A Vermont firearm bill of sale is a document that serves as an official legal record of the transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer. It contains the details about the firearm transferred and the seller’s and buyer’s names and signatures.
State Laws for Selling a Gun in Vermont
Minimum Age to Purchase
A buyer must be 21 to purchase a firearm in Vermont. [1] This requirement doesn’t apply to people who:
- Are law enforcement officers.
- Are active or veteran members of the Vermont National Guard, the National Guard of another state, or the US Armed Forces.
- Show the seller proof of satisfactory completion of a Vermont hunter safety course or an equivalent course approved by the Commissioner.
- Show the seller proof of satisfactory completion of a hunter safety course in another state or a Canadian province approved by the Commissioner.
Permit for Purchase
Vermont doesn’t require buyers to have a permit to purchase a firearm. However, they must undergo a 72-hour waiting period after a federally licensed dealer receives a unique ID number for the transfer by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Alternatively, they can wait seven business days from when the dealer contacted the NICS to initiate the background check. [2]
Vermont does not allow unlicensed persons to transfer, sell, or gift firearms to another unlicensed person. You need a licensed firearms dealer to facilitate the sale if you are a private party. [3]
A few exceptions to this rule include transferring firearms to a police officer or an immediate family member.
Register a Gun
Vermont has no law that requires firearm registration. If you register a newly purchased firearm, the bill of sale can prove the transfer of ownership. A record is not sent to the police.
Furthermore, Vermont law prevents any government body from maintaining a registry of guns. [4] However, all retail merchants and pawnbrokers must keep records of all sales of revolvers and pistols and all secondhand purchases of revolvers and pistols.
Open Carry Permit
Vermont allows individuals aged 16 and older to open carry, [5] but the federal requirement is 18. No permit is necessary for the open carry of firearms.
Concealed Carry Permit
Vermont doesn’t distinguish between concealed and open carry of firearms. The minimum age for concealed carry is 16, but the federal requirement remains consistent at 18 years old.
The state doesn’t have a permit system, so individuals cannot seek a permit if they want to for reciprocity reasons.
Gun Reciprocity
Vermont does not issue carry permits, but seven states fully recognize Vermont residents’ rights to carry, and 12 states recognize them with restrictions.
Restrictions on Firearm Ownership
Firearm Inheritance Laws
Firearms cannot be transferred through sale, gift, trade, or estate between unlicensed individuals.
However, it is permissible to gift or sell a firearm to an immediate family member which includes a spouse, parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, sibling, stepsibling, grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild, step-grandchild, great-grandparent, step-great-grandparent, great-grandchild, and step-great-grandchild (13 V.S.A. § 4019(a)(2)).
Thus, firearms can be passed down to immediate family members in one’s estate.
