Waiting period in connection with the sale or transfer of a rifle or shotgun · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 400.20 Waiting period in connection with the sale or transfer of a
rifle or shotgun.
When a national instant criminal background check is required pursuant to state or federal law to be conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) or its successor in connection with the sale or transfer of a rifle or shotgun to any person, before delivering a rifle or shotgun to such person, either (a) NICS has issued a "proceed" response to the seller or transferor, or (b) thirty calendar days shall have elapsed since the date the seller or transferor contacted NICS to initiate a national instant criminal background check and NICS has not notified the seller or transferor that the transfer of the rifle or shotgun to such person should be denied.
When a NICS background check is required for a rifle or shotgun transfer, the seller or transferor may deliver the weapon only after NICS says “proceed” or 30 calendar days have passed since NICS was contacted without a denial notice. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.