Just curious what laws or rules there were for face to face sales in NH

Federal laws apply.

NH Specific.  Don't sell to a prohibited person.  RSA 159:7

NH Specific, but only for pistols and revolvers.  If the buyer isn't 'personally known to you', he needs a P&R license.  RSA 159:14  You can also go through an FFL, but it is cheaper/easier to get a $10 P&R License from your town.

Thanks. What would be defined as "personally known to you"?

Is a bill of sale or viewing/getting a copy of any other license (drivers, etc) required?

Bills of sale are not a requirement here or in most states.  I personally refuse to use them as there is no requirement federally or in most state's laws.

Regarding "personally known to you".  It isn't defined and I think it was left vague on purpose.  I would go with what a reasonable person would define that as.

The $10 pistol/revolver permit is well worth it for private sales. Granted it’s not required for long guns.

I normally ask to see a drivers license just to confirm the other person is a resident of the state.

Depending on where you are, Northeast Munitions does free transfers.

I’ve done one bill of sale and it was at the request of the buyer. I don’t care because if anything it can protect me if the gun is used in the future after I sell it. This is personal preference of the two parties. This gun already had a paper trail from when I lived in a different state so I’m fine having more paperwork saying I don’t own it anymore.

As far as the “personally known” aspect of private sales of pistol/revolvers, there is no real definition of it and some people will say once you do introductions then they are personally known and ok with it.
However, I’m not risking my life, my family and my livelihood on a quick gun sale because some random person doesn’t want to pay $10 for a permit or go to a FFL.

It kind of depends.  There are a few people I've never met in real life and don't even know their names that I can say I personally know.  

I did have someone elsewhere want to buy a pistol from me.  Brand new poster, spoke convincingly enough about the local shops to think he was in NH, but no P&R License.  I told him to either get a license or we'll split the FFL fee.  He backed away.

Thanks for all the input!

So for rifles/long guns there is nothing specific that needs to be done?

Personally I will want to check out their license and have a bill of sale but just want to make sure there is nothing specific legally I need to do for selling a rifle.

Thanks again

Nothing, although RSA 159:7 and all federal laws apply(read the last as he has to be a NH resident to do FTF with you in NH).

how exactly do you think a Bill of sale will "protect" you.

How exactly do you think having proof of when you transferred ownership of a firearm wouldn't protect you?

Registering ownership of firearms is generally not a good thing.

If a pistol is used in a crime and traced back to you, you will be approached regardless of hoops you jumped through when you sold it.

There are absolutely no state or federal requirements to keep a paper trail on pistols.  Why create one for them and make fed LE's job easier?  


Simple verbal statement.

Yeah I had a Glock 17.  I sold it a couple years ago.  No I don't remember his phone number or name, but he was a NH resident and we met in the you choose a fast food joint parking lot*.  No I don't remember the serial #.  *If they are NH cops, which they won't be, feel free to add that he had a P&R.

There.  All federal and state requirements checked, no personal gun registry created, no paper to hold on to, and no dogs being shot.


It's just a firearm.

mhm....I know Personally two or three different people talked to about pistols they sold that ended up in Boston at the scene of a crime......from what I gather, It was a simple phone call from Boston Police, asking if they remember who they sold it to/When really not a big deal.


It's a lawful sale.

I'm sorry but in what world is maintaining a receipt the same as "registering". If anyone ever sees the bill of sale, it's because the firearm was used in a crime and you don't want to be hassled about it. If it's never used in a crime, nobody sees it.

Further, if they trace it back to you, do you trust law enforcement enough to not just arrest you and let it all settle out in court? Sounds pretty silly when there's an easy and reasonable fix.

arrest you for what?

Some LEOs may just go away when you tell them that you sold something and have no info on who/where/when. Other LEOs may not believe you, based only on your word, and hassle you to some extent or another. Thus, having a receipt where you can shunt them off somewhere else saves you hassles (some could cost you legal fees).

Different sort of case but may be instructional:

Back in the 1980s, police came to my Parents home with an arrest warrant for a Cousin (her specialty was ripping off travel agents for many thousands of dollars and leaving things with Family member addresses). She never lived at my Parents home but my Father told me that they kept the house under surveillance for weeks before they went away.

Arrest you for a legal sale?

and you are certainly registering the sale of the pistol and will happily show it to the state/feds when they ask.  This fudd like practice practice is thankfully mostly contained to the New England area and needs to go away.

Again, it is only a firearm.



How much time they waste is completely up to them.  Beer is in the fridge if they want one.  

There are zero state or federal requirements to record a private sale.  There are many perfectly legal people who specifically seek out private cash sales just for this reason.  Having lived all over the US and picking up various attitudes in each state, this treating firearms like they are some super special item is just strange to me.  There are some pretty basic easy to follow laws that keep folks completely legal with no extra hoops to jump through.  


What would be even more amusing is if the seller kept a bill of sale and it turned out the purchaser was a felon when he bought it.  Therefore bill of sale guy violates both fed and state law and kept the proof to show LE.

Not if the bill of sale said something to the effect that by signing it, both parties agree that they are not PP.

I'm a firearms instructor and a good friend had the PD contact him since one of his students was a PP. When he told the LEO that his signed waiver makes a statement similar to what I stated above, the LEO said good and that was the end of it. I have a similar statement on my training waivers as well as any bill of sale for a firearm that I would ever use. YMMV

I think that's the Idea behind having a valid unexpired P&R and a valid NH ID....

Not that they'd arrest you for a legal sale. If they have proof that you purchased a firearm, and no proof that you sold that firearm, and said firearm ends up at the scene of a crime... These are not hard to connect dots.

Just because there isn't a federal or state requirement doesn't make it a bad idea. In fact, I'd argue that using state and federal laws as your own outline for what you should and shouldn't do is fudd logic. So is trusting cops. This isn't about obeying a law, I couldn't care less about obeying a law, I care about not going to jail for the stupid actions of others.

Again, if nothing happens then all you have is a piece of paper in your safe. If something does happen, you have something to support your case.

it is quite easy to prove you were not at the scene of a crime, probably in a major city several hours away from you.

And which is easier, proving that or pulling out a piece of paper? Or let's say you're unlucky enough to not have a solid alibi. There are quite literally no downsides to filling out a bill of sale, it can only help you. If you choose to make things more complicated for yourself, have at it. Nice chatting.