A firearm transfer of ownership in Arkansas between two eligible state residents requires no background check, no permit, no registration, and no waiting period. You and the buyer can meet, exchange the firearm and payment, and go your separate ways. What the state’s hands-off approach doesn’t remove is federal eligibility law, which still governs who can receive a gun, how transfers cross state lines, and what happens with regulated items like suppressors. Get those pieces wrong and the penalties are severe, so the freedom Arkansas grants comes with real responsibility on both sides of the deal.
What a Private Sale Looks Like
A private sale between two Arkansas residents is the simplest transfer available. There is no state form to file, no dealer to visit, and no cooling-off period. The exchange can happen in a driveway, a parking lot, or a kitchen.
Two conditions have to hold. Both parties must be Arkansas residents, because federal law prohibits an unlicensed person from transferring a firearm to someone they know or have reason to believe lives in another state.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts And the buyer must be legally eligible to possess a firearm. Arkansas makes it a crime to sell, rent, or transfer a firearm to anyone the seller knows is barred by state or federal law from having one.
The practical seller’s checklist is short. Ask for a valid Arkansas driver’s license or state-issued ID. That confirms residency and age. It won’t reveal a criminal record, which is why the next step matters: ask directly whether the buyer is legally eligible, and get the answer in writing on a bill of sale.
If you’d rather have a background check run, you can voluntarily take the transaction to a Federal Firearms Licensee. The buyer fills out ATF Form 4473, the dealer runs the buyer through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and the dealer is treated as the transferor of record.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Procedure 2020-23Federal Bureau of Investigation. Firearms Checks (NICS) Dealers typically charge between $25 and $75 for this service. When you don’t know the buyer well, that fee shifts the eligibility check from you to a regulated professional with database access.
Who You Cannot Legally Transfer To
Arkansas and federal law each maintain a list of prohibited persons. A transfer to anyone on either list is illegal, so both lists matter.
Arkansas Prohibitions
Under state law, a person cannot own or possess a firearm if they have been convicted of a felony, adjudicated mentally ill, or involuntarily committed to a mental institution.4Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 – Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons Those are the three categories. Arkansas does not independently prohibit firearm possession for people under domestic violence protective orders; that restriction comes from federal law.
Federal Prohibitions
Federal law reaches further. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), a person cannot possess a firearm if they fall into any of these categories:1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
- Fugitives from justice, meaning anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant
- Current users of, or persons addicted to, controlled substances
- Anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
- Anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order
- Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
- Anyone dishonorably discharged from the military
- Former U.S. citizens who have renounced their citizenship
- Persons illegally in the United States or admitted under a nonimmigrant visa, with limited exceptions
The domestic violence categories catch sellers off guard most often. A buyer can be perfectly legal under Arkansas law but federally prohibited because of a misdemeanor DV conviction or an active protective order. Private sellers cannot access NICS to check. That gap is why knowing your buyer, verifying ID, and documenting the eligibility acknowledgment on paper all matter.
Penalties for illegal possession scale with history. A first-time violation with no prior felony is a Class A misdemeanor. A prior felony pushes the charge to a Class D felony, carrying up to six years in prison.5Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence A prior violent felony, a prior weapon-related felony, or possession during another crime makes it a Class B felony.4Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 – Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons
Age Limits for the Buyer
Age rules depend on the type of firearm and whether the sale is private or through a dealer.
