By Donovan Beard

February 12, 2025

The process of purchasing a firearm starts with going to a gun shop or firearms retailer who has an active FFL (Federal Firearms License) as a dealer and is lawfully able to sell you a firearm. Having said that, when you are at the gun shop and have selected the firearm that you intend to purchase, the clerk behind the counter will have you fill out an ATF form 4473. This is going to record the transaction and allow the gun shop to remove the firearm from their A&D books. They will ask for your valid driver’s license which needs to have a current address or will need an additional supplemental legal document which verifies your address. After you complete the ATF Form 4473, the clerk behind the counter will use that information to input it to the federal NCIC system (National Crime Information Center) to ensure that you are not a “prohibited person” and are legally allowed to be in possession of a firearm. Some states additionally will have requirements to run you through the state criminal database system to verify that you are not a “prohibited person” when it comes to lawfully being able to purchase a firearm. This process usually takes 15-20 minutes but can take longer depending on a variety of scenarios. After the clerk receives notification that your background check came back with no issues, they will draft up a receipt, accept payment and provide you with your new firearm purchase.

Gun shows operate very much the same way as a gun shop, the difference being that it is an event (like a fairground) where many FFL dealers exhibit their inventory for people to purchase. A common public misconception is that there are no background checks conducted at gun shows, which is completely false in Oregon. Even at gun shows, FFL dealers are required to conduct background checks, and the same state and federal paperwork requirements exist.

In some circumstance you may be able to purchase firearms from a private individual, however I would highly recommend that you review the state laws in this area and at the very least make sure the firearm is not stolen by calling in the serial number to your local law enforcement non-emergency dispatch and doing a written bill of sale before taking possession of the firearm. The safer alternative is to conduct something called an FFL transfer. This is accomplished by the purchaser and the seller going to a licensed FFL dealer. The seller would furnish the firearm to the clerk at the gun shop where they would list the gun on their A&D books and verify that the firearm is not stolen, then provide the purchaser with the ATF form 4473 where the purchaser would have their background check completed prior to taking possession of the firearm. The cash transaction would be conducted between the purchaser and the seller of the firearm, and the FFL or Gun shop would collect a fee for running the background check and filing the appropriate state and federal paperwork.

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