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HB126
HB126: Background Checks for Private Gun Sales
Last scannedAug 24, 2026, 10:26 AM
In one sentence
This bill requires most private sales and transfers of firearms in Kentucky to include a background check conducted by a consenting licensed dealer.
What it does
- Requires a national instant background check before selling or transferring a firearm, unless the transaction is done by a federally licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or between spouses, parents, children, and stepchildren in the same immediate family.
- Mandates that a consenting dealer complete a specific form from the Kentucky State Police to confirm the background check was finished.
- Orders dealers who perform these checks to keep records of all transactions on their licensed premises and make them available for inspection by peace officers at reasonable hours.
- Allows dealers to charge a fee of up to $10 per transaction for conducting the required background check.
- States that records created under this law are not public records and cannot be requested through open records laws.
Who it affects
- People who sell, exchange, or transfer firearms outside of licensed dealerships.
- Licensed firearm dealers who agree to conduct background checks for private transactions.
- Peace officers who may inspect the transaction records kept by dealers.
- Spouses, parents, children, and stepchildren in the same immediate family transferring guns.
Limits and unknowns
- The official text does not list an effective date.
- The bill defines immediate family exceptions only for spouses, parents, children, and stepchildren in the same household; other relatives are not mentioned as exempt.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Licensed dealer
- A person or business with a federal firearms license to sell, import, or manufacture guns as defined by U.S. law.
- National instant background check
- An electronic search of government databases required before private firearm transfers under this bill.
- Class A misdemeanor
- A criminal offense for knowingly violating the new section requiring background checks on private sales.
Official record
Sources
Official summary
AN ACT relating to background checks on the sale or transfer of firearms.