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The Utah firearm bill of sale is a private gun sale record. It names the seller and the buyer, then describes the gun by make, model, caliber and serial number. This page offers a free PDF template for sellers and buyers, plus fill-in steps.
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A Utah firearm bill of sale is a signed document showing who sold a gun, who bought it, which gun changed hands and the price on the day of the sale.
The form is a private paper between the two sides. It is not a permit, a registration or a background check result, and no agency issues it. Its value is practical: the seller and the buyer hold the same written account if a question comes up later about the sale, the price or the serial number.
Use a gun bill of sale when one person in Utah sells, gives or trades a firearm to another person and both want the handover in writing.
A sale by a licensed dealer runs through the dealer's background check, covered in the next section.
A bill of sale does not make a transfer lawful or show that the buyer may have a gun. 18 U.S.C. § 922(d) makes it unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm to someone the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe falls in a category that subsection lists, such as a fugitive from justice or a person convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
Neither Utah Code § 53-5a-602 nor Utah Code § 53-5a-603 requires a private seller to run a background check, and Utah Code § 53-5a-603 says a governmental entity may not require an individual selling or purchasing a firearm to use its online process. The federal check in 18 U.S.C. § 922(t) applies when a licensed importer, manufacturer or dealer transfers a firearm to a person without a license. This page does not summarize Utah's weapons chapter, Utah Code Title 76, Chapter 11, so read it or ask a Utah attorney before a handover you are unsure about.
A different document fits when the deal is a simple swap of one gun for another, or when you only need proof that a payment changed hands. Our even trade bill of sale is a simple option for swaps, and a gun sale receipt is another simple way to record the handover.
Utah Code § 53-5a-602 covers the background check on a firearm sale by a licensed dealer, and Utah Code § 53-5a-603 covers a voluntary online check for an individual selling or purchasing a firearm.
| Subject | What the section says | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer sale | A criminal history background check is required for the sale of a firearm by a licensed firearm dealer, except a sale to a federal firearms licensee and an NFA firearm with a recently approved federal application. | Utah Code § 53-5a-602 |
| Check fee | A dealer shall collect a criminal history background check fee for the sale of a firearm. | Utah Code § 53-5a-602 |
| What the check looks for | Whether the individual is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transferring a firearm by state or federal law. | Utah Code § 53-5a-602 |
| Concealed firearm permit | A holder of a concealed firearm permit or provisional permit is exempt from the check and the fee only if the holder presents the permit to the dealer before purchase and the dealer verifies with the bureau that it is valid. | Utah Code § 53-5a-602 |
| Online information check | An individual selling or purchasing a firearm can voluntarily check the other person's concealed carry permit or, by serial number, whether the firearm is reported as stolen. | Utah Code § 53-5a-603 |
| Who the online check leaves out | Subsection (2), which holds the online process, does not apply to a federal firearms licensee or dealer. | Utah Code § 53-5a-603 |
A licensed Utah dealer requests a criminal history background check and collects its fee for the sale of a firearm, under Utah Code § 53-5a-602. That section names no dollar amount for the fee, so ask the dealer for the current figure.
Utah Code § 53-5a-601 defines the bureau in these sections as the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
A temporary permit to carry a concealed firearm does not give the permit exemption, Utah Code § 53-5a-602. Utah Code § 53-5a-602 also exempts a law enforcement officer from the fee when buying a personal off-duty firearm, on the conditions that section lists.
Utah Code § 53-5a-603 directs the bureau to create an online process that lets an individual selling or purchasing a firearm voluntarily check one of these two points:
Copy the serial number from the firearm itself, and use the same number on the bill of sale.
The FormsPal template runs to five pages and has seven numbered sections plus a notary page. Knowing what each part holds makes the form quicker to fill in. It also helps the seller and the buyer see what they are agreeing to before anyone signs.
The opening sections of the form identify the seller, the buyer and the gun that changes hands. Sections 1 and 2 collect contact details for the seller and the buyer. Section 3 names both people and describes the gun by make, type or model, caliber and serial number, with a line for any other information.
The payment part of the form records the purchase date, the total price and how the buyer pays. It offers four ways to describe the sale:
Payment can be marked as cash, check, cashier's check or money order.
Section 5 lists statements that the seller and the buyer each agree are true, with a signature line under each list. Section 6 holds the miscellaneous provisions, including the as-is wording and a line saying the document is the only agreement between the two sides.
