As of August 28, 2007, you are no longer required to purchase a Gun Permit from the Sheriff’s Office prior to purchasing or transferring a handgun.

Permits are still required in order to carry a firearm in a concealed manner (Concealed Carry Permit). These permits require special training and applications. Please see the Concealed Carry page for more information.

If you are buying a handgun from a licensed dealer, the dealer will process you through the National Instant Check System (NICS) which is managed through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If you buy or sell a handgun through another individual, there is no requirement to run a check through the NICS. In fact, if you are not a federally licensed dealer, you can not gain access to the NICS. So, in an individual to individual gun sale, the gun is transferred like any other piece of property.

The Sheriff’s Office would suggest that as either a buyer or seller, it would be a good idea to have a licensed dealer transfer the gun. The dealer will then do a NICS check. This gives both parties government paperwork showing that the gun was not sold to a prohibited person, or that it was a stolen gun. The dealer may want to charge for this service; you will have to decide if you want the peace of mind that it could provide.

If you should choose to buy or sell a gun without taking the above suggestion, a bill of sale should be considered minimum documentation of the sale.