S. 4921 — Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2026

This section requires individuals other than licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, or collectors to obtain a valid federal firearm owner license or a certified State firearm license to possess a qualifying firearm. Compliance is required within 2 years after enactment for firearms acquired before that date and within 1 year for those acquired afterward. It exempts law enforcement officers, Armed Forces and National Guard members, supervised minors, certain veterans using blank ammunition for ceremonies, licensed hunters, and supervised range or training participants. Individuals moving between States must apply for a new license within 60 days. It also prohibits failure to surrender a denied or revoked license, submit a disposition record, or transfer qualifying firearms.

This section establishes a federal firearm owner license that individuals must obtain to possess or acquire firearms. Applicants must submit to the Attorney General a passport-sized photograph, fingerprints, valid identification, name and birth details, certifications that they are at least 21 years old (or younger with parental consent and no disqualifying record), have no recent mental health facility stays or covered offenses, and are not otherwise prohibited from receiving a firearm, plus an authorization to release mental health records; applications are submitted through licensed dealers or designated federal offices.

This section establishes a process for individuals denied or revoked a firearm owner license under section 923(m) to apply to the Attorney General for relief within 60 days. The Attorney General may grant relief upon a showing that the applicant is unlikely to endanger public safety and that relief would not be contrary to the public interest, must publish notice of any grant in the Federal Register, and faces expedited judicial review in district court within 72 hours where the Attorney General bears the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence.

This section prohibits the sale, delivery, or transfer of a qualifying firearm to or from any person who is not a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector, unless the transferee presents a valid firearm owner license to a licensed dealer, the dealer verifies the license with the Attorney General or a certified state agency, and records a tracking authorization number on the sales receipt or other document.

This section requires licensed firearm dealers to submit reports on transfers of qualifying firearms—including manufacturer, model, serial number, date of receipt, transferee license number, and transferor name and address—to the Attorney General or a certified state agency within 14 days. It directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system incorporating those reports within 270 days after enactment, with reporting obligations beginning one year after enactment, and eliminates the existing prohibition on federal firearm registration systems.

This section prohibits unlicensed individuals from transferring firearms to other unlicensed individuals unless a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer first takes possession to conduct a background check under 18 U.S.C. 922(t). It exempts transfers involving law enforcement officers, specified family members (spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and grandchildren), estates, imminent harm prevention, National Firearms Act approvals under 26 U.S.C. 5812, and temporary transfers at ranges, for hunting, or in the transferor’s presence. It also requires dealers to provide notice of the prohibition and obtain certification, updates penalties, and bars creation of a national firearms registry.

This section makes it unlawful for a licensed firearm manufacturer or dealer to fail to comply with section 935 or to fail to maintain or supply records and information that the Attorney General requires to verify compliance with that section and its implementing regulations.

This section makes it unlawful for any person who owns a qualifying firearm to fail to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours after discovery.

This section makes it unlawful for any individual issued a firearm owner license under section 923(m) to fail to report a change of address to the Attorney General within 60 days of the change.

This section prohibits keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm with ammunition, in a location under a person's control if the person knows or recklessly disregards that a child under 18 can access it and that the child will use it to cause death or serious bodily injury or that child possession is unlawful, and a child then uses the firearm to cause such harm. Exceptions apply if the firearm is secured with a safety device, the person is performing official duties as a peace officer or member of the Armed Forces or National Guard, the use is in lawful self-defense, or there is no reasonable expectation a child will be present.

This section imposes criminal penalties of a fine, up to 10 years imprisonment, or both for knowingly violating firearm owner licensing, denial and revocation, qualifying sale or transfer, and record maintenance or inspection requirements. It extends existing penalties under section 924(a)(5) to violations of firearms transfer requirements, timely loss or theft reporting, and address change notice requirements. It imposes criminal penalties of a fine, up to 5 years imprisonment, or both for violations of child access prevention requirements.

This section directs the Attorney General to issue regulations governing the licensing of possessors of qualifying firearms and the recorded sale of such firearms. The regulations must reduce or prevent deaths and injuries from qualifying firearms and assist law enforcement in apprehending owners or users involved in criminal activity, with final rules required within 120 days of any proposed rule.

This section authorizes the Attorney General to enter, during regular business hours, any facility where firearms or firearm products are manufactured, stored, or held for distribution in commerce and to inspect those areas to determine compliance with the Act, its amendments, and related regulations and orders.

This section authorizes the Attorney General to issue orders prohibiting the sale or transfer of any firearm found to have been transferred or distributed in violation of this Act, amendments made by this Act, or regulations issued under this Act.

This section authorizes the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief in federal district court to restrain violations of the Act, in any district where the violation occurs or where the defendant is found or transacts business.

This section directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on the causes and prevention of firearm deaths and injuries. It also requires continuing studies of firearm-related deaths and injuries, collection of production and sales figures from each licensed manufacturer, and a study on the efficacy of smart guns in preventing unintended deaths, with annual reports submitted to Congress and made available to the public.

This section preserves state and local authority to regulate or prohibit conduct involving firearms, except to the extent a state provision is inconsistent with this Act. It further specifies that state laws imposing greater restrictions or penalties than this Act are not inconsistent.

This section authorizes the Attorney General to certify, upon written request from a State’s chief executive officer, a State firearm licensing system that meets the requirements of the Federal firearm licensing system under section 923(m) and a State firearm record of sale system that submits copies of required reports to the Federal system within 7 days of receipt.

This section provides that the Arms Export Control Act controls in the event of any conflict with this Act or amendments made by this Act.

This section exempts departments and agencies of the United States, states, and political subdivisions of states, as well as their officers and employees acting in official capacities, from the requirements of this Act and its amendments.

This section establishes effective dates for amendments made by this Act. Most amendments take effect 1 year after the date of enactment. Amendments to firearm records under section 202 take effect on the date of enactment. Amendments to firearm transactions under section 301(a) and (b) take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.