Can you buy a gun as a gift in Oregon?

Most people who ask whether they can buy a gun as a gift are really asking something else. They want to know if they're about to commit a straw purchase.

Usually they aren't. ATF's own straw-purchase notice says a real gift, paid for with your own money, is not a straw purchase (91 FR 24448). But in Oregon that answer only covers the first half of the job. Buying the gun is one step. Handing it to the person you bought it for is a second step, and Oregon has its own rules for that one.

So there are two questions here, and it helps to keep them apart.

Isn't buying a gun for someone else a straw purchase?

It's a fair worry. You've probably heard that buying a gun "for someone else" is a federal crime, and that's close enough to true that it makes gift shopping feel risky.

Here's what the term actually means. When you buy from a licensed dealer, you fill out ATF Form 4473 and certify that you are the "actual transferee/buyer." That May 2026 notice is ATF's proposed rule on straw purchases, and it describes how the Supreme Court, in Abramski v. United States (2014), held that falsely claiming to be the actual buyer violates federal law "regardless of whether the true purchaser and ultimate recipient could legally possess the firearm" (91 FR 24448).

In other words, a straw purchase is a lie about who the buyer is. It doesn't matter whether the real buyer could have passed a background check.

A separate federal statute added in 2022 goes further. Under 18 U.S.C. § 932, it is unlawful to knowingly buy a firearm for, on behalf of, or at the request of someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is barred from having one, or who plans to use it in a felony. The maximum sentence is 15 years (18 U.S.C. § 932).

So is a gift actually allowed?

Yes, if it's a real gift.

The same ATF notice describes the current Form 4473, revised August 2023. Its instructions say a person is the actual buyer if they are "purchasing the firearm as a bona fide gift for a third party." ATF's own summary is plain: "a straw purchase does not occur when a person purchases a firearm as a bona fide gift for another as the gift giver (i.e., the actual purchaser) receives nothing of value for the firearm from the gift recipient" (91 FR 24448).

The form draws the line with two examples, quoted in the notice. If Mr. Smith gives Mr. Jones money to buy a gun for him, Mr. Jones is "NOT THE ACTUAL TRANSFEREE/BUYER." If Mr. Brown buys a gun "with his own money to give to Mr. Black as a gift (with no service or tangible thing of value provided by Mr. Black)," Mr. Brown is the actual buyer.

That notice is a proposal, and a proposal is not law. But the gift language it quotes comes from the Form 4473 already in use, and the notice describes that position as ATF's long-standing view.

When does a "gift" stop being a gift?

When money or anything else of value moves back toward you.

Form 4473, as the same ATF notice quotes it, says a gift "is not bona fide if another person offered or gave the person completing this form money, service(s), or item(s) of value to acquire the firearm for him/her, or if the other person is prohibited by law from receiving or possessing the firearm."

That covers more than most people expect:

"Pay me back later." They sent you money, so it isn't a gift.
"I'll cover your half of the rent." A service or something of value in return. Not a gift.
"They told me which one to get, and I'm buying it because they can't." If the reason they can't is that they're barred from having a gun, § 932 is the statute that applies, and the gift exception doesn't help you.

What doesn't change the answer is picking a model they'd like. Choosing a gift someone wants is still giving a gift. What matters is who paid and what came back.

What does Oregon add once you hand it over?

This is the part most national answers skip.

Oregon's background-check law is written around transfers, not only sales. Oregon State Police, which runs the state's background checks, states that "Oregon law requires a background check for all transfers including those that take place at a gun show and between private citizens," citing the Oregon Firearms Safety Act (SB 941) and ORS 166.435 (Oregon State Police, Firearms Instant Check System).

The Legislature's summary of SB 941 describes how that works: it "requires private person to complete transfer of firearm by appearing with transferee before gun dealer to request criminal background check," or by shipping or delivering the firearm to a dealer in certain circumstances (Oregon Legislature, SB 941 overview). OSP's page adds that "for private-party transfers, the transferee must be present at the time the check is requested."

In practice, that means buying the gift is not the end of the process. Once you own it, giving it to a friend in Oregon generally means both of you going to a gun shop together so the shop can request the check with the person receiving it standing there. Call ahead and ask what the shop charges. OSP's own fee is $10 per transaction (same OSP page).

