How To Register A Gun Is Stolen

Check if an item is reported as lost or stolen by entering any identifying information such as serial number imei vin mac etc.

How to register a gun is stolen. Resources for law enforcement if you are a law enforcement agency and require assistance in obtaining a serial number for a firearm reported stolen by an individual your request must be in writing. Check if lost or stolen. View local stolen guns. If you are purchasing a gun or checking one that is already in your possession. Unless you buy a gun brand new there is a risk that the weapon may have been stolen or used in a crime.

Contained 330 000 records in 2010. Locate the serial number for the gun you want to check. Contact your state firearms registration office if your state has one. Recover a gun you want to trace. Since the database was created in january 2009 we have never charged any fees to list a stolen gun or search a stolen gun.

Firearms reported as stolen to atf. Private party sales of stolen guns are also uncommon but can occur. These are registration records which include name and address make model serial and caliber of the firearm s as well as data from the 4473 form in digital or image format. The easiest way to check a gun s history is to obtain the serial number from the body of the gun and then ask a gun professional to run a stolen weapons search. Some websites also have searchable public databases of stolen registered weapons.

It is even more difficult to verify a gun in maryland because before oct 1st 2013 all firearms got registered voluntarily. Running a gun serial number search before you buy will make sure you get a gun that you can legally own and register in your name. In march 2010 atf reported receiving several hundred million records since 1968. Write down the serial number on the gun if it is available. The hotgunz stolen gun database is not all inclusive but it is quickly making it much more difficult for gun thieves to sell stolen firearms.

If you are trying to trace a gun without a serial number submit the weapon to the atf where various techniques may be used to recover serial numbers that have been mechanically or chemically removed from legally manufactured firearms.