Gun Waiting Periods by State: The 2026 Table

A gun waiting period is a state-mandated delay between buying a firearm and taking it home, and most states do not have one.

You paid, you passed the check, and the shop tells you to come back Thursday. Or you're planning ahead and want to know whether that's going to happen to you. Either way the question is simple and the published answers are surprisingly unreliable.

So rather than reprint a table from somewhere else, we went and read the statutes. What follows is what the laws themselves say, with each one cited, plus an honest account of which states we could not verify. If you want the wider sequence this fits into, our guide to buying a gun online step by step covers the rest of the process.

Key takeaways

• There's no federal waiting period. Any delay you face comes from your state or from the background check itself.

• Only a minority of states impose one, and most buyers never encounter a waiting period at all.

• Verified lengths run from 72 hours to 30 days, which is a far wider spread than most summaries suggest.

• Scope differs by state: some cover all firearms, others only handguns or specific categories.

• The clock starts at different events depending on the state, so two 7-day waits aren't the same 7 days.

The short version

No federal waiting period exists. A minority of states set one, running from 72 hours to 30 days depending on the state and the firearm. The table below covers the six we verified directly against statute. If your state isn't listed, that doesn't mean it has no waiting period, only that we haven't verified it here.

How we researched this. Every row below was read from the state's own statute or enacted bill text, not copied from another table. Sources are cited per row and were checked on September 1, 2026. We've listed only what we could verify at primary source, and we've said plainly which states we couldn't reach. This page reports what the statutes say; it doesn't tell you what applies to you, and requirements change.

Is there a federal gun waiting period?

No federal waiting period applies to firearm purchases, so any delay you face comes from your state or from the background check itself. This is the single most common misconception about buying a gun, and it's worth separating cleanly.

Federal law governs the background check, not a mandatory wait. Under 18 U.S.C. section 922(t), a transfer can proceed as soon as the system returns an approval, which for most buyers happens within minutes at the counter. There's a separate federal provision allowing a dealer to proceed if three business days pass without a response, but that's a ceiling on an unresolved check rather than a waiting period everyone serves.

A state waiting period is a different thing entirely: a fixed delay that applies whether or not your check cleared instantly. Our guide on whether you need a background check covers the federal side.

Gun waiting periods by state, verified against statute

A minority of states plus some other jurisdictions impose a waiting period, and the ones we verified run from 72 hours to 30 days depending on the state and the firearm. Each row below cites the statute it came from.

Several of these carry exceptions the summaries usually drop. Maine's statute exempts sales to law enforcement, licensed dealers, and family members within a defined degree of relation, along with certain curios and antiques. Colorado exempts antique and curio firearms and transfers already exempt from background check requirements. Minnesota's 30-day period doesn't apply where the buyer presents a valid transferee permit or permit to carry, and law enforcement can waive it after confirming the buyer isn't disqualified.

Why published waiting-period tables are often wrong

Most tables you'll find on this question are copied from other tables, and errors travel. We found real discrepancies between the widely republished figures and what the statutes actually say, which is the main reason this page cites each one.

Minnesota is the clearest example. It's routinely listed as a 7-day state. The statute we read, §624.7132, sets 30 days for pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons, with permit-holder and law-enforcement waivers. Those describe different mechanisms, and a buyer planning around 7 days on a purchase that falls under the 30-day provision would be planning around the wrong number.

The District of Columbia is another. It's commonly listed at 10 days, but the registration provisions we could read set qualification requirements and a limit of one pistol registered per 30-day period, which regulates how often you can register rather than imposing a delay before delivery. We've left DC out of the table rather than publish a figure we couldn't source.

The broader point for anyone planning a purchase: treat any waiting-period table, including this one, as a starting point and confirm against your own state before you count on it.

What does the waiting period actually apply to?

Scope varies by state, and this is the distinction most summaries flatten. A waiting period is not automatically a rule about every firearm.

California's provision covers all firearms. Maryland's applies to regulated firearms as that term is defined in its Public Safety Article, which is narrower. Minnesota's reaches pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons rather than long guns generally. Colorado's attaches to purchases that require a background check, which ties its scope to the check rather than to a firearm category.

So "does my state have a waiting period" is often the wrong question. The better one is whether a waiting period applies to the specific firearm you're buying, which our guide to pistols, revolvers, and shotguns may help you place.

When does the clock start?

The starting event differs by state, which means two states with the same number of days can produce different pickup dates. This is the detail worth knowing if you're planning around a specific day.

