Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Aguilar, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025 requires that nearly all firearm transfers between private individuals go through a licensed firearms dealer who must conduct a background check. Currently, federal law only requires background checks for purchases from licensed dealers, leaving private sales (including at gun shows and online) unregulated at the federal level. This bill closes that gap by making it illegal to transfer a gun to another private individual without first having a licensed dealer take possession, run a background check, and facilitate the transfer.
Who Benefits and How
Licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) benefit significantly from this bill. They gain a new revenue stream because every private transfer must now go through their businesses, allowing them to charge transfer fees for facilitating background checks. Gun show dealers and online firearms marketplaces that already hold federal licenses may see increased business volume. Law enforcement agencies like the FBI (which runs the National Instant Criminal Background Check System) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gain expanded oversight of the firearms market. Family members who want to gift or loan firearms to each other also benefit from a clear exemption that preserves traditional transfers between spouses, parents and children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, and aunts/uncles with nieces/nephews.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Private gun sellers and buyers who are not licensed dealers face the most significant new burdens. Sellers must now find a licensed dealer to facilitate any private sale, pay transfer fees (typically $25-75), and wait for the background check to clear before completing the transaction. Buyers must undergo the same background check process they would face when buying from a dealer, including filling out ATF Form 4473, and paying their share of transfer fees. Private sellers at gun shows and individuals selling firearms online through classified ads face particular challenges, as they must coordinate with dealers rather than completing direct transactions. Violations of the new law carry federal criminal penalties under existing firearms statutes.
Key Provisions
- Requires all private firearm transfers to be processed through a licensed dealer who conducts a NICS background check, with criminal penalties for violations
- Exempts family transfers (gifts and loans between spouses, domestic partners, parents/children, siblings, grandparents/grandchildren, aunts-uncles/nieces-nephews) if the transferor has no reason to believe the recipient is prohibited from possessing firearms
- Exempts temporary transfers at shooting ranges, for hunting/fishing/pest control, and while in the transferor's presence
- Exempts emergency transfers necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, including domestic violence situations
- Exempts law enforcement, military, and private security professionals acting in official capacity
- Requires dealers to provide transferees with notice of the private transfer prohibition in both English and Spanish
- Takes effect 180 days after enactment
- Explicitly prohibits using this law to establish a national firearms registry
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires background checks for all firearm transfers between private parties by mandating they occur through licensed dealers
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Close the 'gun show loophole' and 'private sale loophole' by requiring all firearm transfers to go through licensed dealers who conduct background checks, while exempting family transfers and temporary loans"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Licensed firearms dealers (increased business from mandatory intermediation)
- Gun control advocacy groups
- Law enforcement (enhanced ability to prevent prohibited persons from obtaining firearms)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Private firearms sellers (must pay dealer fees, face delays)
- Private firearms buyers (must undergo background check, pay transfer fees)
- Gun rights advocacy groups
- Individuals in states with minimal private transfer regulations
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
- "licensed_dealer"
- → Federal Firearms License holder authorized to sell firearms
- "licensed_importer"
- → Federal Firearms License holder authorized to import firearms
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
- "licensed_manufacturer"
- → Federal Firearms License holder authorized to manufacture firearms
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Persons holding Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) under 18 USC Chapter 44, authorized to conduct background checks
Transfers exempt from background check requirement: law enforcement/military in official duties, family transfers (spouse, domestic partner, parents/children, siblings, aunts/uncles/nieces/nephews, grandparents/grandchildren), estate transfers, emergency transfers to prevent imminent death/great bodily harm, NFA transfers approved by Attorney General, and temporary transfers at shooting ranges, for hunting/fishing/pest control, or in presence of transferor
An in-kind transfer of a firearm of the same type or value, for purposes of the family exemption
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology