The comment period for an ATF proposed rule on firearm transactions and straw purchases closes August 4, 2026. Online comments must arrive by midnight Eastern Time. Mailed comments must be postmarked by August 4.

The proposal would add 27 CFR 478.105 and describe two categories of straw purchase. One involves acquiring a firearm from a federal firearms licensee through a material false statement about the actual purchaser. The other involves buying for a person the buyer knows or has reasonable cause to believe is prohibited, or who plans specified criminal use or transfer. It would also bar a licensee from selling or delivering a firearm when the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe the recipient is a straw purchaser.

For the material-false-statement category, the proposed text lists exclusions including bona fide gifts, purchases by a parent or guardian for a child under 21, certain same-address spousal purchases, pawn or consignment redemptions by the lawful owner, repair pickups, raffle awards and lawful inheritances. Those exclusions would not apply when a firearm is purchased for a prohibited person. The proposal does not override laws restricting juvenile handgun possession.

This is not a final rule, so it does not change current requirements. Comments can be under docket ATF-2026-0013 and RIN 1140-AA78.