18 U.S.C. § 932: Straw Purchase Penalties, Forfeiture, and Firearm Ban

Under 18 U.S.C. § 932, straw purchase penalties reach up to 15 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, and the prison maximum climbs to 25 years when the buyer knew or had reasonable cause to believe the firearm would be used in a felony, a federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime.¹² The statute, created by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, applies to anyone who buys a gun on someone else’s behalf while knowing or having reason to believe the real recipient is legally barred from owning one, plans to use it in a crime, or intends to pass it along to someone who fits either description. Conspiracy to commit a straw purchase carries the same penalties as the completed offense.

The Base Penalty and What Triggers the Enhancement

Section 932 sets two tiers. The base offense is a Class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. The dollar figure comes from 18 U.S.C. § 3571, since § 932 itself says only “fined under this title.”²

The enhanced tier is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years. The enhancement triggers when the buyer knew or had reasonable cause to believe the firearm would be used to commit a felony, a federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime.¹ The felony trigger is broad. It is not limited to terrorism or drugs. Buying a gun for someone the buyer knows plans an armed robbery or a carjacking is enough.

Forfeiture, Supervised Release, and the Lifetime Firearm Ban

A § 932 conviction triggers mandatory forfeiture. The court must order the defendant to surrender any proceeds from the offense and any property used to commit or facilitate it.³ In practical terms, that means the firearm itself, any money the buyer received as payment for the service, and potentially the vehicle used to transport the weapon. State law protections do not override this requirement.

Prison time is followed by supervised release, which functions like federal probation. A base § 932 conviction allows up to three years of supervised release; the enhanced 25-year version allows up to five.⁴ During that period the defendant lives under federal monitoring with restrictions on travel, associations, and other conduct.

The conviction also carries a permanent collateral consequence. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison loses the right to ship, transport, receive, or possess firearms or ammunition.⁵ The prohibition lasts for life absent a narrow set of restoration procedures. Someone who bought guns for others as a straw purchaser ends up permanently barred from legally owning one.

What the Government Has to Prove

The penalties only attach on proof of a specific mental state. Section 932 requires that the buyer “knowingly” purchased the firearm for another person while “knowing or having reasonable cause to believe” the recipient falls into one of three prohibited categories.¹

The recipient is a prohibited person under federal law, such as a convicted felon, a person under a qualifying domestic violence restraining order, or someone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The full list is in 18 U.S.C. § 922(d).⁵
The recipient plans to use, carry, or possess the firearm to further a felony, a federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime.
The recipient intends to hand the firearm off to someone who is prohibited or has criminal intent as described above.

That third category reaches further than many people expect. Even if the person you buy for is not prohibited and does not plan to commit a crime personally, you violate § 932 if you know they intend to funnel the weapon to someone who does.

“Knowingly” means the buyer was aware they were acquiring the firearm for someone else, not themselves. The “reasonable cause to believe” language means prosecutors do not have to prove absolute certainty about the recipient’s status or plans. If the circumstances would cause a reasonable person to suspect the recipient could not legally own a gun or intended to use it criminally, that is enough. In practice, prosecutors build the knowledge element with text messages discussing the purchase, cash payments from the recipient beforehand, social media posts, phone records showing communication during the transaction, and testimony from cooperating witnesses. Courts also look at whether the buyer tried to conceal the transaction or avoid leaving a paper trail.

Conduct That Is Not a Straw Purchase

Not every purchase made with another person in mind falls under § 932. Federal law recognizes an exception for genuine gifts. If you buy a firearm with your own money and give it to someone as a present, you are the actual buyer for purposes of the transaction, and the purchase is lawful. ATF Form 4473 says a person is the actual buyer if they are “legitimately purchasing the firearm as a bona fide gift for a third party.”⁶

The line comes down to two questions: who paid, and is the recipient eligible? A gift stops being bona fide if the recipient gave you the money, reimbursed you afterward, or traded you anything of value for the gun. It also fails if the recipient is someone barred by law from having a firearm. A parent buying a hunting rifle for an adult child with their own funds and no expectation of repayment is the textbook lawful example.

Giving a firearm to someone who lives in a different state adds a separate federal requirement. You cannot personally hand a firearm to an out-of-state resident, even as a gift. The transfer must go through a federally licensed dealer in the recipient’s state, where they fill out Form 4473 and pass a background check before taking possession.⁵ There is no family exemption. Skipping the interstate step turns a lawful gift into a separate federal offense.

How § 932 Compares to and Stacks With the Older Charge

Before 2022, federal prosecutors going after straw buyers relied on 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6), which makes it illegal to provide false information on ATF Form 4473. A straw purchaser answers “yes” to the question asking whether they are the “actual transferee/buyer,” which is a lie, and that false statement offense carries a maximum of 10 years.⁷⁶

Section 932 raised the ceiling by 5 years and by 15 more when the enhancement applies. It also framed the offense as what it really is rather than as a paperwork lie. Prosecutors can still bring both charges in the same case. A defendant who lies on Form 4473 to complete a straw purchase is chargeable under both § 922(a)(6) and § 932.⁷ Stacking the charges gives the government leverage in plea negotiations and a backup theory at trial.

Statute of Limitations

Federal prosecutors have five years from the date of the purchase to bring charges under § 932. Section 932 sets no timeline of its own, so the general federal statute of limitations for non-capital offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 3282 controls.⁸ The clock starts when the offense happens, not when investigators discover it. Four years after a straw purchase with no knock on the door is not the same as being in the clear.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 934 – Forfeiture and Fines
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
7
United States Sentencing Commission. Primer on Firearms Offenses 2025
8
United States Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 650 – Length of Limitations Period