For a private transfer, federal law puts the handgun floor at 18, not 21. An unlicensed person may not transfer a handgun to anyone they know or have reason to believe is under 18. There is no federal age restriction on private transfers of long guns at all.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers
The often-cited 21-year handgun rule applies only to purchases from a federally licensed dealer. Licensed dealers also cannot sell long guns to anyone under 18.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers
Arkansas layers its own rule on top. It is illegal to sell, give, or furnish a firearm to anyone under 18 without the consent of a parent, guardian, or person responsible for the minor’s welfare. Doing so with a long gun is a Class A misdemeanor. Furnishing a handgun to a minor is a Class B felony.7Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-109 – Furnishing a Deadly Weapon to a Minor
Writing a Bill of Sale
Arkansas does not require a bill of sale, and skipping one is still a mistake. If a firearm you sold shows up in an investigation later, the bill of sale is what proves you no longer owned it on that date. A solid one includes:
- Full names and addresses of both parties, matching their government IDs
- Firearm make, model, caliber, and serial number
- The date of transfer and the price paid
- A signed statement from the buyer acknowledging they are legally eligible to possess a firearm under state and federal law
Both parties keep a copy indefinitely. The document doesn’t shield you from every problem, but it creates a contemporaneous record that is hard to argue with later. For a gift, use the same form and write the price as “$0 — gift”; the eligibility acknowledgment still applies.
Selling or Buying Across State Lines
Federal law bars unlicensed persons from transferring firearms across state lines in either direction. You cannot privately sell to someone who lives in another state, and you cannot privately receive a firearm from an out-of-state seller.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Interstate transfers must route through a licensed dealer in the buyer’s home state.
The practical version: if you buy a firearm online from a seller in Texas, that seller ships to a licensed dealer in Arkansas. The dealer runs NICS, processes Form 4473, and releases the firearm to you once everything clears. Selling to an out-of-state buyer works the same way in reverse.
Gifts and Inherited Firearms
Gifting a firearm follows the same eligibility rules as selling one. The recipient must be legally allowed to possess a firearm, and if they are under 18, you need the consent of a parent or guardian. Giving a hunting rifle to a family member you know has a felony conviction is a crime, regardless of whether any money changed hands.
Inheritance is treated differently. Federal law carves out an exemption for firearms passed through a will or intestate succession. If someone in another state leaves you a firearm in their estate, the executor can ship or deliver it directly to you without going through a dealer, provided you are legally allowed to possess it in Arkansas.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The exemption covers only true bequests. Firearms sold from an estate to non-heirs follow normal transfer rules, meaning in-state sales can be private and out-of-state buyers still need a dealer.
Executors handling an estate with firearms should inventory each one by make, model, and serial number. An executor who is personally prohibited from possessing firearms should arrange for a licensed dealer to take custody rather than handle the guns directly. Fiduciary duty does not override criminal possession laws.
NFA Items Require ATF Approval
Some firearms and accessories fall under the National Firearms Act and cannot be transferred like standard rifles or handguns. Machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors, and destructive devices are all covered. Owning one legally in Arkansas is possible, but the buyer cannot take possession until the ATF signs off.
The transfer runs through ATF Form 4, filed via the ATF’s eForms system.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. eForms Applications For electronic filings by individual applicants, approvals have been running around four days in early 2026, while trust filings and paper applications take significantly longer.
Historically, NFA transfers carried a $200 federal excise tax per item. As of 2026, that tax has been eliminated for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other NFA items. The $200 tax remains for machine guns and destructive devices. The tax amount is separate from the approval process, and no NFA item can change hands without ATF authorization.
Straw Purchases and Trafficking
A straw purchase happens when one person buys a firearm on behalf of another, typically because the actual recipient would fail a background check. It is a federal crime even when the ultimate recipient is not a prohibited person. The deception itself is the offense.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 932, a straw purchase conviction carries up to 15 years in prison. If the buyer knows or has reason to believe the firearm will be used to commit a felony, a federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime, the maximum rises to 25 years.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
Trafficking carries similar exposure. Under 18 U.S.C. § 933, transferring a firearm to someone you know or reasonably believe would commit a felony by possessing it is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 933 – Trafficking in Firearms Those penalties apply whether the firearm ever gets used in a crime or not.
For a private seller, this is where the ID check and the bill of sale earn their keep. If a firearm you sold surfaces in a federal investigation, having documented that you verified the buyer’s identity and obtained their signed eligibility statement gives you a defensible record of good faith.