Section 7 has date, signature and printed name lines for the seller, the buyer and one witness. Page 5 is a notary acknowledgment that is filled in with a notary public present. The Utah notary acknowledgment page has more on that part of the paperwork.
These steps follow the FormsPal Utah firearm bill of sale template that this page offers as a PDF. Go through the form from the top, one part at a time, and enter the details of the seller, the buyer and the firearm on the matching lines. You can fill in the downloaded PDF on screen with the PDF editor, or print it and write by hand.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Utah Firearm Bill of Sale template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
Step 1: Date
Write the date of the bill of sale on the DATE line at the top of page 1.
Step 2: Seller's Information
Enter the seller's name, street address, city, state and zip code, telephone number and email address.
Step 3: Buyer's Information
Enter the buyer's name, street address, city, state and zip code, telephone number and email address.
Step 4: Description
Write the seller's name and the buyer's name in the two blanks of the sentence that begins section 3.
Step 5: The Firearm
Fill in Make, Type/Model, Caliber, Serial Number and Other Information for the firearm. Copy the serial number exactly from the firearm.
Step 6: Purchase Date, Purchase Price and Method
Enter the purchase date and the total purchase price. Then tick one payment option:
Step 7: Buyer's Firearm
For a trade-in, fill in the Make, Type/Model, Caliber, Serial Number and Other Information of the buyer's firearm. Otherwise leave this part blank.
Step 8: Payment Method
Tick one method:
Step 9: Seller's Signature
Read the seller statements in section 5 on pages 2 and 3, then sign on the Seller's Signature line on page 3.
Step 10: Buyer's Signature
Read the buyer statements on page 3, then sign on the Buyer's Signature line. Section 6 on pages 3 and 4 holds the miscellaneous provisions. The “as-is” part states that the firearm owner provides no warranties and is not responsible for repairs after the transfer.
Step 11: Signatures
On page 4, date and sign for the seller and the buyer and print each name. The form has one witness line with its own date and printed name. The acknowledgment on page 5 is filled in with a notary public present.
Once every part of the form is filled in, check the entries, collect the signatures, add the notary public's part if you want an acknowledgment and keep a copy of the signed document. Our firearm bill of sale guide has more tips on using the document.
Looking for other paperwork? Browse more Utah bill of sale forms or read our bill of sale guide before you fill in any form.
A written record of a private gun sale shows both sides what was agreed on the day of the sale. A few small habits make the finished paperwork easy to read later, for the seller and for the buyer.
You can also browse the notary acknowledgment forms to see how other versions of that page look.
These answers cover the Utah gun bill of sale questions that the sections above leave open, worded the way people ask them.
Neither Utah Code § 53-5a-602 nor Utah Code § 53-5a-603 mentions a bill of sale, so this page states no Utah requirement to use one and no list of required contents. For a firm answer about your own sale, ask a Utah attorney.
Utah Code § 53-5a-602 and Utah Code § 53-5a-603 do not mention a notary, so this page states no Utah notarization rule for a firearm bill of sale. The FormsPal template still has a notary page for sellers and buyers who want an acknowledgment on the form.
CWL on a bill of sale usually stands for concealed weapons license, a detail some forms collect about the buyer. Utah Code § 53-5a-602 uses the term concealed firearm permit. The contact lines of the FormsPal template do not ask for it.
Yes, the FormsPal template works as a gun exchange form when you tick the trade-in option and fill in the lines for the buyer's gun. Any payment made at the same time goes on the same form.
A Utah private seller generally may not hand a firearm directly to an out-of-state buyer: 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5) bars a person without a federal firearms license from transferring one to another such person the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe lives outside the seller's state.
18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5) excepts a bequest or intestate succession to a person allowed to have the firearm under the laws of that person's home state, and a loan or rental for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes. 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3) separately bars a person without a license from bringing into or receiving in the home state a firearm obtained outside it, with the exceptions that paragraph lists. Ask a federal firearms licensee how to handle the sale before any handover.
You can get the free Utah firearm bill of sale as a PDF from this page, or build it online with the form near the top. Print it and write by hand, or fill it in on screen first.
The statements on this page that cite a Utah Code section rest on Utah Code § 53-5a-601, Utah Code § 53-5a-602 and Utah Code § 53-5a-603, as published by the Utah Legislature. The statements that cite 18 U.S.C. § 922 rest on the federal text linked under When to Use a Gun Bill of Sale in Utah, as published on govinfo.gov.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
