Private firearm transfers (i.e., transfers by non-firearms dealers) are not subject to a background check requirement in Tennessee.

Tennessee prohibits any person from purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm knowing that he or she is prohibited by state or federal law from owning, possessing or purchasing a gun.¹

Tennessee also prohibits any person from selling or offering to sell a firearm to a person with knowledge that the prospective purchaser is prohibited by state or federal law from owning, possessing or purchasing a firearm.²

See the Tennessee Minimum Age to Purchase or Possess Firearms section for age restrictions.

No person may intentionally, knowingly or recklessly sell a firearm or ammunition to a person who is intoxicated.³

Finally, any person who gives or sells a firearm to a service recipient (defined as a person who is receiving service, has applied for service, or for whom someone has applied for or proposed service because the person has a mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or a developmental disability)⁴ in a hospital or developmental center, whether on the premises of the facility or elsewhere, knowing such person to be suffering from a mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability, is criminally liable for a felony.⁵

See the section entitled Firearms Trafficking in Tennessee for laws aimed at gun trafficking.

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1. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1316(q)(1).[↩]
2. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1316(2).[↩]
3. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1303(a)(2).[↩]
4. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-1-101.[↩]
5. Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-3-904(a)(4).[↩]