How Old Do You Have To Be To Buy A Gun in the US? Federal And State Rules For 2026

A buyer old enough to vote can buy a rifle or shotgun from a licensed gun dealer under federal law. A handgun sale through the same dealer requires the buyer to be 21.

Federal rules set the first line, while state laws decide how far the restriction goes. California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Vermont require buyers to be 21 for all firearm purchases. Other states keep the 21-year limit for handguns, semiautomatic rifles, or specific firearm categories.

The legal picture has shifted again ahead of 2026. Courts have reviewed age limits for buyers under 21, state laws have faced new challenges, and private transfers remain governed by a separate mix of federal and state rules. The result is a system where the legal age to buy a gun can change by firearm type, seller category, and state law.

Federal Minimum Age To Buy A Gun In The US

The rule comes from 18 U.S.C. § 922. Licensed dealers may not sell any firearm or ammunition to a person under 18.

For firearms other than rifles or shotguns, which covers handguns, the minimum age rises to 21.

State law can make the federal rule stricter. The same federal statute bars a licensed dealer from completing a sale when the purchase or possession would violate state law or a local ordinance that applies at the place of sale.

How Old Do You Have To Be To Buy A Handgun?

A person must be at least 21 to buy a handgun from a federally licensed firearm dealer. That rule also applies to handgun ammunition when the dealer knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that the buyer is under 21.

The age rule for handguns has drawn renewed legal attention.

In 2025, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the federal restriction on licensed handgun sales to adults ages 18 to 20 violated the Second Amendment. The ruling did not erase every state or federal restriction for under-21 buyers, but it placed the dealer-sale rule back at the center of the legal debate.

How Old Do You Have To Be To Buy A Rifle Or Shotgun?

A person must be at least 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun from a federally licensed firearm dealer. Federal law places rifles and shotguns in a separate category from handguns, which is why the dealer-sale minimum is lower for long guns.

That federal age does not guarantee that every 18-year-old can complete a rifle or shotgun purchase in every state. Several states have raised the minimum age for some or all firearm purchases, and licensed dealers must follow state restrictions before completing a sale.

Buyers under 21 also face extra review when a sale goes through the federal background-check system. The FBI says the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act requires enhanced checks for under-21 buyers, including additional review of juvenile justice, mental health, and local law enforcement records when needed.

Licensed Dealers And Private Sales Have Different Age Rules

A gun bought from a licensed dealer enters the federal system before the sale is completed.

The dealer must verify the buyer, complete the federal paperwork, run the background check where required, and keep the sale record. A private transfer can follow a different route, especially when the seller is not operating as a firearms business.

Federal rules draw that line around business activity. Under current federal law, a person is treated as being engaged in the business of dealing firearms when they devote time, attention, and labor to dealing firearms as a regular course of trade or business, mainly to earn profit through repeated purchase and resale.

That definition separates a licensed dealer from an ordinary private seller.

Purchases From Licensed Firearm Dealers

Licensed dealers are the formal point of sale in federal gun law. A store sale, an online sale completed through a dealer, and a gun show sale handled by a dealer all fall under the dealer framework. The location may change, but the dealer’s obligation does not.

Age limits are only one part of that process. A licensed dealer also has to follow federal transfer rules, background-check procedures and state restrictions that apply before the firearm leaves the dealer.

Private Sales And Unlicensed Transfers

Private transfers do not automatically follow the same federal process as dealer sales. ATF says federal law bars an unlicensed person from transferring a handgun or handgun ammunition to someone the seller knows, or has reason to believe, is under 18.

For long guns, ATF says federal law has no minimum age for an unlicensed transfer, although state law may impose stricter rules.

Some states require private transfers to go through a licensed dealer. On the other hand, certain states require a permit or purchase authorization, while some also raise the purchase age above the federal floor.

ATF guidance for private sellers also warns that transfers to out-of-state buyers must go through a licensed firearm dealer in the state where the recipient lives.

The boundary between a private seller and a dealer has become a federal policy fight. In 2024, the federal government expanded how it interpreted sellers who are engaged in the business of dealing firearms.

In May 2026, ATF opened a new rulemaking process to revise parts of that approach, with the public comment period scheduled to run until August 4, 2026.

AP reported that the 2026 Justice Department move included a proposed rollback of the 2024 rule aimed at firearm sales outside traditional retail locations, including gun shows and online sales. The change put private-sale rules back in the national debate at the same time courts and states continue to revisit age restrictions.

