Handing Over A Firearm
Minn. Stat. 624.7134 — a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon passes between private parties through a dealer or on a transferee permit
The rule. An unlicensed person may not transfer a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to another unlicensed person unless the transfer is made through a federally licensed firearms dealer, or the transferee presents a valid transferee permit and a current state or federally issued identification.
Through a dealer. The two may appear together before a federally licensed firearms dealer with the firearm and ask the dealer to conduct a background check on the transferee and facilitate the transfer. The dealer processes it as though transferring from its own inventory, meets every background check and record keeping requirement, and may charge a reasonable fee. If the transferee is prohibited by federal law or not entitled under state law to possess the firearm, neither the dealer nor the transferor transfers it.
The record of transfer. Without a dealer, the transferor and transferee complete a record of transfer on the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's form, each page signed and dated by both and carrying the serial number, with copies of each person's identification and the transferee permit, and the transferee's sworn statement of not being prohibited from possessing a firearm. Both keep a copy for 10 years. A person who refuses or is unable to produce it when a peace officer requests it in a criminal investigation is guilty of a misdemeanor, and a person who presents a record that meets the requirements is immune to a charge under the section.
- A transfer by or to a federally licensed firearms dealer or a law enforcement agency.
- A transfer between immediate family members: spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren.
- A transfer to an executor, administrator, trustee or personal representative by operation of law on the death of the former owner.
- A temporary transfer necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, lasting only as long as immediately necessary.
- A temporary transfer at a shooting range or an organized competition, while legally hunting or trapping, in a supervised course, or in the actual presence of the transferor.
Those transfers fall outside the section, and are permitted only if the transferor has no reason to believe the transferee is prohibited from possessing firearms or will use the firearm in the commission of a crime.
When a dealer facilitates. The report of transfer rules exclude a transfer by a person other than a federally licensed firearms dealer, but that exclusion does not apply to a transfer completed through a dealer. Under the report, the transferor delivers the proposed transferee's information to the chief of police or county sheriff no later than three days after the agreement, excluding weekends and legal holidays, and the firearm is not delivered until 30 days after unless the waiting period is waived; no report is needed if the transferee presents a valid transferee permit or permit to carry. Transferring in violation of the report rules is a gross misdemeanor, and transferring to a person under the age of 18 in violation of them is a felony.
Who is prohibited from possessing a firearm is on its own page, and federal law adds its own rules on transfers that are not on this page. Whether a particular sale, loan or gift is lawful is a question for a licensed Minnesota attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Minn. Stat. 624.7134 — Private party transfers; background check required
- Minn. Stat. 624.7132 — Report of transfer
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Minnesota attorney.