Are you under a Stay At Home order? Have the gun shows in your area closed down due to the pandemic? Gun stores around the country are overrun with new purchasers and more questions than ever about how to conduct a private sale as an alternative.
Let’s look at some best practices when selling a firearm to another person in a private sale, here in Texas.
Requirements
It’s easy to sell a standard, non-NFA-item firearm to another person in Texas; you don’t even need to involve a federal firearms licensee (“FFL”). Generally, all you need to do is ensure the prospective buyer is at least 18 years old; a fellow Texas resident; is not intoxicated at the time of the sale; and is not an otherwise prohibited person.
This does not mean you must perform a background check or an interrogation. But you should use your common sense. Do not go through with the sale if:
- The ID a buyer provides looks fake;
- They pull up in a vehicle with out-of-state plates;
- They make strange statements about breaking the law, being under a court order, being institutionalized, or failing a background check.
Trust your gut; there are many honest, lawful gun owners in Texas who would love to add your firearm to their collection.
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Document the Sale
While Texas law does not require any formal paperwork to document a change in firearm ownership, a bill of sale is a strong recommendation. This bill of sale should include the date of the transaction, the make, model, serial number, color, and general description of the firearm. You should also list the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of the buyer and yourself. We also recommend you take a photo of the buyer’s Texas Driver’s License or License to Carry a Handgun.
You should keep a copy of the bill of sale, give one to the buyer, and make sure to store the document in a secure place. It might even be a good idea to save a digital copy using an encrypted cloud service.
This document will be essential should the firearm you sold wind up at a crime scene or in the hands of a criminal. If the police show up at your front door asking questions about the gun sometime down the line, you will be able to clearly show when it left your possession.
Non-Resident Sales
Remember, this applies only for private sales of standard firearms to fellow Texans within the Lone Star State. Do not sell or otherwise transfer a firearm to a non-resident without going through an FFL. This is a federal felony for both the seller and the buyer. If convicted, penalties for these crimes include up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000!
If you have any questions about how to legally conduct a private sale of your firearm, call Texas LawShield and ask to speak to your Independent Program Attorney.
Question. If you did sell outside Texas and said you would only sell through a FFL, should you have the FFL email you a copy of their FFL license? I was going to send a gun for upgrades and UPS said that they required a copy of the FFL license of the business the gun was going to. This sounded sound to me even if going by some other means.
I was going to buy a gun online from an Individual on Texasguntrader.com until the seller refused to verify their identity. She wanted to ” Discretely ” pay over paypal as well. She wanted no Information from me and didnt want to give any information on herself. I’ve never ran Into this situation where someone was selling a gun and did not want to produce a bill of sale with enough information to actually track the gun back to who I purchased it from in the case the gun was looked up and ended up being stolen or used in a criminal activity. $225 for a Springfield Armory 45 acp was too good to be true. She went on a rampage when I told her that I cant buy the gun without knowing who I’m buying from.
With this said what is the absolute requirements of a private individual to verify who they are on an online transaction?
I believe from my research that there is a seller loophole that allows the seller to sell a gun and god forbid the buyer gets pulled over and ends up getting arrested for being in possession of a stolen firearm. Then if the buyer is unable to show valid proof of the purchase what happens to that buyer? My best guess is possession is 9/10ths of the law so the dumb buyer gets charges, looses their freedom, ends up with fines and jail time, criminal record, looses job, never able to buy a gun legally, and god knows what else!
Can anyone shed some light on this situation because for the first time in my gun loving life I think there needs to be a new gun law added requiring a private seller to show proof with a government issued i.d. so that the gun can legally be traced to the origin of any issue with the gun allowing the buyer 100% safety in any situation as long as the buyer is not the one committing a crime. No one wants to buy a stolen gun or a gun that has killed someone. Or any gun connected with a crime. This literally allows for anyone with a felony to purchase from a seller like this. I dont want some mentally I’ll person to just be able to buy a gun and this seller seriously doesn’t care who she sells to. It makes me sick.
Unfortunately, many people prefer private gun sales because they worry about potential federal gun registration. While I can’t see forcing someone to go jump through hoops to prove themselves as a legal responsible gun owner, I would think that using common sense as well as good judgement might be the best policy. I don’t like having to give my personal information to legitimate businesses, let alone private individuals. Identity theft and other such crimes are for too common. Surely I know I’m not alone on this.
My brother lives with me in Texas. He has not yet been able to get his texas driver’s license yet first due to covid delays and now he needs to get a copy of his birth certificate as they will not accept a certificate of birth (what the difference is here is another post for another forum lol). i have his name on my lease as an occupant and he obviously receives mail here. would i be breaking the law, if i sold him one of my firearms?
No, from my understanding Texas law doesn’t require paperwork between family members as long as the two people are 18 and older and are not prohibited from owning a firearm under federal law