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Purchase of Firearms-Nebraska

According to the Nebraska state constitution, “all persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof. To secure these rights, and the protection of property, governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed[i].”

Purchase of a hand gun in the state of Nebraska requires a certificate unless the item is an antique hand gun; the transferee is a federally licensed firearms dealer, transfer is to a law enforcement agency; the transfer is between a person and his or her spouse, sibling, parent, child, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or grandparent, or that the transfer was temporary and the transferee remains in the line of sight of the transferor.

An application for the purchase certificate may be mailed or delivered in person to the sheriff or police chief of the applicant’s place of residence.  Background check will be conducted within 2 days.  Certificate will be issued if the applicant is above the age of twenty one and is not prohibited by law from purchasing or possessing a handgun.  The validity of the purchase certificate is for three years, and the holder of the certificate can purchase any number of handguns within that period.

A person under the age of eighteen is prohibited from purchasing a handgun.  However, a juvenile in the armed forces or the temporary loan of a handgun for instruction under the immediate supervision of a parent or guardian or adult instructor is exempted from this provision.

The state of Nebraska permits its residents, unless prohibited by any applicable laws, to purchase rifles, shotguns, ammunition, reloading components or firearm accessories in Nebraska and its contiguous states.[ii]

Primary government offices that deal with issues relating to firearms are:

Nebraska State Patrol

P.O. Box 94907

Lincoln, Nebraska 68509

Phone: 402-471-4545

Attorney General

2115 State Capitol

P.O. Box 98920

Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-8920

Phone: 402-471-2682

Fax: 402-471-3297


[i] Ne. Const. Art. I, § 1

[ii] R.R.S. Neb. § 28-1211


Inside Purchase of Firearms-Nebraska