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Is it better to register a gun bought in private sale?

17K views 85 replies 23 participants last post by  Scouse 
#1 ·
I just got done reading the thread "Procedure for selling a gun privately".

Brownie says and most everyone agreed:

"Get the buyers drivers license information to include address, date of birth, license number, date of expiration, have them sign the piece of paper they received that gun with that serial number on that date from you, make sure the signature matches the license, ----- put that information in a secure place and keep it as a record of sale.

No valid drivers license---------- no sale

You're good to go. Feds come knocking at the door down the road, show them the paper he signed with his information on it and tell them to have a nice day"

MY QUESTION: What happens if the police run a check on the gun and it is not registered to you? Is it better to register a gun in a private sale so no hassles in future? Also I tried to locate a statue in Gutmachers book on private sales but couldn't. If anyone has the stat # I would appreciate it.
Thanks for any help.
 
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#2 ·
There is no 'registration' in FL. If the gun is in your possession, you 'own' it.

Are you talking about both parties going to an FFL and transferring the weapon from one party to another?

There is no statute covering private sales in FL, except that the legal age of possession is 18. They are perfectly legal. Statutes, in general, tell you what you can't do, not what you can do. Find me a statute that sez it's legal to wear Wrangler jeans on a Tuesday.

About half the firearms I own came to me through private sales. I've only signed one bill of sale from one gentleman who asked that I do so.
 
#5 ·
No, just talking about a private sale between two people. THanks for your input.
 
#6 ·
As others have said, there is no such thing as registration. You don't need any of that crap and transferring through an FFL is a waste of money.

Do you have reason to believe the person is a felon, mentally defective, or otherwise unable to own a gun? If not, he hands you the money and you hand him the gun. That is a private sale, just like you selling somebody a model train set or a fishing rod.

If on the very, very, very unlikely chance that law enforcement ever comes back to you asking about it, tell them you sold it and provide a description of the person as best you can. But out of me and all my friends, we have done a lot of private sale transactions and have never a problem. Only once have we refused a sale to a guy who fit the role of a gang banger way too well, and he didn't put up a fight about it.
 
#9 ·
You guys can do whatever you want but I am not selling a gun to anyone without identification. I don't have a crystal ball about whether they're a felon or mentally ill and getting a driver's license won't change that but at least my butt will be covered if the buyer uses the firearm in a crime. To just sell a gun to an indvidual without any id maybe legal but I'm not doing it.
 
#15 ·
When I buy or sell a firearm, privately, I always have signed bills of sale and request ID. If someone does not wish to do that, they walk away without a transfer of the weapon. The Bill of Sale provides protection for both parties, as it documents a transfer of the weapon.
 
#18 ·
I always use a bill of sale. I agree, it is highly unlikely that the police will ever knock on my door, but on th other hand, a file folder does not take up much space, and it adds to the nice warm feeling of having your butt firmly covered.

I made a Bill of Sale to accompany something else I am still working on (Gun Database program).

This is the "pull the data from the database" code stripped out version, so you can fill in the blanks and save it. The rest can be handwritten.

Anyone here is free to download and use it as they like.

View attachment Gun_Bill_Of_Sale.zip
 
#27 ·
It is to my understanding that even a bill of sale cannot be used as a legal document, unless notarized. So writing your own bill of sale, following your own procedures to match license and signatures and all that, may be comforting to you, but im pretty sure that it is just as good as not having one if its not notarized. Correct me if im wrong (i know you will)
 
#60 ·
I think we can all agree on this ...

Some people are cautious and choose to mitigate potential risk. They get a BOS.
Others don't care and since the law doesn't require it, they do not.

No one, on either side, is changing their mind.

How did I do summing up the last 59 posts? :grin
 
#61 ·
I think we can all agree on this ...

Some people are cautious and choose to mitigate potential risk. They get a BOS.
Others don't care and since the law doesn't require it, they do not.

No one, on either side, is changing their mind.

How did I do summing up the last 59 posts? :grin
Exemplary summation sir :rofl
 
#73 ·
so those of you who have used the "CYA" method and got a bill of sale, did you get it noterized? If its not noterized, its worthless. WORTHLESS. Everyone simply ignored mine and notalawyers comment about that. So unless youre going to go through the trouble of getting it noterized WHAT IS THE POINT? It is not a legally binding document. Meaning if you have your own written, un-noterized bill of sale it does nothing to prove a transaction.
 
#74 ·
A bill of sale is not "worthless" if it is not notarized. The only reason for the bill of sale is to establish the presumption that the property was transferred to another on a specific date. Even a notarized bill of sale does not prove that any property was transferred. It merely verifies that the people signing the document alleging that such a transfer took place are who they purport to be.
 
#86 ·
Just perused the many opinions of selling Guns! I have always considered a Firearm as being an item, in the hands of a child, or incompetent person, as being a very dangerous object.

It would be fairly easy to single out a child, not so easy to know if some one was incompetent, or not.

Selling an item that expels a projectile, has, IMO, a onus on the seller, much more so than most other objects. The legality of said transaction not withstanding.

Mind you, as I have stated before, I do not sell guns.
 
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