Can I give my gun to a friend with no paperwork in any state?

Question

If I lawfully own a gun, are there any states where I can give it to another person legally without any paperwork?

Answer 1

First, one must comply with Federal law: 18 U.S.C. §922(a)(5)(A) which makes it unlawful to transfer a firearm when the transferor and transferee are not both residents of the same state. "It shall be unlawful . . ."

(5) for any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) to transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver any firearm to any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not reside in (or if the person is a corporation or other business entity, does not maintain a place of business in) the State in which the transferor resides; except that this paragraph shall not apply to (A) the transfer, transportation, or delivery of a firearm made to carry out a bequest of a firearm to, or an acquisition by intestate succession of a firearm by, a person who is permitted to acquire or possess a firearm under the laws of the State of his residence, and (B) the loan or rental of a firearm to any person for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes;

If both persons are residents of the same state but the intended recipient is a "prohibited person" under the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the transferor knows it or has reason to believe it, private transfer would be a criminal act under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d):

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person, including as a juvenile— (1) is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; (2) is a fugitive from justice; (3) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)); (4) has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution at 16 years of age or older; (5) who, being an alien— (A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or (B) except as provided in subsection (y)(2), has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26))); (6) who [2] has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; (7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship; (8) is subject to a court order that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child, except that this paragraph shall only apply to a court order that— (A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had the opportunity to participate; and (B) (i) includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or (ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; (9) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; (10) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the firearm or ammunition in furtherance of a felony, a Federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking offense (as such terms are defined in section 932(a)); or (11) intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the firearm or ammunition to a person described in any of paragraphs (1) through (10). This subsection shall not apply with respect to the sale or disposition of a firearm or ammunition to a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector who pursuant to subsection (b) of section 925 is not precluded from dealing in firearms or ammunition, or to a person who has been granted relief from disabilities pursuant to subsection (c) of section 925.

Finally, if no federal law bars such a transfer, then yes, many states -- I'd say the majority of U.S. states -- allow the private transfer of a firearm between private individual residents of their state with no paperwork. Some states such as my state, New Hampshire, require a transferor to actually know the transferee for the transfer of a handgun, but that's not a requirement for a long gun.

To learn the legality of undocumented private transfer in any particular state, use a search engine to ask [state name] gun laws. It's all out there.

It is a simple matter to perform a firearm transfer through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) with payment of a fee and a background check on the recipient, who must be a resident of the same state as the place of business of the FFL. Paperwork is involved.