Dealer Sale Versus Private Transfer

The legal age to buy a gun can shift before the firearm type even enters the analysis.

How Old You Have To Be To Buy A Gun In Each State In 2026

State law can raise the minimum age above the federal baseline.

Everytown Research lists 21 states with a purchase-age policy stricter than the basic federal rule, although the details vary by firearm type.

Some states set 21 for all firearms, some apply 21 only to handguns, and others apply higher limits to semiautomatic rifles or assault firearm categories.

California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Vermont fall into the strictest category, with a minimum purchase age of 21 for all firearms.

Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania use a narrower rule, setting the minimum at 21 for handguns and 18 for rifles and shotguns.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Washington take a more targeted approach, applying higher age limits to semiautomatic rifles, assault firearms or other specific firearm categories.

Delaware should be treated separately. A 2025 court ruling struck down the age provisions in House Bill 451, which had raised the minimum firearm purchase age from 18 to 21.

Background Checks For Buyers Under 21

Federal background checks for younger buyers changed after the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in June 2022.

The law expanded the National Instant Criminal Background Check System process for firearm buyers ages 18 to 20, adding a review of juvenile criminal records, juvenile justice information and certain mental-health records that may be held outside the main federal databases.

A buyer in that age group still begins with the standard dealer process. The buyer completes ATF Form 4473, the licensed dealer sends biographic information to NICS, and the system checks three national databases: the National Crime Information Center, the Interstate Identification Index and the NICS Indices.

For non-U.S. citizens, the check also includes applicable immigration databases.

How Enhanced Background Checks Work?

For buyers under 21, the background check can move beyond the automated database search.

NICS can contact agencies connected to the buyer’s residential address, including local law enforcement, state criminal-history or juvenile-justice repositories, and state custodians of mental-health adjudication records.

The purpose is to find disqualifying juvenile records that may never have reached the federal databases used in a routine check.

Records Reviewed During Under-21 Firearm Checks

The enhanced process focuses on records that can be difficult to capture through a standard check. Juvenile records, local incident information, and mental-health adjudication records may sit with state courts, local law-enforcement agencies, or state-level record custodians.

FBI guidance says NICS may request information about juvenile criminal behavior, delinquency, mental-health adjudications, or commitments that could disqualify a person under 21 from receiving or possessing a firearm.

Why Some Dealer Sales Can Take Longer?

A routine NICS check can return within minutes. When a case requires more research, federal law normally gives examiners three business days before the dealer can decide whether to transfer the firearm.

For under-21 buyers, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act allows the review period to extend to 10 business days when cause exists for more investigation.

The added time is tied to record access. Local agencies may need to locate juvenile files, confirm a court disposition or decide whether state privacy rules allow a response.

FBI reporting says early under-21 checks moved more slowly because some state and local agencies were unfamiliar with the process or restricted by juvenile-record and mental-health privacy laws.

What The FBI Data Shows About Under-21 Checks

The FBI reported that enhanced checks began in October 2022.

By March 2024, NICS had conducted enhanced reviews on more than 200,000 under-21 transactions and denied more than 600 transactions based only on information found through the expanded process.

A later Justice Department summary reported more than 260,000 completed under-21 enhanced checks and 800 prevented firearm purchases based solely on information revealed through the enhanced review.

An 18-, 19- or 20-year-old buyer may qualify under the age rule for a rifle or shotgun at a licensed dealer, yet still face a longer background-check review. The dealer sale can move forward only after the NICS result allows it or the legal waiting period expires under the applicable rules.

For a buyer, the under-21 review can mean added time before pickup. For a dealer, it means a transaction involving a younger buyer may remain open while NICS contacts state and local agencies.

For state and local agencies, it means a federal request may arrive for records tied to juvenile conduct, delinquency, mental-health adjudication or commitment history.

FAQs

Bottom Line

Federal law sets the starting point for gun purchase age in the United States: 21 for handguns bought from licensed dealers and 18 for rifles and shotguns bought from licensed dealers.

State law can raise those limits, and several states now require buyers to be 21 for all firearms or for specific categories such as handguns, semiautomatic rifles, or assault firearms.

Private transfers, online purchases, gun show sales, and family transfers can also follow different rules depending on the seller, the firearm, and the state.

A buyer who meets the federal age requirement may still face a higher state minimum, a permit rule, an enhanced background check, or a court-related change in how the law applies.