State law requires all firearm sales or transfers to be subject to a background check unless specifically exempted by state or federal law, including sales and transfers through a licensed dealer, at gun shows, online, and between unlicensed persons. Transfers or sales between unlicensed persons must be completed through a licensed dealer.

A list of situations are exempted from this background check requirement, including transfers involving immediate family members, law enforcement, licensed gunsmiths for the purpose of repair, antique firearms, and temporary transfers to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

Background check requirements applicable to the sale or transfer of firearms shall not apply to a transfer, loan, gift, or bequest to a museum or historical society, or the return of loaned firearms to its lender from a museum or historical society, or to museum personnel while acting in the scope of their official duties.  The museum or historical society which is returning a loaned firearm to its lender must complete the transfer through a licensed dealer.

A museum or historical society is defined as an institution operated by a nonprofit corporation, nonprofit association, or public agency, designated as a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which is primarily educational, historic, or aesthetic in purpose, which owns, borrows, studies, or cares for tangible objects, including archives, and exhibits them as appropriate.