Federal law requires firearms dealers to obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), although resource limitations prevent ATF from properly overseeing all its licensees.

Pennsylvania law requires all retail firearms dealers to be licensed by the state.¹ A license will be revoked if the licensee:

• Fails to conduct business only where designated in the license or at a lawful gun show or meet;
• Fails to display the license on the premises;
• Sells any firearm in violation of Pennsylvania law;
• Sells a firearm to a purchaser without evidence of the purchaser’s identity unless the purchaser is personally known to the licensee;
• Fails to keep a record in triplicate of every firearm sold and retain the records for 20 years;
• Displays any handguns or short-barreled rifles or shotguns² where they can be readily seen from outside the premises;
• Fails to store firearms securely when closed for business in the event of a clear and present danger to public safety as declared by the Pennsylvania State Police (“PSP”); or
• Fails to possess all applicable current revenue licenses.³

By signing the application for a license to sell firearms, the applicant is acknowledging that if a license is granted, the applicant gives permission to PSP, or their designee, and the issuing authority, to visit the licensee’s business location and inspect the premises, records, and documents without a warrant.⁴

When an unlicensed person sells or transfer a handgun or short-barreled rifle or shotgun to another unlicensed person, he or she must do so upon the place of business of a licensed dealer, and the dealer must follow the procedures for the transfer as if he or she were the seller of the firearm.⁵

All licensed dealers must provide each purchaser a free firearms safety brochure containing a summary of state firearms regulations.⁶ The brochures are provided by PSP at no cost to the dealer.⁷

Pennsylvania law only regulates the storage of firearms and ammunition by dealers when closed for business in an area where the Commissioner of PSP has found a clear and present danger to public safety to exist.⁸

Retail firearms dealer licenses are issued by the chief or head of any police force or police department of a city, and, elsewhere, the sheriff of the county, and are valid for three years.⁹

For information about the Pennsylvania law:

• Requiring a locking device to accompany the sale of a firearm, see the Pennsylvania Locking Devices section.
• Limiting sales of ammunition, see the Pennsylvania Ammunition Regulation section.
• Requiring federally licensed dealers to conduct background checks on firearm purchasers, see the Pennsylvania Background Checks section.
• Requiring dealers to maintain records of sales, see the Pennsylvania Retention of Sales / Background Check Records section.
• Applicable to both licensed and private firearm sellers, see the Pennsylvania Private Sales section.

MEDIA REQUESTS

Our experts can speak to the full spectrum of gun violence prevention issues. Have a question? Email us at media@giffords.org.

Contact

1. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6112.[↩]
2. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6102(2).[↩]
3. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6113. For information about applications for a Pennsylvania license to sell firearms, see 37 Pa. Code § 33.116.[↩]
4. 37 Pa. Code § 33.116(c).[↩]
5. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111(c). A person violating these provisions who has already been convicted under them previously (in other words, a repeat offender), receives an enhanced punishment under Pennsylvania law. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111(h).[↩]
6. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6125; 37 Pa. Code § 33.111(d)(5).[↩]
7. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6125.[↩]
8. 37 Pa. Code §§ 31.101-31.106.[↩]
9. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6113(a).[↩]