Unregistered CCW in Tennessee

[Bubba8806]

So me and a few friends was having a discussion the other day and one showed me his newly traded 19x he got from a individual. He was carry it in a iwb holster concealed. I asked if that was allowed in Tennessee and he said he looked but could find anything saying it was illegal. So I guess my question is can your ccw be unregistered in Tennessee?

[Handsome Rob]

I'm far from an expert on this stuff, but I believe that TN doesn't issue a CC permit. It issues a 'carry' permit & that covers you for open & concealed, whichever you choose.

[Handsome Rob]

Also, I don't believe ANY firearms (possibly machine guns....) are registered in TN.

[Bubba8806]

3 minutes ago, robtattoo said:

Also, I don't believe ANY firearms (possibly machine guns....) are registered in TN.

I guess I ment unregistered as in not in your name like you would if you bought a new gun? I prolly didn’t word it right. Lol

[TNman207]

I'm not an attorney but here's my opinion on unregistered pistols. Any sale or trade in TN should be documented by the gun owners for their own protection. I am not aware of a law that requires handgun owners in TN dealing with TN residents having to register their handgun with any TN law enforcement agency. That said, if the unthinkable would ever happen you will need to prove you obtained the firearm legally.

A lot of folks have a polymer-80 build-a-Glock pistols. If there is not already, there will soon be a requirement to serialize and register the pistol since it did not pass through an FFL dealer.

[Bubba8806]

2 minutes ago, TNman207 said:

I'm not an attorney but here's my opinion on unregistered pistols. Any sale or trade in TN should be documented by the gun owners for their own protection. I am not aware of a law that requires handgun owners in TN dealing with TN residents having to register their handgun with any TN law enforcement agency. That said, if the unthinkable would ever happen you will need to prove you obtained the firearm legally.

A lot of folks have a polymer-80 build-a-Glock pistols. If there is not already, there will soon be a requirement to serialize and register the pistol since it did not pass through an FFL dealer.

That’s kind of what I thought. Could my buddy take it to a gun dealership and register it in his name just to be on the safe side?

[Grayfox54]

No need to. My understanding is that if you legally own it, you can carry it. Private sales are completely legal here. 

[10-Ring]

35 minutes ago, Bubba8806 said:

That’s kind of what I thought. Could my buddy take it to a gun dealership and register it in his name just to be on the safe side?

No.  There is no registration in Tennessee.  

[gregintenn]

4 minutes ago, 10-Ring said:

No.  There is no registration in Tennessee.  

Why is this so hard to understand???!!??

 

What happens at an FFL dealer is a background check on YOU. No one gives a chit about the gun you are buying. It is in no way "registered".

[peejman]

2 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Why is this so hard to understand???!!??

 

What happens at an FFL dealer is a background check on YOU. No one gives a chit about the gun you are buying. It is in no way "registered".

This.  

The FFL retains the form 4473with the buyers name and the gun serial number, but they don't give that info to anyone... unless they surrender their license (quit the business) and are require to give their records to the ATF.  

If a gun is used in a crime and the police are researching it, they contact the OEM who looks up which distributor got that one.  Then they ask the distributor which retailer got it.  Then they ask the retailer (FFL) who bought it.  Then they contact you.  If you no longer have it because you sold it to another person, you tell them that.  If you don't have record of who you sold it to (an individual is not required to have any records) that's the end of the line.  

And carrying it on your person somewhere other than your property requires a handgun carry permit (HCP). There is no requirement to conceal it, but it's generally considered to be a good idea. 

[10-Ring]

5 minutes ago, peejman said:

This.  

The FFL retains the form 4473with the buyers name and the gun serial number, but they don't give that info to anyone... unless they surrender their license (quit the business) and are require to give their records to the ATF.  

If a gun is used in a crime and the police are researching it, they contact the OEM who looks up which distributor got that one.  Then they ask the distributor which retailer got it.  Then they ask the retailer (FFL) who bought it.  Then they contact you.  If you no longer have it because you sold it to another person, you tell them that.  If you don't have record of who you sold it to (an individual is not required to have any records) that's the end of the line.  

And carrying it on your person somewhere other than your property requires a handgun carry permit (HCP). There is no requirement to conceal it, but it's generally considered to be a good idea. 

Only thing I have to add to that.  Anytime that you buy a gun from an individual without going through an FFL you run the risk of buying a stolen gun.  I have had an LEO run the serial number on my gun during a traffic stop to ensure that it was not stolen.  Whether or not that is okay is a whole other topic.  

Just to be clear that has nothing to do with registration.  All firearms that are reported stolen are entered into a database.  

[Bubba8806]

Ok thanks guys for the awesome info. That’s why I love this forum. I just always thought they registered the gun when they did a background check on you. I really appreciate your help. Makes me feel better now when I want to trade with somebody.

[Alleycat72]

1 hour ago, robtattoo said:

Also, I don't believe ANY firearms (possibly machine guns....) are registered in TN.

NFA are the only items that must be registered. You used to be able to voluntarily register firearms in Tennessee at a court house, but I have no idea how that works or who would do such a thing. 

