Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Universal Background Checks in Iowa.’ Background Checks. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 22 December
Relevant contents
Private Sales in Iowa
Subject to limited exceptions, any person seeking to purchase a handgun in Iowa must possess an annual permit to acquire a handgun, requiring a background check. Any person acquiring a handgun without possessing a valid annual permit is criminally liable for an aggravated misdemeanor.
Iowa also prohibits any person from transferring a handgun to a person who does not possess a valid annual permit to acquire a handgun, and from transferring a handgun to a person the transferor knows is prohibited by Iowa's permitting requirements from acquiring ownership of a handgun.
Iowa prohibits any person from knowingly transferring or acquiring possession, or who facilitates the transfer, of a stolen firearm.
Generally, Iowa prohibits any person from selling, loaning, giving or making available a rifle or shotgun or ammunition for a rifle or shotgun to a minor (person under age 18). Moreover, Iowa prohibits any person from selling, loaning, giving or making available a handgun or handgun ammunition to a person under age 21.
Private transfers of long guns (i.e., transfers by non-firearms dealers) are not subject to a background check requirement in Iowa, although federal and state purchaser prohibitions still apply.
[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]