The Straw Purchase Guide: Spotting and Stopping Them at Your Counter
A straw purchase, one person buying a firearm for someone else who cannot or will not buy it themselves, is a federal felony for the buyer. For your store, the stakes are different but real: a transfer your staff should have refused becomes evidence in a trafficking case, a finding at your next inspection, and a threat to the license your shop runs on. This guide covers the law, the difference between a straw purchase and a legal gift, the red flags at the counter, and how to refuse a sale in a way that protects you.
What a straw purchase is
A straw purchase happens when the person filling out the Form 4473 is not the actual buyer, they are standing in for someone else who is supplying the money or directing the purchase. Question 21.a on the Form 4473 asks whether the person is the actual transferee/buyer, and answering it falsely is a federal crime regardless of whether the true recipient could have passed a background check.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 made straw purchasing and firearms trafficking standalone federal offenses under 18 U.S.C. 932 and 933, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison, and up to 25 years when the firearm is connected to terrorism or trafficking. Before 2022, prosecutors relied mainly on the false-statement charge tied to the 4473 itself. The law now targets the straw buyer directly.
A straw purchase is not a gift
A genuine gift is legal under federal law: a customer buying a firearm with their own money, as a true surprise gift for someone they have no reason to believe is prohibited, is the actual buyer and answers question 21.a yes. The instructions on the 4473 say this explicitly. The line is money and direction. If the recipient supplied the funds or picked out the gun and sent someone else to buy it, that is a straw purchase even between family members.
Train the distinction
Your staff should be able to explain the gift rule in one sentence, because honest customers ask about it constantly. "If it is your money and your decision, it can be a gift. If someone gave you the money or told you what to buy, we cannot do the sale."
Red flags your counter staff should catch
- A second person picks the firearm, asks the questions, or handles the negotiation, then a different person steps up to do the paperwork.
- The buyer takes phone calls or texts for direction during the sale, or reads model numbers off their phone with no interest in the firearm itself.
- Cash handed over between companions in the parking lot or at the counter.
- A buyer who was denied earlier returns with a friend or relative who wants to buy the same firearm.
- Indifference to price, features, or caliber on a purchase that would normally get questions.
- Multiple identical handguns with no plausible explanation, which also triggers your multiple-sale reporting duties.
No single flag proves anything, and plenty of innocent sales involve a chatty friend. The standard your staff should hold is simpler: if they have reasonable cause to believe the person filling out the form is not the actual buyer, the transfer stops. Federal law never requires you to complete a sale.
How to refuse and document it
- Stop the transaction politely and without accusation. "I'm not able to complete this sale today" is enough; your staff does not owe a legal explanation at the counter.
- Do not hand the form back and invite a second try with better answers. A corrected story after a 21.a conversation is itself a red flag.
- Write down what happened while it is fresh: date, time, who was involved, what was said, which firearm. Keep the record with your compliance files.
- Report suspected straw purchases or trafficking activity to the ATF. The ATF asks dealers to contact their local field office or the ATF tips line.
- Brief the team afterward. The same pair often tries another store, or the same store on another shift.
Where e4473 fits
Software cannot read intent at the counter; trained staff do that. What e4473 does is make sure the paper side never undercuts them: every buyer answers every question, including 21.a, before the form can move forward, the certification is captured cleanly, and the completed 4473 is stored in audit-ready cloud storage tied to your point of sale and A&D Book. When the ATF traces a firearm from a case two years later, your records are complete, legible, and retrievable in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
What is a straw purchase of a firearm?
A straw purchase is when the person completing the Form 4473 is buying the firearm on behalf of someone else, typically with that person's money or at their direction. Answering question 21.a falsely is a federal crime even if the true recipient could have passed a background check.
What is the penalty for a straw purchase?
Under 18 U.S.C. 932, enacted in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, straw purchasing carries up to 15 years in federal prison, and up to 25 years if the firearm is connected to trafficking or terrorism.
Is buying a gun as a gift a straw purchase?
No. A true gift, bought with the buyer's own money and their own decision, for someone they have no reason to believe is prohibited, is legal, and the buyer answers question 21.a yes. It becomes a straw purchase when the recipient supplies the money or directs the purchase.
Can a dealer refuse a sale on suspicion alone?
Yes. Federal law never obligates a dealer to complete a transfer. If staff have reasonable cause to believe the person on the form is not the actual buyer, the correct move is to stop the sale, document it, and report suspected trafficking to the ATF.
How do dealers prove they acted properly on a refused sale?
Contemporaneous documentation: a dated note of what was observed, who was involved, and why the sale was stopped, kept with the store's compliance records. Complete, retrievable 4473 records for the sales you do make matter just as much when the ATF traces a firearm later.
Complete records when it matters most
e4473 requires every field, captures every certification, and keeps each completed 4473 in audit-ready cloud storage synced with your point of sale and A&D Book. When a trace request comes in, your answer takes seconds.