California runs from the application to purchase, or later if a correction or fee follows. Maine runs from the agreement to sell. Maryland runs from when the application is executed and forwarded. Minnesota runs from delivery of the transfer agreement. Colorado runs from the later of three days after the check is initiated or the approval itself, so an instant approval and a delayed one can finish at different times.

Vermont is the most distinctive of the six. Its clock is two-pronged: 72 hours after the system provides a unique identification number, or seven business days after the dealer contacted the system, whichever comes first. Our guide to ATF Form 4473 covers the paperwork that triggers several of these clocks. If you're still choosing what you're buying, the Find My Gun Kit quiz starts from where you live.

States we could not verify

Several jurisdictions are commonly listed as having a waiting period, and we couldn't read their statutes directly when preparing this page. Rather than reprint figures we hadn't checked, we're naming them so you know to confirm them yourself.

Those jurisdictions are Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. Each appears on published tables with a stated waiting period; none of those figures is reproduced here. New Mexico is a separate case worth mentioning: its seven-day provision has been the subject of federal court proceedings during 2026, so its current status is one to confirm directly rather than assume from any table, including recent ones.

That's the honest position. A partial table you can rely on is more useful than a complete one you can't, and every entry above can be checked against the citation next to it. Our guide to knowing what's legal where you live covers how to check your own state.

Planning around a wait you can predict

If your state has a waiting period, the practical move is to treat the purchase and the pickup as two separate trips from the start. That single adjustment removes most of the friction, because the delay stops being a surprise and becomes a second appointment.

Confirm three things before you buy: whether a waiting period applies where the dealer is located, whether it applies to the specific firearm you're buying, and what event starts the clock. Those three answers give you a date. Ask the dealer as well, since they handle this daily and will tell you their own practice on holding a firearm through the wait.

American Gun Owners handles the location piece from the start, showing what's available where you are and arranging the transfer through a licensed dealer near you, so the compliance side is settled before you're standing at a counter. If that's the part you'd rather not research yourself, the Find My Gun Kit quiz takes a couple of minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a concealed carry permit skip the waiting period?

In some states a permit changes the analysis. Minnesota's statute, for example, provides that its 30-day period doesn't apply where the buyer presents a valid transferee permit or permit to carry. Whether a permit affects the wait where you live depends entirely on that state's provision, so confirm it against your own state's statute rather than assuming it carries over.

Does the waiting period apply to private sales?

It depends on how the state wrote it. Maine's provision explicitly reaches sales by both dealers and private sellers to non-dealer buyers, while Vermont's is framed around transfers facilitated by a licensed dealer. Because the drafting differs this much between neighboring states, this is one to check directly for your own state.

Do weekends count toward the waiting period?

That depends on whether the state counts calendar days or business days. Vermont's provision references seven business days in one of its two prongs, while others are written in calendar days or hours. The federal three-business-day provision on a delayed check separately defines a business day as one on which state offices are open, which is a different rule from any state waiting period.

Is there a waiting period if you already own a gun?

Generally the statutes we read attach to the transaction rather than to whether you already own firearms, so owning one doesn't by itself exempt a later purchase. Some states do provide exemptions tied to permits or to specific relationships and firearm categories, as Maine and Minnesota both do. Check the provision that applies where you live.

What happens if the background check finishes before the waiting period ends?

The waiting period still runs in the states that impose one, because it's a separate requirement from the check. Maine's statute makes this explicit by stating that its 72 hours run concurrently with any background check. An instant approval doesn't shorten a state waiting period; the two clocks simply overlap.

Sources

• California Penal Code §26815, California Legislative Information: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

• Colorado HB23-1219, Colorado General Assembly: leg.colorado.gov

• Maine Revised Statutes Title 25 §2016, Maine Legislature: legislature.maine.gov

• Maryland Public Safety §5-123, Maryland General Assembly: mgaleg.maryland.gov

• Minnesota Statutes §624.7132, Office of the Revisor of Statutes: revisor.mn.gov

• 13 V.S.A. §4019a, Vermont General Assembly: legislature.vermont.gov

• 18 U.S.C. §922, Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu

Related

• Do You Need a Background Check to Buy a Gun? The Honest Answer

• ATF Form 4473: Every Box on the Form, Explained Simply

• Step by Step: How to Buy a Gun Online

• Stop Guessing What's Legal

We strive to provide accurate, up-to-date information to help first-time firearm owners make informed decisions. Because laws and regulations vary and may change, always verify the requirements that apply to your location and follow safe firearm handling practices.