H.R. 18: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025
Sponsor
Mike Thompson
Democrat · CA-4
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Jun 10, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
The same background check for a private gun sale as a store sale
Why it matters
Buy a gun from a licensed store today and you get a background check. Buy the same gun from a stranger online or at a table and, in much of the country, you don't. H.R. 18 would close that gap by routing most private sales through a licensed dealer first. The rule would take effect 180 days after enactment, and the bill says it does not authorize a national firearms registry.
H.R. 18 would apply the existing federal background-check process to most gun transfers between two people who aren't licensed dealers. In practice, a licensed dealer would first take possession of the firearm, run the check, and complete the transfer, treating it like a sale from the dealer's own shelf.
The bill doesn't ban private transfers. It carves out exemptions: certain gifts and loans between close family, transfers of an estate after someone dies, temporary handoffs during an immediate danger, and limited situations like a shooting range, hunting, trapping, pest control, fishing, or handing your gun to someone standing right next to you.
It also adds paperwork. The dealer would give the buyer a written notice explaining the rule, and the buyer would sign a form acknowledging it. The Attorney General would have to provide those forms in both English and Spanish.
The bill states outright that it can't be read to create a national gun registry, and that states keep their own power to pass gun-transfer laws on the same subject.
H.R. 18 Bill Summary
What H.R. 18 actually does.
Most private gun sales run through a licensed dealer first
If one unlicensed person wants to transfer a firearm to another, H.R. 18 would usually require a licensed dealer to take possession of the gun and run the background check before the transfer is completed. The dealer handles it as if selling from their own inventory.
Some family gifts and loans stay exempt
The bill exempts certain transfers between spouses, domestic partners, parents and children, siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and grandparents and grandchildren. That exemption applies only if the person giving the firearm has no reason to believe the recipient is prohibited from having a gun or plans to use it in a crime.
Emergency handoffs are allowed during immediate danger
A temporary transfer can happen without a background check if it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, including self-harm, domestic violence, dating partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and domestic abuse. The possession can last only as long as immediately necessary.
Range and hunting exceptions remain limited
Temporary transfers without a background check would still be allowed at a shooting range or similar target-shooting area, for hunting, trapping, pest control, or fishing, and while the recipient is in the owner's presence. The bill sets conditions for those exceptions.
Dealers must give notice and collect signed forms
Licensed dealers handling these transfers would have to give the unlicensed buyer a notice explaining the rule and collect a signed acknowledgment on a form set by the Attorney General.
No national registry language is written in
H.R. 18 says nothing in the bill authorizes a national firearms registry. It also says states still have authority to pass their own gun-transfer laws.
Who benefits from H.R. 18?
People worried about private-sale loopholes
If your concern is that someone barred from having a gun can avoid a check by buying from a private seller, H.R. 18 is aimed directly at that gap. The bill says private transfers should usually use the same background-check system already used by licensed dealers.
Families dealing with an immediate crisis
The bill keeps a narrow emergency exception for temporary transfers when someone is facing imminent death or serious harm, including self-harm or domestic violence. That means an urgent protective handoff would not have to wait for the standard transfer process.
Spanish-speaking gun buyers
H.R. 18 requires the Attorney General to provide the required background-check and notice forms in English and Spanish, which could make the process easier to understand for more buyers and transferees.
Who is affected by H.R. 18?
Private gun buyers and sellers
They would see the biggest change. If you're transferring a gun to another unlicensed person, you'd usually need a licensed dealer to handle the transfer and run the background check first.
Licensed gun dealers
Dealers would take on more transfer processing, more paperwork, and more customer interactions tied to private-party sales. They would also have to provide notices and collect signed certifications.
Gun owners making informal family or friend transfers
Some family transfers would stay exempt, but not all personal relationships are covered. Friends, more distant relatives, and many casual private transfers would still need to go through a dealer.
Hunters, sport shooters, and people borrowing firearms briefly
You could still lend a firearm in certain short-term situations, but only inside the bill's specific exceptions. Outside those scenarios, the transfer would generally require a background check.
HR18 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Jun 10, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
About the Sponsor
Mike Thompson
Democrat, California's 4th congressional district · 27 years in Congress
Committees: Ways and Means
View full profile →
Cosponsors (214)
This bill has 214 cosponsors: 212 Democrats, 2 Republicans. Cosponsors represent 39 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, and 36 more.
Brian Fitzpatrick
Republican · PA
Pete Aguilar
Democrat · CA
Gabe Amo
Democrat · RI
Yassamin Ansari
Democrat · AZ
Jake Auchincloss
Democrat · MA
Becca Balint
Democrat · VT
Nanette Barragán
Democrat · CA
Joyce Beatty
Democrat · OH
Wesley Bell
Democrat · MO
Ami Bera
Democrat · CA
Donald Beyer
Democrat · VA
Sanford Bishop
Democrat · GA
Cosponsor Coverage Map
Committee Sponsors
Judiciary Committee
19 of 44 committee members cosponsored
H.R. 18 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Judiciary
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Introduced
- Jun 10, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jun 10, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with text, actions, sponsors, and status for the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025.
This is the federal firearms statute H.R. 18 amends to require licensed-dealer processing and background checks for most private transfers.
This statute is relevant to the bill's rule that states retain authority to enact their own laws on the same subject matter.
NICS is the federal background-check system the bill relies on for dealer-run checks during private firearm transfers.
H.R. 18 amends this penalties section to add violations of the new transfer rule to existing federal firearms enforcement provisions.
ATF administers federal firearms licensing and compliance rules that would frame how licensed dealers handle these private-party transfers.
Form 4473 is the core federal firearms transaction record dealers complete during a background-check transaction, the paperwork private transfers would run through under this bill.
H.R. 18 Common Questions
Would H.R. 18 require background checks for private gun sales?
Usually yes. If you transfer a gun to another unlicensed person, H.R. 18 would generally require a licensed dealer to handle the transfer and run the background check first.
When would H.R. 18 take effect?
Not right away. The new rules would start 180 days after the bill becomes law, giving dealers and gun owners about six months to adjust.
Can I give a gun to a family member without a background check under H.R. 18?
Sometimes. H.R. 18 exempts certain gifts or loans between close relatives like spouses, parents, children, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents, and grandchildren.
Are emergency gun transfers still allowed under H.R. 18?
Yes. The bill allows a temporary transfer without a background check if it is immediately necessary to prevent death or serious harm, including self-harm or domestic violence.
Can I let someone use my gun at a shooting range or while hunting?
Yes, in limited cases. H.R. 18 keeps exceptions for temporary transfers at shooting ranges, during some hunting or fishing activity, and while the owner is present.
Would H.R. 18 create a national gun registry?
No. The bill explicitly says it does not authorize a national firearms registry.
What happens if the buyer fails the background check?
The dealer hands the gun back to the original owner. H.R. 18 says that return doesn't count as a separate transfer, so the seller isn't stuck running another check to get their own gun back.
Would states still be able to pass their own gun transfer laws?
Yes. H.R. 18 says states keep their authority to enact laws on the same subject.
Based on H.R. 18 bill text
H.R. 18 Bill Text
“To require a background check for every firearm sale.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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