Form 4473
ATF Form 4473, otherwise known as the “Firearm Transaction Record,” is a form required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for firearm transfers between a licensed dealer and non-licensed individual. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) it is unlawful to make material false statements on Form 4473. Additionally, any false statements (need not be material) on Form 4473 are separately unlawful under 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A), which pertains to false statements knowingly made to a licensed firearm dealer to be kept in their records. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2) a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) results in a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. In Abramski v. United States, 573 U.S. 169 (2014) the U.S. Supreme Court upheld convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A) for answering in the affirmative on question 11. a. (now 21. a.). The question asks if the purchaser is the “actual transferee/buyer of all of the firearm(s) listed on” Form 4473. In this case, the defendant purchased the firearm for his uncle, who was legally allowed to purchase and own a firearm. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court found that this was a materially false statement and the conviction was upheld.
In 2022 Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which added 18 U.S.C. § 932. This section specifically prohibits “straw purchases,” if the actual buyer was among those prohibited from owning a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d).
[Last reviewed in October of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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