Purchase Permits, Cards and Waiting Periods

Two state-level rules cause more cancelled orders than anything else: a permit you were supposed to hold before you bought, and a waiting period that starts at the dealer's counter rather than when you clicked pay. Neither is difficult once you know it applies. Both are frustrating when you find out after the firearm has already shipped. This guide explains the patterns so you can check your own state in a couple of minutes.

General information, not legal advice. The rules below are current as of September 2026. Firearm law changes often, so read your own state's official page before you order.

Pattern one: a card or permit you get in advance

Several states require a document issued by a police agency before any transfer can happen. The document is not the firearm licence itself; it is proof that you have already been screened.

Illinois issues a Firearm Owner's Identification card through the Illinois State Police, and a dealer cannot transfer without one.
Michigan requires a licence to purchase a pistol, obtained from a local police agency or county sheriff, unless the buyer holds a concealed pistol licence. Michigan also extended background checks to all firearms, not only pistols.
Minnesota requires a transferee permit or a permit to carry before a pistol or a semi-automatic military-style assault weapon may be transferred. The permit comes from the chief of police or the county sheriff.
Maryland requires a Handgun Qualification Licence from the Maryland State Police before a regulated firearm may be bought.
New York requires a pistol licence to buy a handgun and a separate semi-automatic rifle licence to buy a semi-automatic rifle. A pistol licence alone does not cover the rifle.

The common thread is lead time. Fingerprints, a training certificate or a background investigation can take weeks. Apply first, order second.

Pattern two: a waiting period at the dealer

A waiting period is a mandatory pause between the start of the transaction and the moment the dealer may release the firearm. It runs at the dealer regardless of how long the firearm sat in transit.

Washington holds firearms for ten days after the dealer requests the background check, and also requires the buyer to show proof of a recognised firearms safety training course completed within the previous five years.
Maryland applies a seven-day waiting period to regulated firearms, with exemptions for holders of a wear and carry permit and for serving and retired officers.
New Mexico applies a seven-calendar-day waiting period to firearm sales, a rule that has been the subject of litigation, so check the Department of Public Safety page for its current status before you order.
California holds firearms ten days and layers on a Firearm Safety Certificate requirement and a roster of handguns approved for retail sale.

Not every state that once had a waiting period still does. Wisconsin repealed its forty-eight hour handgun wait in 2015, and bills to bring it back appear regularly without passing. That is exactly why the right source is the state agency page rather than a list someone wrote several years ago.

Pattern three: who runs the background check

Most dealers contact the federal system directly. In point-of-contact states, the dealer calls a state agency instead, which checks state records first and then the federal ones. Nevada routes checks through its state police records division, Oregon through the Oregon State Police instant check system, Wisconsin through the state Department of Justice firearms unit, and Tennessee, Maryland and others operate their own front ends as well. A state check often costs a small fee and can take longer at busy times of year, especially in the week before an opening day.

Pattern four: states that add nothing

Plenty of states add no permit and no waiting period at all. In Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and several others, a dealer transfer is the federal process and nothing more: identification, Form 4473, background check, done the same day in most cases. If you live in one of these states, the only planning you need is around the dealer's transfer hours.

Carry permits that double as a purchase exemption

In a number of states a valid carry permit lets the dealer skip the separate check, because the permit itself was issued after one. Michigan, Minnesota and Louisiana all work this way in some form. This is one of the practical reasons people in permitless carry states still hold a permit: it speeds up purchases and it travels better. Our city pages name the issuing authority for each state we cover, and the store directory links them all.

Age rules worth checking twice

Federal law sets eighteen for long guns and twenty-one for handguns at a dealer. Some states raise the floor to twenty-one for everything, and others carve out exceptions for serving military members. Because the receiving dealer applies your state's rule, an out-of-state order never gets around it.

A short checklist before you order

Search your state police or attorney general site for the words purchase permit and waiting period.
If a document is required, apply and wait until it is physically in hand.
Ask your dealer how long a state-run check has been taking that month.
Add the waiting period to your delivery estimate, not to the shipping time.
Check magazine and feature limits before choosing a model, not after.

When the paperwork side is settled, the rest is simple. Our FFL transfer guide covers what happens at the counter, and the shop lists what we can send to your dealer today.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.