New Reporting Rule Forces Gun Dealers to Track All Bulk Firearm Sales, Not Just Handguns

The new Multiple Firearm Sales Reporting Modernization Act of 2025 is straightforward: it significantly expands how the federal government tracks gun sales. Previously, if a licensed gun dealer (FFL) sold two or more handguns (pistols or revolvers) to the same person in one transaction or over a short period, they had to report that sale to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The New Rule: Tracking Rifles and Shotguns Too

This bill throws out the handgun-only restriction. Under Section 2, FFLs must now report the sale of any two or more firearms sold to the same individual. This means if you walk into a store and buy two rifles, two shotguns, or a mix—say, a hunting rifle and a shotgun for home defense—that transaction now triggers a mandatory report to the ATF. The goal is to give law enforcement more data, which they argue helps them spot illegal straw purchases or trafficking operations earlier. Basically, the feds want a wider view of who is buying multiple guns, regardless of the type.

What This Means for Dealers and Buyers

For the Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs)—the gun shop owners—this is a clear increase in administrative burden. They now have to track and file paperwork for a much larger number of transactions. For a small, local dealer, this means more time spent on compliance, which translates into higher operating costs. They are the ones bearing the immediate cost of this expanded federal tracking, creating an economic burden that could disproportionately affect smaller businesses.

For the law-abiding buyer who purchases multiple firearms legally—for collecting, hunting, or competitive shooting—this means your transaction is now federally tracked where it wasn't before. While the bill aims to curb illegal trafficking, the practical effect is that the government is collecting more data on legal gun owners. This expansion of mandatory reporting is seen by some as an infringement on privacy and an expansion of government surveillance over legal acquisitions, even though the data is intended for law enforcement purposes under existing statute (18 U.S.C. § 923(g)(3)(A)).

In short: law enforcement gets a bigger data net, and dealers and multiple-gun buyers get more federal scrutiny and paperwork.