Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Gun Dealers in Indiana.’ Gun Sales. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 22 December
Relevant contents
Dealer Regulations in Indiana
Indiana requires that any person who sells, trades, transfers, exposes for sale, trade or transfer, or possesses with intent to sell, trade or transfer any handgun must possess, and display at all times, a retail handgun dealer's license.
To qualify for a license, an applicant must apply to the sheriff of the county in which he or she resides who must verify the application and conduct an investigation into the applicant's "character and reputation." The sheriff must forward the application, investigation results and his or her recommendation as to approval or disapproval to the state police. The state police must issue a license if it deems the applicant to be of "good character and reputation" and "a proper person to be licensed." However, no retail dealer's license may be issued to any person who has been:
- Convicted of a felony in any state or country; or
- Adjudicated a delinquent child for an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult in any state or country, if the person applying for the retail dealer's license is less than 23 years of age.
A dealer license that was applied for after June 30, 2011, is valid for six years from the date of issue.
A retail dealer's business may be carried on only at the site designated in the license, and a separate license is required for each separate retail outlet. The license itself must be displayed on the business premises in a prominent place where it can be seen easily by prospective customers. In addition, no handgun may be sold in violation of any provision of Chapter 35-47-2 or under any circumstances unless the purchaser is personally known to the seller or presents clear evidence of his or her identity.
A dealer may not sell, rent, trade, or transfer from the dealer's inventory a handgun to a person not licensed to carry a handgun under state law until the dealer has:
- Obtained the completed and signed ATF Form 4473;
- Contacted the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by telephone or electronic means to request a background check; and
- Received authorization from NICS to transfer the handgun to the prospective purchaser.
In addition, the dealer must record the NICS transaction number on Form 4473 and retain that form for auditing purposes.
For laws applicable to both licensed and private firearm sellers, please see the Indiana Private Sales section.
Indiana has no law requiring firearms dealers to initiate a background check prior to transferring a long gun. Nevertheless, prior to transferring a long gun in Indiana, a dealer must initiate the background check required by federal law…
[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]
Last accessed at:
https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/gun-dealers-in-indiana/