptions are in the statute and the ATF page. They are not a general private sale.

Age minimums

From a licensed dealer, federal law sets the age by the type of firearm. ATF states that a licensee may sell a shotgun or rifle only to a person 18 or older, and any other firearm only to a person 21 or older. The citation ATF gives is 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) and 27 CFR 478.99(b). ATF’s chart is Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers.

For a sale by an unlicensed person, ATF states that the seller may not sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a handgun to any person the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under 18, except for the exceptions in 18 U.S.C. § 922(x). ATF also says there is no federal minimum age for an unlicensed person’s transfer of a long gun. An 18-, 19-, or 20-year-old may acquire a handgun from an unlicensed person who lives in the same state if that buyer is not otherwise prohibited. A dealer still may not sell that person a handgun. ATF’s question page is Firearms Questions and Answers.

Wisconsin adds its own rule for minors. Wis. Stat. § 948.60 makes it a crime, with the exceptions written in that section, for a person under 18 to possess a dangerous weapon, which the section defines to include a firearm, and for a person to intentionally sell, loan, or give a dangerous weapon to a person under 18. Subsection (3)(c) narrows when the section applies to a rifle or shotgun and to an adult’s transfer of a firearm. That application depends on §§ 941.28, 29.304, and 29.593. Read subsection (3) before relying on an exception. Federal dealer ages and § 922(x) still apply on top of the state section.

Prohibited persons

Wis. Stat. § 941.29 makes firearm possession a Class G felony for a person who meets one of the conditions in subsection (1m). Those conditions include a felony conviction in Wisconsin, a conviction elsewhere for a crime that would be a felony here, a juvenile adjudication on or after April 21, 1994 for an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, a finding of not guilty of a felony by reason of mental disease or defect, specified commitment orders not to possess a firearm, and specified injunctions. The section has its own exceptions, including some pardons and relief from disabilities. Read the section rather than this summary.

Federal law lists separate prohibited categories in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and § 922(n). ATF points private sellers to those subsections. A person can be prohibited under federal law, state law, or both. A private seller who knows or has reasonable cause to believe the buyer is prohibited may not transfer the firearm.

The 48-hour handgun waiting period

Wisconsin repealed the 48-hour handgun waiting period in 2015. 2015 Wisconsin Act 22, enacted June 24, 2015, amended § 175.35. Before that act, a dealer who had received notice of the record search waited 48 hours before transferring a handgun. The act removed that wait. The current statute lets the dealer transfer the handgun once the dealer has received an approval number from the Department of Justice.

The act did not remove the dealer search. If the search result is unclear, § 175.35(2g)(c)4.c. requires the department to notify the dealer as soon as practicable, but no later than 5 working days after the search was requested. That 5-working-day limit is for an unresolved dealer search. It is not a 48-hour private-sale waiting period, and § 175.35 does not impose it on a sale between private parties.

Meeting safely

These are practical habits, not legal requirements. Agree on the firearm and the price in messages before anyone travels. Meet in a public, well-lit place during the day. Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. Treat every firearm as loaded until you have checked it, keep it pointed in a safe direction, and open the action before you inspect it. Walk away if the other person is not a Wisconsin resident, wants the firearm shipped, changes the meeting to a private place, or pressures you. The site’s safety page and transfer rules say the same thing.

Records and a bill of sale

The dealer handgun form in § 175.35 is for a firearms dealer. It is not a form for a private sale. ATF states that an unlicensed person does not use ATF Form 4473 to transfer a firearm to another unlicensed person. A written bill of sale is a practical record of the date, the make, model, and serial number, and the names of the buyer and seller. The statutes and ATF pages cited here do not make that paper a background check, and they do not say a private Wisconsin sale is void without one.

Sources

• Wis. Stat. § 175.35, Purchase of handguns
• Wis. Stat. § 175.30, Purchase of firearms in other states
• Wis. Stat. § 941.29, Possession of a firearm
• Wis. Stat. § 948.60, Possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18
• 2015 Wisconsin Act 22
• Wis. Admin. Code ch. Jus 10 (Department of Justice)
• Wisconsin Department of Justice
• ATF: transfers by an unlicensed person
• ATF: minimum age for sales and transfers
• ATF: firearms questions and answers, including ages 18 to 21
• 27 CFR 478.30, out-of-state disposition by nonlicensees
• 18 U.S.C. § 922