New federal rule requires serial numbers, background checks for ‘ghost gun’ kits (2024)

FAQs

New federal rule requires serial numbers, background checks for ‘ghost gun’ kits? ›

The rule requires background checks to be performed on ghost gun kit buyers and for serial numbers to be printed on ghost gun parts. That would allow the federal government to better track them. Biden declared the rule “basic common sense.”

In these circ*mstances, the person must provide specified information about the firearm the applicant intends to produce, pass a background check and other qualification standards to receive a serial number from the Department,¹⁹ engrave or permanently affix that serial number onto the firearm within 10 days of ...

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives approved a regulation in 2022 that required the manufacturers to have serial numbers on the kits and keep records of who purchased them. Advocacy groups and five companies that manufacture the kits sued, arguing the regulation wasn't permitted under law.

Current federal law requires background checks to be performed for anyone purchasing a firearm at a federally licensed gun dealer–however only 40% of guns sold in the US are sold through a federally licensed dealer. In most states, sales at gun shows, flea markets, and private gun sales are not subject to regulations.

Certain states have passed their own laws requiring homemade firearms to be serialized. In some circ*mstances, you need to engrave a serial number on your 80% lower before you fabricate it. This is the case in California, Connecticut, and other states.

Firearms are traced using serial numbers. However, ghost guns do not have them which makes them untraceable.

Serial numbers are required for self-made firearms:

California law also requires individuals who possess, manufacture, or assemble firearms in the state to apply to the DOJ for a unique serial number for each self-made firearm.

THE ANSWER. “Ghost guns” are unregulated in most states, except for New York, New Jersey, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia and California, where local laws subject them to the same scrutiny as other firearms.

The regulation, which took effect in 2022, changed the definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun, so they can be tracked more easily. Those parts must be licensed and include serial numbers.

Those parts must be licensed and include serial numbers. Manufacturers must also run background checks before a sale, as they do with other commercially made firearms. The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts or kits or by 3D printers.

Does the government know what guns I own? ›

It's a commonly held belief that the government has a national firearms registry and knows what guns each person owns. This is mostly untrue. There are exceptions to this rule depending on certain localities, but by and large, there's no central database of guns and who owns them.

The Charleston Loophole is a dangerous gap in the federal system that allows gun sales to proceed after three business days, even if the background check has not yet been completed. States can address this loophole by giving background check operators more time to determine if a buyer is prohibited.

ERPO or “red flag” laws generally create a civil process for law enforcement (and often times family members) to seek a judicial order that a person is a danger to themselves or others and should temporarily lose the ability to purchase and possess firearms.

Required Application. The Unique Serial Number Application shall be submitted via the California Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS) to request unique serial number(s). You can access CFARS at https://cfars.doj.ca.gov.

Federal Law on 3D-Printed Guns

Privately made guns, including a 3D-printed gun, don't have to be registered or have serial numbers unless state or local law requires registration.

“The final rule will also help turn some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms,” said the White House. “Through this rule, the Justice Department is requiring federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize that weapon.

The initial fee for submitting an application for a unique serial number is $46.19. This fee will cover the $31.19 cost for the firearms eligibility check conducted by the Department and the request for one unique serial number for one firearm or firearm precursor part.

Generally, ghost guns cannot be transferred or sold and are solely intended for personal use. If a person is found to be in possession of a non-serialized gun, they must apply to the DOJ for serialization or surrender the gun to law enforcement officers.

The ATF's rule updated the definition of a "firearm," "frame" and "receiver" under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to address the rise of ghost guns that can be assembled from kits that can be bought online or at a store without a background check and lack serial numbers.