7-Day Waiting Period

• Is this FAQ legal advice? Where can I get legal advice about New Mexico’s new 7-day waiting period?

The Department of Public Safety is prohibited from providing legal advice related to New Mexico’s 7-day waiting period. Please consult House Bill 129 for the text of the law. This FAQ is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon to make decisions about how to comply with the new law. The Department of Public Safety is not responsible for criminal, civil, or administrative liability resulting from reliance on this FAQ. For legal inquiries, please consult an attorney. The State Bar of New Mexico provides resources to assist in locating legal services.

• What is new the 7-Day Waiting Period?

On March 4, 2024, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law House Bill 129, which made important amendments to the criminal offenses chapter of the New Mexico Statutes. Among those changes is a new mandatory 7-day waiting period for the purchase of firearms. HB 129 created a new section of New Mexico’s statutes, § 30-7-7.3, Unlawful Sale of a Firearm Before Required Waiting Period Ends. Section 30-7-7.3 requires the following:

• A waiting period of seven calendar days shall be required for the sale of a firearm and the transfer of the firearm to the buyer.
• This waiting period shall include the period of time required to conduct a federal instant background check. If the background check takes longer than the 7-calendar-day-waiting period, the seller must wait to transfer the firearm until the background check is completed. If the background check is not completed within twenty days, however, the seller may—but is not required to—transfer the firearm to the buyer.
• The firearm shall remain in the custody of the seller or the federal firearms licensee performing the federal instant background check during the entirety of the waiting period.
• Unlawful sale of a firearm before the required waiting period ends consists of the transfer of ownership, possession, or physical control of the firearm from the seller to the buyer before the end of the required seven-calendar day waiting period, but does not include temporary possession or control of a firearm provided to a customer by the proprietor of a licensed business in the conduct of that business.
• Each party to an unlawful sale of a firearm before the required waiting period ends is in violation of this section and may be separately charged for the same sale.
• Each firearm sold contrary to the provisions of this section constitutes a separate offense under Subsection C of this section, and two or more offenses may be charged in the same information, complaint, or indictment and will be charged separately.
• Whoever violates the provisions of § 30-7-7.3 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Section 30-7-7.3 do not apply to:
  • A buyer who holds a valid federal firearms license;
  • A buyer who holds a valid New Mexico concealed handgun license;
  • A law enforcement agency;
  • Between two law enforcement officers authorized to carry a firearm and certified pursuant to federal law or the Law Enforcement Training Act; or
  • Between immediate family members; immediate family member is defined as a spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, a grandparent, a grandchild, a great-grandchild, a niece, a nephew, a first cousin, an aunt or an uncle.

• When does the new 7-day waiting period take effect?

This new law is effective on May 15, 2024.

• How can buyers verify the conceal handgun license exception to the 7-day waiting period?

The Department of Public Safety cannot provide legal advice on how to comply with the new 7-day waiting period. Firearms sellers may confirm that a potential buyer is exempt from the 7-day waiting period by checking the buyer’s Concealed Handgun License card, including that it is not expired:

Once the seller has confirmed this, the seller may continue with the transaction without the mandatory 7-day waiting period, but in accordance with all other state and federal laws.

• Can sellers contact DPS to confirm that a buyer possesses a valid Concealed Handgun License?

Pursuant to state law, the Department of Public Safety is prohibited by law from sharing such information, except to law enforcement agencies or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction: