Delaware2025Passed Legislature
HA15TOSS1FORSB300
House Amendment to Update Firearm Dealer Rules
Last scannedAug 24, 2026, 10:01 AM
In one sentence
This amendment updates the legal definition of a firearm, changes how dealers report business hours and background checks, allows sales at specific events, adds license penalties for violations, and prohibits state agencies from creating gun owner registries.
What it does
- Excludes antique firearms (as defined by federal law), maritime flare guns required by the U.S. Coast Guard, and powder-actuated construction tools from the legal definition of 'firearm'.
- Removes requirements that dealers must send background check results directly to the Department of Safety and Professionalization (DSP).
- Allows licensed dealers to either post their business hours or report them to the DSP as an alternative.
- Permits licensed dealers to sell firearms at gun shows, sportsmen's events, outdoor shows, and non-profit gatherings outside their main store location if they pay a fee or are sponsored by the event organizer.
- Adds penalties that allow the DSP to deny a license or suspend it for up to six months.
- States clearly that no state agency can create a system to register firearm owners or transactions, except regarding persons prohibited from receiving firearms under Chapter 5 of Title 11.
Who it affects
- Licensed firearms dealers
- The Department of Safety and Professionalization (DSP)
- Organizers of gun shows, sportsmen's events, outdoor shows, and non-profit groups hosting sales
Limits and unknowns
- The text does not list specific dates when these new rules will take effect.
- The amendment refers to other laws and chapters that are not fully described in this document.
- Details on how the DSP will create 'best practice guidance' for preventing theft or straw purchases are not included.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Maritime flare gun
- A handheld nautical pyrotechnic emergency signaling device required by the U.S. Coast Guard.
- DSP
- The Department of Safety and Professionalization, a state agency that issues licenses to dealers.
- Licensee
- A person or business holding an official permit from the state to sell firearms.
Official record
Sources
Official summary
This House Amendment for Senate Substitute No.