We are describing how the law is set up, not predicting any particular case. If the stakes are real for you, read the statute yourself. Oregon State Police name the transfer section as ORS 166.435 (Oregon State Police, Firearms Instant Check System).

Does giving a gun to family count?

The law has exceptions, and family is one of them. The SB 941 summary says the law "specifies exceptions for family members, law enforcement, inherited firearms and certain temporary transfers."

The summary says the law specifies those exceptions, but it doesn't name which relatives count, and that detail decides real cases. Read the statute's own wording, not a summary (ours included), before you assume your relationship is covered. A close friend, a roommate, or someone you think of as family is not automatically covered by a rule written for relatives.

One rule stays in force even inside the family exception: you can't give a gun to someone you know shouldn't have one. Oregon's ORS 166.470, which OSP reprints on its background-check page, says a person may not "sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer any firearms when the transferor knows or reasonably should know that the recipient" is under 18, has a felony conviction, or falls into several other listed categories. The exceptions written into that section cover people whose rights have been restored through the processes it names, and certain transfers to minors, covered in the next section. Being related to the recipient is not one of them.

What happens if you skip the dealer?

Per the SB 941 summary, a violation is punishable by up to one year in prison, a $6,250 fine, or both. A second or later offense carries up to 10 years, a $250,000 fine, or both.

That is a lot of exposure for skipping a trip to a gun shop.

What about buying a gun for your kid?

Different rules, and the handgun line matters.

The age section on OSP's page lists the federal minimums as 18 to buy a long gun and 21 to buy a handgun, and Oregon's as 18 to buy any firearm. ORS 166.470, on that same page, carves out an exception for minors: a parent or guardian may transfer a firearm to a minor, "other than a handgun." It also allows "the temporary transfer of any firearm to a minor for hunting, target practice, or any other lawful purpose."

So a parent giving a teenager a rifle and a parent giving a teenager a handgun are two different legal questions.

Is anything about to change?

Possibly, but not soon.

Measure 114 would change how Oregon transfers work. The Legislature's 2026 bill HB 4145 provides that the measure's provisions "apply to firearm transfers conducted... on or after January 1, 2028" (Oregon Legislature, HB 4145 overview). Our Measure 114 status page covers what the measure does and where its legal fight stands.

On the federal side, ATF's straw-purchase notice is a proposed rule, with a comment deadline of August 4, 2026 (91 FR 24448). If ATF finalizes it, the gift exclusion would sit in regulation text. The gift language on Form 4473 exists either way.

What should you do instead of guessing?

If you want to give someone a firearm without any of this becoming a question, here's what works.

Go shopping together. The person who will own the gun fills out the form and buys it for themselves. Then there's no question about who the actual buyer is.
Buy it, then transfer it properly. Pay with your own money, take nothing back, and, unless a family exception clearly applies, go to a dealer together so the shop can run the check.
Give training instead of hardware. For someone who hasn't settled on a gun yet, a lesson is often the better first gift. It's also the one with no paperwork.

If you're the person being gifted and all this is new, that's a normal place to be. Our guide to buying a gun in Oregon walks through the dealer process step by step.

The short version

Under ATF's reading in 91 FR 24448, a gift is not a straw purchase as long as you pay with your own money, get nothing back, and aren't buying for someone who is barred from having a gun. Money from the recipient turns a gift into a straw purchase, and buying for a barred person can carry up to 15 years under 18 U.S.C. § 932.

Oregon adds a second step. Oregon State Police say the state requires a background check for all transfers, including between private citizens, and the SB 941 summary says that means you and the recipient appear at a gun dealer together. The same summary says the law carries exceptions for family members. Check the statute's exact wording rather than assuming your relationship counts. And being related doesn't make it legal to hand a gun to someone you know is barred from having one.

We are describing how these rules work, not arguing for or against them, and we are not your lawyer. For anything with real consequences, read the statute yourself or ask someone who practices this law.

If you are buying for someone new to all this, the most useful thing you can give them might be the chance to learn it properly first. That's what inclusive firearms training means around here, and you can book a session whenever you're ready.