To get a gun out of your name, you either transfer it to another lawful owner, hand it over to law enforcement, or destroy it — and then update any permit or registration that still links you to it. The right path depends on your state, because federal law bars a national firearms registry, so what “in your name” actually means varies from a state database entry to nothing more than a dealer’s paper file.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926 – Rules and Regulations
What Ties a Gun to You in the First Place
When you buy a firearm from a licensed dealer, the dealer keeps your completed ATF Form 4473 at their shop. The ATF does not maintain a searchable database of gun owners. If a firearm needs to be traced, the National Tracing Center works from the manufacturer down the distribution chain to the dealer, who then looks up the serial number in their own records.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Fact Sheet – National Tracing Center
Only a handful of states and the District of Columbia keep actual firearms registries. Hawaii and D.C. require registration of all firearms. Several other states register specific categories such as handguns or assault weapons. Most states have no registration at all, and roughly a dozen expressly prohibit state registries. So the answer to “how do I get this gun out of my name” splits two ways. In a registry state, you need to update or cancel a government record. Everywhere else, the paper trail is really about protecting yourself from liability if the gun later turns up somewhere it shouldn’t.
Transfer Through a Licensed Dealer
Going through a Federal Firearms Licensee is the cleanest way to separate yourself from a firearm. It works for a sale, a gift, or any handoff to another person. The buyer fills out Form 4473, the dealer runs a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and once the check clears, the gun goes to the new owner.3Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473 (5300.9) From that point forward, the newest 4473 in the chain has someone else’s name on it.
Federal law requires an FFL for any transfer between private individuals who live in different states.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts If you’re selling or giving a gun to a friend in another state, a dealer has to handle it. Many states also require an FFL for sales inside the state.
Fees aren’t regulated. Most shops charge somewhere between $25 and $75. Home-based FFLs sometimes charge less, and stores in expensive areas can charge $100 or more. Some states add a separate background check fee. Call around before you commit.
Private Sale in the Same State
Federal law allows face-to-face transfers between two residents of the same state without a dealer, as long as neither party has reason to believe the buyer is prohibited from owning a firearm.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts About 20 states have closed this gap and require background checks on most private sales anyway. In those states, even a sale between neighbors has to run through an FFL.
If a private sale is legal where you live, write a bill of sale. Put the date, the firearm’s make, model, and serial number, and each party’s name and contact information on it. Both people sign. Both keep a copy. This is not required in every state, but if the gun ever surfaces in an investigation, that bill of sale is the only thing you have showing when it left your hands and who took it.
Who You Cannot Legally Transfer To
Whatever method you use, you cannot hand a firearm to anyone federally prohibited from having one. Federal law bars possession by anyone who:
- Has a felony conviction, meaning any crime punishable by more than one year in prison, state or federal
- Is a fugitive from justice
- Uses or is addicted to controlled substances
- Has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally incompetent at age 16 or older
- Is in the United States unlawfully, or holds a nonimmigrant visa, with narrow exceptions
- Received a dishonorable discharge from the military
- Has renounced U.S. citizenship
- Is subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders
- Has a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction
Transferring a firearm to anyone in these categories is a separate federal offense.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts If you have any doubt about a private buyer’s eligibility, use an FFL. The transfer fee is trivial next to a federal charge.
Straw Purchases Cut the Other Way Too
A straw purchase is when someone buys a gun on behalf of another person who’s the real intended owner, usually because that person can’t pass a background check. A 2022 federal law made this a standalone crime carrying up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and up to 25 years if the firearm is later used in a felony, an act of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms This matters when you’re on the selling side of a private transfer. If a buyer seems to be picking up the gun for someone else, walk away.
Passing a Firearm to an Heir
Federal law treats bequests and intestate succession differently from ordinary interstate sales. An heir living in a different state from the deceased can receive an inherited firearm directly without going through an FFL, as long as the heir is legally allowed to possess that type of gun under the laws of their own state.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The exception covers both the transfer by the estate and the heir’s receipt.
State law can still layer requirements on top. Some states require the heir to have a firearm permit or to register the gun before taking possession. Others restrict transfer of assault weapons or magazines above a certain capacity. An executor should check the laws of both states before shipping anything.
Items regulated under the National Firearms Act — suppressors, short-barreled rifles, machine guns — follow their own inheritance path. The executor files ATF Form 5 to move the item to the heir tax-free. The heir submits fingerprints on FBI Form FD-258 and attaches photographs. The ATF must approve before the physical handoff, and a copy of the form goes to the local chief law enforcement officer.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm – ATF Form 5 Executors with questions can reach the NFA Division at 304-616-4500 or NFAFAX@ATF.GOV.
Surrender or Buyback
If you don’t want to sell the gun to anyone, call your local police department. Most agencies have a procedure for voluntary surrender. Ask about it before you show up. They will usually tell you to bring the firearm unloaded, in a case, and separate from any ammunition, at a specific time or location. Do not walk into a station with a gun in your hand unannounced.
Cities and counties also run periodic buyback events, where you turn in a firearm for a gift card or voucher. These are anonymous by design. Participants aren’t asked for ID, aren’t background-checked, and aren’t asked how they got the gun. Compensation varies, often $25 to $75, with more for certain firearms. Watch local news and police department pages for scheduled events.
Some jurisdictions offer limited immunity from prosecution for certain firearms offenses when you surrender voluntarily. Ask what protections apply before you hand anything over.
Destroying the Firearm
Destruction is permanent and ends the paper trail. The ATF focuses on the receiver, which is the part federal law treats as the “firearm.” You can melt it, shred it, or crush it completely.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. How to Properly Destroy Firearms
If you use a cutting torch, the ATF requires three cuts through specific critical parts of the receiver, each removing at least a quarter inch of metal. The cuts must fully sever the receiver through the barrel mounting area, the rear wall, and an area holding a fire-control-component pin or operating handle slot. The point is to make the receiver impossible to restore. Removing the firing pin or welding the barrel shut does not count. A disabled firearm is still a firearm as far as the law is concerned.
If you don’t have a cutting torch or industrial shredder, some gunsmiths and scrap metal facilities will do the destruction for a fee.
Reporting a Lost or Stolen Firearm
If the gun is already gone from your possession because it was lost or stolen, reporting protects you. Federal law only requires licensed dealers to report theft or loss to the ATF within 48 hours by calling 1-888-930-9275 and filing ATF Form 3310.11, along with notifying local police.9eCFR. 27 CFR 478.39a – Reporting Theft or Loss of Firearms
Private owners aren’t required to report under federal law, though roughly 17 states have their own reporting laws. Even where nothing requires it, a police report creates a timestamped record that the gun left your hands involuntarily. If it turns up at a crime scene later, you want that report on file. Contact your local police, file the report, and keep a copy with the serial number, make, and model.
Updating Permits and State Records
Getting the gun out of your hands isn’t always the last step. If you hold a concealed carry permit, a firearms owner identification card, or another state-issued permit tied to that specific firearm, check whether your state requires you to notify the issuing authority. Some states set deadlines for reporting a change, and missing them can bring a penalty. The notification usually asks for the serial number, the transfer date, and the name of the new owner or receiving agency.
In registry states, confirm that the record itself has been changed or cancelled. Some states let you do this online; others need a phone call or written request. Save the confirmation email, letter, or reference number. That’s your proof the gun is no longer linked to you.
In non-registry states, there’s usually nothing to update on the government side. Your protection is the documentation you generated during the transfer: the buyer’s Form 4473 at the FFL, the bill of sale from a private sale, or the police report from a surrender or theft. Keep those records indefinitely.