Can 18- to 20-Year-Olds Buy a Handgun in 2026? The Federal Rule, the Courts, and DOJ's New Position

This article reflects federal and state law as of October 2026. Laws in this area change frequently; verify current law in your state before relying on it. This is general information, not legal advice.

For more than fifty years the answer was simple: at 18 you could buy a rifle or shotgun from a gun store, but you had to wait until 21 for a handgun. In 2026 that answer got complicated. The statute has not changed. What changed is who is willing to enforce it, and where.

Here is the short answer as of mid-October 2026. The federal ban on dealer handgun sales to 18- to 20-year-olds is still in the U.S. Code. The Department of Justice announced in September that it considers the ban unconstitutional and will not use it to bring criminal charges against dealers. ATF has not yet published written instructions or a revised Form 4473 for these sales. And state law, which can be stricter, is untouched. So whether an 18-year-old can actually buy a handgun at a counter this month depends on the state, the dealer, and how quickly ATF moves.

The federal rule on the books

The rule lives in 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1). It bars licensed dealers, manufacturers, and importers from selling a firearm or ammunition to anyone they know or have reason to believe is under 18, and, for anything other than a rifle or shotgun (or its ammunition), to anyone under 21. A companion provision, § 922(c)(1), applies the same age line to the rare sales where the buyer does not appear in person.

Two features of the rule matter for everything that follows:

• It applies only to licensees. It controls what a federally licensed dealer may sell. It does not, by itself, stop an 18-year-old from owning a handgun or receiving one in a private transaction.
• It is a sales rule, not a possession rule. Federal law draws a different line, at 18, for handgun possession (more on that below).

ATF's own minimum-age summary still reflects the traditional rule: dealers may not transfer handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21.

Two appeals courts, two answers

After New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (2022) required gun laws to fit the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation, challenges to the under-21 rule moved quickly.

The Fifth Circuit struck it down. In Reese v. ATF (opinion), decided January 30, 2025, a unanimous panel (opinion by Judge Edith Jones) held §§ 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) and their implementing regulations unconstitutional as applied to 18- to 20-year-olds. The court concluded that "the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among 'the people'" and that the government had not identified a sufficient historical tradition supporting the ban. The Fifth Circuit covers Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The government did not seek Supreme Court review.

The relief that followed was narrower than the opinion. On remand, the district court in Louisiana limited the injunction to the individual plaintiffs and to members of the plaintiff organizations in the Fifth Circuit, with a membership cutoff date, and, according to the Firearms Policy Coalition, the plaintiffs are back at the Fifth Circuit (No. 26-30154) arguing that the relief is too narrow. On October 5, 2026, the government moved to voluntarily dismiss its own appeal in that round. As of this writing the Fifth Circuit has not ruled.

The Fourth Circuit upheld it. In McCoy v. ATF, decided June 18, 2025, a divided Fourth Circuit panel reversed a Virginia district court and upheld the rule, reasoning that it is analogous to founding-era common-law rules limiting the contracting capacity of people under 21, according to the government's later Supreme Court brief. Judge Quattlebaum dissented. The Fourth Circuit covers Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

That left a classic circuit split on the constitutionality of the same federal statute.

The Supreme Court declined to resolve it

Three petitions asking the Supreme Court to take up under-21 restrictions were pending going into 2026:

• McCoy v. ATF, No. 25-24, on the federal dealer-sales rule.
• West Virginia Citizens Defense League v. ATF, No. 25-132, a second Fourth Circuit case on the same federal rule.
• NRA v. Glass, No. 24-1185, on Florida's state law barring anyone under 21 from buying any firearm.

The government's response in McCoy did not defend the statute on the merits. It argued the case was a poor vehicle because the plaintiffs were aging out, and asked the Court to hold the petition while it decided other Second Amendment cases.

On June 30, 2026, the Court denied all three. Justice Thomas noted that he would have granted review in West Virginia Citizens Defense League. A denial is not a ruling on the merits. It leaves each lower-court decision in place: Reese still governs in the Fifth Circuit, McCoy still governs in the Fourth, and Florida's law still stands.

DOJ's September 2026 opinion

On September 18, 2026, the Justice Department announced a 49-page Office of Legal Counsel opinion dated September 17. Its core conclusion: §§ 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) "may not be enforced to impose criminal penalties on dealers" who sell handguns to otherwise law-abiding adults aged 18 to 20.

The reasoning tracks Reese. OLC concluded that 18- to 20-year-olds are among "the people" the Second Amendment protects, that the rule burdens acquisition of commonly used arms, and that the government cannot show a founding-era tradition of barring legal adults from buying firearms. It pointed to militia laws of the period, which generally enrolled men at 18 and required them to supply their own arms, and it relied in part on the Supreme Court's 2026 decisions in Wolford v. Lopez and United States v. Hemani.

What the opinion is, and is not:

• It is executive-branch policy. It tells federal prosecutors not to bring these cases. It does not repeal the statute, and it does not bind federal courts.
• It is about criminal prosecution of dealers selling handguns. The opinion frames its question around handguns; it does not separately resolve handgun-ammunition-only sales. It also notes that willful violations of the statute have historically risked loss of a dealer's license, and it does not itself change ATF's regulations or forms.
• It does not touch state law. Any state age limit, permit requirement, or waiting period still applies, and a dealer still may not make a sale that violates state law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(2).
• It does not change background checks. Buyers under 21 remain subject to the enhanced NICS review added by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed June 25, 2022. According to the FBI, that review includes outreach to state juvenile-justice and juvenile mental-health record holders and local law enforcement, and can extend the check to as many as 10 business days.

