A guy walks in with another guy. The second guy does all the looking—picks up the Glock 19, racks it, checks the trigger, asks about night sights. The first guy stands two feet back, hands in his pockets, looking at his phone. When it's time to fill out the 4473, the first guy steps up to the counter and the second guy pulls out a roll of twenties.
You already know what this is. The question is whether your counter staff knows what to do in the next ninety seconds.
What the law actually says
A straw purchase is when someone buys a firearm on behalf of another person who is the actual buyer. Since the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, it is its own federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 932—up to 15 years, or 25 if the gun is used in a crime or terrorism offense. That is separate from the false-statement charge under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) that has always applied to lying on the 4473.
Question 21.a on the current Form 4473 (Revision 5300.9) asks whether the buyer is the actual transferee/buyer. The form spells out in bold that a person is not the actual buyer if they are acquiring the firearm on behalf of another person. A gift to a specific third party—buying a rifle as a Christmas present for your brother—is allowed. Buying a gun because your buddy gave you $600 and said "pick me up a Glock" is not. Your job at the counter is to figure out which one is happening, and you have to do it without a polygraph.
If you proceed with a transaction you knew or had reasonable cause to believe was a straw, you are exposed under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d) and the recordkeeping rules at 27 CFR § 478.124. The 2024 Engaged in the Business rule (ATF Final Rule 2022R-17F) sharpened ATF's interest in dealers who look the other way. This is the kind of decision that ends FFLs.
The behavioral indicators
I train new hires to watch the room, not just the buyer. Straw purchases almost always leak signal before the 4473 ever comes out. Look for:
- Two people, one decision-maker. One person picks the gun, asks the questions, knows the price range, has opinions. The other person—the one with the ID—is passive, disengaged, or deferring constantly.
- The buyer can't answer basic questions. "What caliber were you looking for?" gets a shrug or a glance at the other person. "Have you shot one of these before?" gets contradictions.
- Whispered conferences. They step away, talk in low voices, come back with a different answer.
- Cash, and a specific amount. Especially a roll of bills that matches the out-the-door price too neatly. Cash is legal. Cash plus everything else on this list is not just cash anymore.
- The "gift" framing that doesn't fit. A gift to a named individual is fine. A gift to "my cousin" who is standing right there picking out the gun is not a gift; it's a straw.
- Reaction to Question 21.a. Hesitation, a look at the other person, a question like "what counts as the actual buyer?"—those are tells. So is the buyer reading the question and then asking the other person what to put.
- Demographic mismatch on the gun choice. Not a stereotype thing—a fit thing. A first-time buyer with zero questions about a specific niche pistol they can't pronounce the name of is buying it for someone else.
- Prior refusal energy. "The other store wouldn't sell it to us" or "we already tried down the street." That's a confession.
No single indicator is dispositive. Two or three together and you are at "reasonable cause to believe," which is the standard that puts you on the hook if you proceed.
We spend a full module on these patterns and how to document them in our Straw Purchase Recognition course because the indicators look obvious on paper and get muddy in real time.
The refusal script
Here is the part nobody trains for. You have decided you cannot complete this sale. What do you actually say?
Keep it short. Keep it boring. Do not accuse anyone of anything. Do not say the word "straw." Do not lecture. The goal is to end the transaction without giving the person a reason to argue, escalate, or come back angry.
The line I teach is:
"I'm not able to complete this transaction today. I appreciate you coming in."
That's it. No reason offered. If they ask why, the answer is:
"I'm just not comfortable moving forward. That's my call to make as the dealer."
If they push:
"Federal law gives me discretion on transfers. I'm exercising it. Have a good one."
You are allowed to refuse any sale for any non-discriminatory reason. You do not owe an explanation. The more you explain, the more you give them to argue with, and the more likely they are to come back tomorrow with a different story they've now had time to rehearse.
Do not return the 4473 to them. Once it's started, it's a record. Keep it. We'll come back to that.
Do not return the cash slowly or count it dramatically. Hand it back, step back from the counter, and let them leave.
If the buyer alone is fine and the problem is the person with them, you can sometimes salvage it by asking the third party to step outside or to the parking lot. If the buyer's answers change the moment they're alone, you have your answer. If they don't change, you may have misread the room.
When to call law enforcement
You are not required to call the police on a refused sale. You are not required to call ATF in the moment either. What you should do:
- If they leave peacefully: document and move on. No call needed.
- If they threaten staff, refuse to leave, or come back: call local police. That's a trespass and safety issue, not a firearms issue.
- If you have specific information suggesting an imminent crime—a name of the actual buyer who's a prohibited person, a stated intent—call ATF. The local field office number should be posted in your back office. You can also call the ATF tip line.
- If the same crew hits you twice, or you see them at another shop: that's worth a call to your IOI or local ATF field office, not as an emergency but as intelligence.
I am not your lawyer, and if you are uncertain about reporting obligations in your state, talk to qualified counsel.
Document the encounter
This is the step shops skip and regret. Within an hour of the refusal, write it down. I keep a "refused transactions" log—not a regulatory requirement, but a defensive one. For each refusal:
- Date and time
- Employee who handled it
- Description of the parties (no names unless you got them from the ID)
- The firearm involved
- The specific behaviors that drove the refusal
- Whether a 4473 was started, and where it's filed
- Any follow-up (police call, ATF notification, nothing)
Retain any started 4473 per 27 CFR § 478.129. If NICS was initiated, you keep the record regardless of outcome. If a denial or delay was in play, that goes in the log too.
If an IOI ever asks why your refusal rate looks the way it does, or if the same buyer surfaces in a trafficking investigation, this log is the difference between "we caught it" and "we have no idea."
Training your people for the ninety seconds
The hardest part of this whole conversation is that it happens fast, in front of other customers, with money on the counter and an armed product between two parties. Counter staff freeze. They complete sales they shouldn't because the alternative feels socially impossible.
The fix is rehearsal. Walk through the script out loud with every new hire. Role-play it. Make sure every person behind your counter has said the words "I'm not able to complete this transaction today" in a normal speaking voice at least once before they have to say it for real. That's why our Counter Certified bundle pairs straw-purchase recognition with 4473 completion and refusal procedures—the moment is integrated, so the training should be too.
You are making a federal felony decision in real time. Treat it that way. Train for it, script it, document it, and trust your staff to act on the patterns you've taught them to see. The shops that lose their FFL over a straw sale almost never lost it because they couldn't spot the indicators. They lost it because nobody at the counter knew what to say next.