A Utah firearm bill of sale is a legal document showing the details of a gun sale and transfer. It contains the seller’s and buyer’s names, signatures, and information about the gun transferred. The parties can reference it as proof of the transaction if a dispute arises later.
State Laws for Selling a Gun in Utah
Minimum Age to Purchase
A buyer must be at least 18 (unless accompanied by a parent or guardian) when making a private firearm purchase. [1]
A buyer purchasing a handgun from a federally licensed dealer must be at least 21. The buyer can be 18 if buying a long gun from a federally licensed dealer.
Permit for Purchase
You don’t need a permit to buy a gun in Utah. A federally licensed dealer must complete a background check on a buyer before they can complete a sale.
Register a Gun
Utah does not require firearm owners to register their firearms.
Utah law prohibits the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Safety, which performs criminal background checks for concealed-carry permits, from maintaining records for more than 20 days past the date of the firearms dealer’s request for the background check. [2]
Open Carry Permit
An individual can openly carry a gun in Utah without a permit. Some restrictions apply. For example, the firearm must be “unloaded,” which means the user must perform two manual moves before they can fire it.
Concealed Carry Permit
Like with open carry, you don’t need a permit to conceal carry in Utah. However, you may still seek a concealed carry permit to have fewer restrictions on where you can carry, waive the FBI background check fee each time you buy a gun from a federally licensed dealer, and carry the firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.
How to Apply
Utah is a shall-issue state, so it will issue a carry permit to anyone who meets the state-mandated requirements. In 2022, Utah’s governor signed legislation giving the state partial preemption over county governments’ firearms regulations. [3]
Applicants generally must be over 21, although a provisional permit is available for individuals between 18 and 21. The Bureau of Criminal Identification may refuse a permit to anyone they believe, based on past actions, is a “danger to themselves or others.” [4]
Concealed firearm permits are issued through the BCI. Applicants must present a photo ID, proof of good character, and certification of completion of a weapons familiarity course:
- Step 1 – Fill Out Application: Complete an Application for a Concealed Firearm Permit.
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Step 2 – Attach Documentation: Submit the following with the application:
- A Weapon Familiarity Certification
- A photocopy of your state-issued driver’s license or identification card
- A recent color passport-style photo
- A complete fingerprint card
- Step 3 – Submit Application: Turn in your complete application by mail or in person to: Bureau of Criminal Identification, 3888 West 5400 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84129.
- Step 4 – Pay Fees: All applicants must pay the $53.25 filing fee. [5]
Gun Reciprocity
Utah recognizes all concealed-carry handgun permits issued by other states. [6] Currently, 36 states recognize Utah’s concealed-carry permits within their boundaries.
Restrictions on Firearm Ownership
Private sellers are prohibited from selling or transferring a weapon to individuals the seller knows are not allowed to possess firearms under Utah law.
Category I and Category II restricted people can’t own firearms in Utah. [7] Category I restricted people include:
- Any person convicted of a violent felony
- Any person on parole or probation for a felony
- Any person on probation from secure care
- Any person who is unlawfully or illegally in the US
- Any person who is on probation for possessing an illegal substance
- Any person who has been adjudicated by a juvenile court for an offense which would have been a violent felony if an adult had committed it
Category II restricted people include the following:
- Any person who has been convicted of a felony domestic violence offense
- Any person within the last seven years who has completed a sentence for a felony conviction
- Any person within the last seven years who has been adjudicated for a juvenile offense that would’ve been a felony if it was committed by an adult
- Any person who unlawfully uses controlled substances
- Any person who unlawfully possesses a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance and possesses a dangerous weapon
- Any person who was found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial for a felony offense
- Any person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity for a felony offense
- Any person who has been committed to a mental institution
- Any person who has been honorably discharged from the armed forces
- Any person who has renounced their US citizenship
- Any person who is a respondent or defendant subject to a protective order or a child protective order
- Any person who has been convicted of the commission or attempted commission of misdemeanor assault or aggravated assault against someone with close relations
Utah has a voluntary firearm and ammunition restriction list, the Firearms Safe Harbor Act. [8] Anyone who wishes to place themselves on this list may do so for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of six months. This also places the individual on the NICS database as a restricted person. [9]
Firearm Inheritance Laws
Utah has no specific laws regarding the inheritance of firearms.
Inheritance must follow the same rules preventing the transfer of firearms to minors and others not allowed to possess firearms.
