Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Universal Background Checks in Tennessee.’ Background Checks. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 18 April

Relevant contents

Private Sales in Tennessee

Private firearm transfers (i.e., transfers by non-firearms dealers) are not subject to a background check requirement in Tennessee.

Tennessee prohibits any person from purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm knowing that he or she is prohibited by state or federal law from owning, possessing or purchasing a gun.

Tennessee also prohibits any person from selling or offering to sell a firearm to a person with knowledge that the prospective purchaser is prohibited by state or federal law from owning, possessing or purchasing a firearm…

No person may intentionally, knowingly or recklessly sell a firearm or ammunition to a person who is intoxicated.

Finally, any person who gives or sells a firearm to a service recipient (defined as a person who is receiving service, has applied for service, or for whom someone has applied for or proposed service because the person has a mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or a developmental disability) in a hospital or developmental center, whether on the premises of the facility or elsewhere, knowing such person to be suffering from a mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability, is criminally liable for a felony…

[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]

Last accessed at:
https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/universal-background-checks-in-tennessee/