Firearm licensing and records

Full Title:
Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2026

Summary#

This bill would create a federal license that most people must hold to possess certain firearms and require a federal (or certified State) record of sale for those firearms. It applies to handguns and semiautomatic rifles that can accept detachable magazines over 10 rounds. The stated goal is to reduce unrecorded sales, improve safety training and storage, make tracing guns easier, and limit access by prohibited persons and youths.

Key changes:

  • New license for owners: Most adults must get a “firearm owner license” from the Attorney General to possess a qualifying firearm. States may run certified systems that substitute for the federal license.
  • Who and what counts: “Qualifying firearms” are handguns and semiautomatic rifles that can accept detachable magazines over 10 rounds (with one small exception for certain .22 rimfire tubes).
  • Record of sale: Licensed dealers must verify a buyer’s license at transfer, record a tracking authorization number, and submit a report to the federal or certified State system within 14 days containing make, model, serial number, date, buyer license number, and seller name/address.
  • Private transfers: Unlicensed private transfers generally must go through a licensed dealer who takes possession and runs the sale as if from dealer inventory (with limited family and emergency exceptions).
  • New penalties and duties: Failing to have a license, failing to comply with reporting/inspection rules, not reporting loss/theft within 72 hours, child-access rules, and other violations carry new criminal penalties (up to 10 years for major violations; up to 5 years for child-access violations).
  • Removes a prior statutory sentence that prohibited establishing a system of registration (i.e., it allows creation of federal sale records and related systems).

What it means for you#

  • Firearm owners (handguns and many semiauto rifles):

    • Most owners must obtain a federal firearm owner license or a State license from a certified State system to possess these firearms.
    • New applicants must submit photo ID, rolled fingerprints, basic biographical information, mental-health disclosures, and a certification about age and criminal history. The Attorney General must issue a license within 30 days if the applicant passes the background check.
    • Licenses last 5 years and must be updated on renewal. If a license is revoked or denied, the person must surrender the license and either transfer covered firearms to an approved place/person or move them out of immediate access within 48 hours.
    • If you move to a different State, you must either get a license under that State’s certified system or apply for the federal license within 60 days.
    • You must report loss or theft of a qualifying firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours of discovering it.
    • You must notify the Attorney General of any change of address within 60 days.

  • People selling or transferring qualifying firearms:

    • Licensed dealers must verify buyer licenses at the time and place of transfer and obtain a tracking authorization number before completing the sale.
    • Dealers must submit a sale/transfer report within 14 days to the federal system or a certified State system.
    • Private sellers who are not licensed must use a licensed dealer to handle the transfer (with limited close-family and emergency exceptions).

  • Licensed dealers and manufacturers:

    • Must keep records, submit sale reports, permit inspections, and comply with new reporting rules. They may be criminally liable for failure to maintain or produce records.
    • Dealers will need procedures to check license validity and to file reports within 14 days.

  • States:

    • States may create their own licensing and record-of-sale systems and ask the Attorney General to certify them as equivalent to the federal system. Certified State systems must forward sale reports to the federal system within 7 days.
    • If no State system is certified, residents must use the federal license.

  • Minors and parents:

    • Unemancipated minors may possess a qualifying firearm only under direct supervision of a licensed adult (parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis).
    • Applicants under 21 may be licensed with documented parental or guardian consent and other conditions.

  • Law enforcement and military:

    • Official duties of federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement and active-duty military are exempt from the licensing requirement.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

  • The bill caps the individual license fee at no more than $10 and says fees should cover the cost of running the licensing program in each fiscal year.
  • The Attorney General must build and maintain a Federal record-of-sale system within 270 days of enactment and accept reports; that creates likely administrative and IT costs for the Department of Justice/FBI (not estimated in the bill).
  • Licensed dealers will face compliance costs: verifying licenses at transfer, generating tracking authorization numbers, and submitting sale reports within 14 days.
  • Individuals may face costs for fingerprinting, obtaining identification, and, if required by history, paying for a mental-health evaluation.
  • States choosing to set up certified systems would incur costs to meet the federal requirements and to forward reports to the federal system within 7 days.

Proponents' View#

  • The bill appears intended to reduce unrecorded and private transfers of handguns and many semiautomatic rifles, which could make it easier to trace guns used in crime.
  • It appears intended to ensure owners know safe handling and storage practices by tying possession to a licensing process with training/safety requirements referenced in the purposes.
  • Supporters may view federal licensing plus certified State systems as creating uniform minimum standards nationwide while allowing States to implement equivalent systems.
  • Creating a federal record-of-sale system and removing the prior sentence that prohibited establishing a registration system could improve law enforcement’s ability to trace firearms.
  • The bill directs research and data collection on firearm injuries and “smart gun” technology, which could inform future policy and safety measures.

Opponents' View#

  • One concern is the administrative burden and likely cost on the federal government to set up and run a license and national record-of-sale system and on dealers to comply with frequent reporting and inspections; the bill contains no fiscal estimate.
  • The bill requires rolled fingerprints and embeds fingerprint facsimiles on the license and creates a federal system of sale records; this may raise privacy and data-security concerns (the bill does not detail data retention, access limits, or safeguards).
  • The criminal penalties for failing to obtain a license, for record-keeping failures, and for other violations are severe (up to 10 years for major violations), which could raise concerns about proportionality and enforcement priorities.
  • Practical questions are left unclear or could cause delays: how quickly the Attorney General can process the expected volume of applications within the 30-day rule; how transfers will be handled in rural areas with few dealers; and how revocation and the 48‑hour surrender/transfer requirement will work in practice.
  • It is unclear how the law would interact with State laws that already regulate or prohibit firearms transfers in different ways, beyond the certification route described.