So can an 18-year-old buy a handgun at a gun store today?

Possibly, but not everywhere, and probably not smoothly yet.

ATF's paperwork has not caught up. As of early October 2026, ATF had not published written instructions telling dealers how to process these sales, and its public minimum-age materials still state the under-21 rule. Industry compliance counsel FFLGuard has flagged open questions about how age and firearm type are recorded on Form 4473, how NICS handles the transaction, and how inspectors will treat these sales. Trade press reported that ATF's chief counsel told a dealer compliance conference in late September that ATF is building systems to allow these transfers and expects to issue guidance, and that a revised Form 4473 is not expected until after the holiday season. Those were reported conference remarks, not published guidance.

Dealers decide whether to sell. Nothing in federal law requires a dealer to make a sale it is uncomfortable with. Expect some dealers to wait for written ATF guidance and others to move sooner where state law permits.

Covered members of the Reese plaintiff groups have a court order. Individuals covered by the Reese injunction stand on firmer ground than everyone else, because a court judgment, not just an enforcement policy, protects their purchases.

Your state may say no regardless. If your state sets 21 as the minimum for handgun purchase or licensing, the DOJ opinion does not help you.

Private sales: what federal law allows

Federal law has always treated private, unlicensed sales differently. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(x), an unlicensed person may not transfer a handgun or handgun-only ammunition to anyone under 18, subject to narrow exceptions. There is no federal 21 line for private sales. As a matter of federal law, an unlicensed adult in your state may generally sell a handgun to an 18-year-old resident of the same state who is not otherwise prohibited.

Two federal limits still apply:

• Same-state only. Under § 922(a)(3) and (a)(5), unlicensed people generally may not transfer firearms to, or acquire them from, residents of other states, apart from inheritance and temporary sporting loans. An interstate handgun transfer has to go through a dealer in the buyer's state, which brings the dealer age question back.
• Prohibited persons. No one may knowingly transfer a firearm to someone prohibited under § 922(g) or (n).

Many states layer on universal background checks, permit-to-purchase systems, or their own age rules that apply to private sales too. Our guide to private-party firearm sales covers that state overlay.

Possession is a separate question

Federal law sets 18 as the minimum age to possess a handgun. Section 922(x)(2) bars juveniles under 18 from possessing a handgun, with exceptions for activities such as target practice, hunting, safety courses, and ranching or farm work, generally with a parent's written consent. Once you turn 18, federal law does not bar you from owning a handgun you lawfully acquired, whether by private purchase, gift, or inheritance.

State law can draw the line higher, and some states regulate possession through licensing:

• New York requires a license to possess a pistol or revolver, and Penal Law § 400.00 generally limits licenses to applicants "twenty-one years of age or older," with an exception for honorably discharged members of the military and the New York National Guard.
• Florida, under § 790.065(13), Florida Statutes, provides that "a person younger than 21 years of age may not purchase a firearm," with exceptions for certain law enforcement and correctional officers and servicemembers buying rifles or shotguns. That covers any firearm, not just handguns, and it applies to purchases in general, not only to dealer sales. The Supreme Court's June 2026 denial in NRA v. Glass left the Eleventh Circuit's decision upholding this law in place.

These are examples, not a complete list. Check your own state's purchase, licensing, and possession rules before you rely on a federal change.

Carry permits: 18 in some states, 21 in others

Buying a handgun and carrying it in public are different legal questions, and the DOJ opinion does not address carry at all. States set their own carry ages, and they vary widely. Two contrasting examples:

• Idaho allows a U.S. citizen or service member "over eighteen (18) years of age" who is not otherwise disqualified to carry a concealed weapon without a license, under Idaho Code § 18-3302. Licenses are generally limited to those 21 and older, with a separate license for ages 18 to 21.
• Ohio allows permitless concealed carry only for a "qualifying adult," which Ohio Revised Code § 2923.111 defines to include being "twenty-one years of age or older."

Carrying across state lines adds another layer, because a state that honors other states' permits may still apply its own age minimum. See our guide to concealed carry reciprocity before you travel.

What to watch

• Written ATF guidance and a revised Form 4473. Until these arrive, many dealers are likely to treat under-21 handgun sales cautiously.
• The Fifth Circuit's decision on the scope of the Reese injunction.
• A new Supreme Court petition. The Court passed on three vehicles in June. With DOJ now agreeing the federal rule is unconstitutional, a future federal case may lack a party defending the statute, which could make Supreme Court review of the federal rule less likely in the near term. State-law cases are another route.
• Congress or a future administration. The OLC opinion is a policy position. A later administration could withdraw it, and the statute would be enforceable again.

If you are 18 to 20 and planning a first handgun purchase, start with your state's rules, then call a dealer and ask how it is handling these sales. Our first-time gun buyer guide walks through the 4473 process, and our first handgun guide covers choosing one.

Shopping for a first handgun? Browse our dealer directory to find dealers near you.