Do You Have To Register A Pistol

Exercise I Have To Annals My Gun?

Firearms | September 2, 2020

I get this question a lot, and it's clear that there is some defoliation out there near what it ways to "register" a firearm. It is the purpose of this article to lend some clarity to the subject.

In gild to comprehensively accost the topic of firearms registration, I will make ii distinctions. The first distinction is betwixt the categories of firearms: those which are bailiwick to the National Firearms Human action ("NFA Firearms"), and those which are not ("non-NFA Firearms"). (I am avoiding other often-used terms, like "Title I Firearms," "Title II Firearms," or "Class III Firearms" as they are inaccurate and misleading.) The second distinction I will make is between registering a firearm, on the one hand, and undergoing an ownership transfer groundwork cheque, on the other.

Categories of Firearms

Returning to the 2 types of firearms, "non-NFA Firearms" are the most commonly owned guns, and this category includes handguns (revolvers and semi-automatic pistols) and long guns (rifles and shotguns). Only a scattering of states require registration of these types of guns. In fact, hither in Pennsylvania we take laws that affirmatively prohibit registration of firearms. The premise of such a prohibition is that firearm registration is a step down a glace slope, leading to eventual confiscation. Conversely, the motivation behind background checks is to ensure that those who are "Prohibited Persons" (such as felons, for instance) are non immune to own guns.

However, the law nevertheless requires the transferee (the recipient) of certain non-NFA Firearms to undergo a background check (as mentioned higher up, for the purpose of making sure a transferee is not a "Prohibited Person"). This is done at a Federal Firearms Licensee ("FFL," i.e. a dealer) who runs a background cheque on the transferee through the NICS (the National Instant Criminal Groundwork Check Arrangement) database, though here in Pennsylvania we apply the "PICS" (Pennsylvania Instant Check Organization). This is always accompanied by the completion of an ATF Course 4473, as well equally the Pennsylvania State Police Application/Record of Sale form (SP 4-113) which is the form that lists the various factors prohibiting gun ownership.

(Caution: we accept had many clients stumble into trouble by filling out one of these forms without a proper understanding of what they mean – read the instructions on the back of the forms before completing them, because an incorrect answer tin can lead to criminal charges.)

All Pennsylvania handgun transfers must exist subjected to a PICS cheque, with the completion of a Form 4473 by the transferee of the handgun. However, PICS checks (and therefore ATF Form 4473s) are not required for long gun (i.e. rifles and shotguns) transfers in Pennsylvania (equally long as the barrels are not shortened). That means that a handgun which is owned in Pennsylvania but which was not properly transferred at an FFL (with a PICS cheque and ATF Course 4473) is an illegal handgun, and its possession will subject the owner to criminal penalties. (There are some exceptions to this, though, such as transfers between a parent and an adult kid.) A long gun, withal, as indicated above, can be transferred in Pennsylvania without an FFL-completed PICS check and ATF Form 4473, and therefore yous tin can transfer ownership of a long gun in Pennsylvania with just a hand milk shake. (Information technology is, nevertheless, strongly recommended that at to the lowest degree a Bill of Auction always be completed for such transfers.)

What'due south the Difference Betwixt Background Checks and Registrations?

Every bit distinguished from a background cheque as described in a higher place, the registration of firearms is non permitted in Pennsylvania. In those other states requiring firearms registration, the procedure usually involves bringing the firearm to the local law station for the purpose of alerting the municipality of its presence in their jurisdiction. This is an boosted step that some other states require, and is typically done about immediately after the ownership transfer and NICS background check. (Residents of other states should check their local laws on specific procedures.)

It has been claimed, and rightly and so, that many states' background check procedures in fact found 'back door' registrations, since the final outcome is the same – the regime knows who has what guns. Pennsylvania is a proficient example of this. Even though we take a statute on the books which specifically outlaws whatsoever firearm registration, a dealer-facilitated groundwork check must back-trail all handgun transfers, the form that the transferee fills out is then kept by the dealer, and a copy is sent to the Pennsylvania Land Constabulary.

Even so, the storage of firearm purchaser information, while currently an unfortunate feature of our firearms transfer procedure, is not a necessary feature of a groundwork cheque per se. In other words (and here I describe not what the law is, just what information technology could be) it would be entirely reasonable for a dealer to behave a groundwork check on a transferee by but calling the land constabulary and getting a 'thumbs upwardly' or 'thumbs down' on the transferee, without generating unnecessary paperwork for storage purposes. The state constabulary could limit its record-keeping to the fact that a background cheque was washed on a specific firearm at a specific dealer, without any reference to the identity of the transferee. Only the dealer would maintain a photocopy of the transferee's driver's license, which he would only be mandated to provide to law enforcement if a warrant was issued for its provision, in the case that a crime had been committed with the firearm in question.

Such a process would foreclose a background check from becoming a 'back door' registration, merely would also accost legitimate law enforcement needs. Since this is not the example at nowadays, the but firearms owners in Pennsylvania who are currently non field of study to any kind of 'back door' registration are those who have purchased their long guns privately.

Registering an NFA Firearm

Returning to the law as it is, the other category of firearms is "NFA Firearms," which term is defined every bit including any of the following: (A) a "short-barreled shotgun," the butt(s) of which measure(s) less than 18 inches, or the overall length of which is less than 26 inches; (B) a "brusk-barreled burglarize," the butt of which measures less than 16 inches, or the overall length of which is less than 26 inches; (C) "whatever other weapon" ("AOW") (a pen gun, for example); (D) a machine gun; (E) a silencer (a/thousand/a "suppressor"); or (F) a subversive device (a grenade, for instance). As in all other states, in Pennsylvania all NFA Firearms must be registered with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (which is still unremarkably referred to every bit the "ATF").

A "Form 4" is the ATF form required to transfer and register an NFA Firearm. Upon approving of a Form iv, an owner is issued a "revenue enhancement stamp" (since the National Firearms Act is simply a chapter inside the Internal Acquirement Code), and simply then may the applicant take possession of the NFA Firearm.

Pennsylvania prohibits the possession of "destructive devices," calling them "Prohibited Offensive Weapons," but allows for the possession of whatever of the other above-listed NFA Firearms, provided they are properly registered with the ATF.

Let united states keep in mind, then, that the PICS background check (in theory at least) simply ensures that a transferee is not a Prohibited Person, and, with some exceptions, near all firearms (both NFA and non-NFA) are discipline to groundwork checks. Registration, on the other paw, while required for the transfer of NFA Firearms, is not officially permitted in Pennsylvania. May we be precise in our terminology, and zealous to keep these terms distinct, both in theory and in practise, remembering that background checks are intended to keep guns out of the hands of the bad guys, whereas registration may eventually keep them out of the easily of the practiced guys.

Josh Bodene, Esq., an acquaintance in the constabulary firm of Trinity Law, is a firearms enthusiast and handles all aspects of firearms law.