[DWARREN123]

A firearm does not have to be "REGISTERED" in Tennessee. You can legally (if not in violation of certain laws) buy from a individual/store or gun shop in Tennessee.

You do not at this time have to fill out a 4473 (federal form) if buying from an individual.

The permit issued by Tennessee is called a HCP - Handgun Carry Permit. 

[DaveTN]

7 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

Only thing I have to add to that.  Anytime that you buy a gun from an individual without going through an FFL you run the risk of buying a stolen gun.  I have had an LEO run the serial number on my gun during a traffic stop to ensure that it was not stolen.  Whether or not that is okay is a whole other topic.  

And keep in mind when traveling, in many states possession of a stolen firearm is a felony. Like Kentucky and Alabama. Mississippi takes it one step father, a conviction is 5 years. two convictions or possessing two or more stolen firearms is trafficking in stolen firearms and is at least 15 years.

[QuackerSmacker]

9 hours ago, TNman207 said:

I'm not an attorney but here's my opinion on unregistered pistols. Any sale or trade in TN should be documented by the gun owners for their own protection. I am not aware of a law that requires handgun owners in TN dealing with TN residents having to register their handgun with any TN law enforcement agency. That said, if the unthinkable would ever happen you will need to prove you obtained the firearm legally.

A lot of folks have a polymer-80 build-a-Glock pistols. If there is not already, there will soon be a requirement to serialize and register the pistol since it did not pass through an FFL dealer.

If the "unthinkable would ever happen" I don't believe you would need to prove you obtained the firearm legally.  I'm sure most of the guns in this country could not satisfy that level of scrutiny.

[peejman]

1 hour ago, QuackerSmacker said:

If the "unthinkable would ever happen" I don't believe you would need to prove you obtained the firearm legally.  I'm sure most of the guns in this country could not satisfy that level of scrutiny.

Right, they have to prove you obtained it illegally. Innocent until proven guilty, at least for now. 

If you're found to be in possession of a stolen gun with no other circumstances and you voluntarily surrender it, nothing else is likely to happen.

Several years ago a friend was considering trading a gun he'd bought from an individual years before at a shop. They ran the serial number and it came up stolen. A LEO arrived, asked him a few questions, took the gun, thanked him for cooperating, and left. He never heard anything else. 

[billyblazes]

Before buying a used gun I always check the serial # on Hotgunz.com   There are other resources too to check if a gun has been reported as stolen.

Also keep in mind that depending on your travel habits, if you traverse certain Indian reservations: "Navajo Nation police will seize any loaded firearm found to be accessible to the driver or passenger.[15][16][17] and confiscated firearms are not returnable unless the owner can establish proof of ownership of the firearm and ammunition by presenting a bill of sale or other evidence at the police station at a later date."

Navajo Nation are not the only tribal police to confiscate firearms that cannot be proven to their satisfaction to belong to the person possessing the firearm.  Because of this, a Florida Highway Patrol acquaintance of mine takes only his department issued Glock with him when traveling through Indian land.

 

Edited August 10, 2019 by billyblazes

[Safety-First]

Spend a few minutes at http://www.handgunlaw.us/ and pick the state you are interested in.  This website does a great job at making it easy to understand what the gun laws are in each state. 

[DaveTN]

5 hours ago, Safety-First said:

Spend a few minutes at http://www.handgunlaw.us/ and pick the state you are interested in.  This website does a great job at making it easy to understand what the gun laws are in each state. 

https://advance.lexis.com/container?config=014CJAA5ZGVhZjA3NS02MmMzLTRlZWQtOGJjNC00YzQ1MmZlNzc2YWYKAFBvZENhdGFsb2e9zYpNUjTRaIWVfyrur9ud&crid=9a009356-e42b-496b-a7a3-0c54471f5e02

And this website lets you read the actual Tennessee Code in case you want to read it for yourself or to see if someone’s interpretation makes sense to you.

[chances R]

Legal heat is a good app

[Colt4530]

On 8/10/2019 at 8:52 AM, Bubba8806 said:

That’s kind of what I thought. Could my buddy take it to a gun dealership and register it in his name just to be on the safe side?

NOOOOOOOO!!!! Never do that!  There is no registration in TN and you never want it.  A bill of sale is enough and is not required.  Your guns will be confiscated soon enough, don't make it easy.  You will only have to prove a gun is yours if it is reported stolen by someone else.   

[sawilson005]

I talked to a guy at a local gun shop here in Knoxville while purchasing a gun and he said they keep no registrations or turn any in, only do background checks. From what he said, there is no national gun registration database.

[Garufa]

1 minute ago, sawilson005 said:

I talked to a guy at a local gun shop here in Knoxville while purchasing a gun and he said they keep no registrations or turn any in, only do background checks. From what he said, there is no national gun registration database.

And when a dealer goes out of business all their records must be submitted to the ATF.  Feast on that for a while.

[sawilson005]

3 minutes ago, Garufa said:

And when a dealer goes out of business all their records must be submitted to the ATF.  Feast on that for a while.

Well I've only bought one from Buds and one from PSA. The rest I buy second hand.