Effective August 1, 2023, Minnesota has partially closed the background check loophole by requiring handgun and semiautomatic military-style assault weapon purchasers to obtain a transferee permit that includes a background check unless they are buying from a licensed gun dealer–––gun dealers are required by federal law to perform background checks on all gun purchasers.¹ If both parties to the transaction are unlicensed, they may facilitate the sale through a federally licensed gun dealer.² A concealed carry permit constitutes a transferee permit for the purpose of purchasing a handgun or assault weapon.³ Certain transfers between immediate family members and temporary transfers are exempt from this requirement.⁴ See Licensing in Minnesota for more information about the criteria to obtain a transferee permit.

Transfers of non-military style semiautomatic long guns between private individuals are not subject to a background check, however.

A pre-existing provision of Minnesota law also provides that a person other than a federally licensed dealer who transfers a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon without complying with state background check requirements is criminally liable for a gross misdemeanor if the transferee possesses or uses the firearm within one year after the transfer in furtherance of a felony crime of violence, and:

• The transferee was prohibited from possessing the weapon under Minnesota law at the time of the transfer; or
• It was reasonably foreseeable at the time of the transfer that the transferee was likely to use or possess the weapon in furtherance of a felony crime of violence.⁵

In addition, a person commits a gross misdemeanor if he or she intentionally transfers a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to a person he or she knows:

• Has been denied a permit to carry a weapon because he or she is not eligible under state law to possess a handgun or assault weapon;
• Has been found ineligible to possess a handgun or assault weapon by law enforcement as a result of an application for a transferee permit or state background check; or
• Is ineligible to possess a handgun or assault weapon under state law.⁶

A person who recklessly furnishes another person with a firearm in conscious disregard of a known substantial risk that it will be possessed or used in furtherance of a felony crime of violence is criminally liable for a felony.⁷

See Minimum Age to Purchase or Possess Firearms in Minnesota  and Ammunition Regulation in Minnesota for laws prohibiting private sales of firearms or ammunition to minors.

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1. Minn. Stat. § 624.7134, subd. 2.[↩]
2. Id. at subd. 3.[↩]
3. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 9.[↩]
4. Id. at subd. 7.[↩]
5. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1f.[↩]
6. Minn. Stat. § 624.7141. An offense under this statute is a felony if within one year the transferee uses or possesses the firearm in furtherance of a felony crime of violence.[↩]
7. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1c.[↩]