Do You Need an FFL to Sell at a Gun Show?

This is the most-asked question in gun show vending, and the honest answer in mid-2026 is more complicated than it was two years ago — because the regulation everyone was arguing about no longer exists, while the law underneath it never went away.

Here is what changed, what did not, and what it means for someone renting a table.

What happened to the 2024 rule

In April 2024, ATF issued a final rule redefining who counts as “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms. It took effect May 20, 2024, and it was immediately challenged in court.

The litigation ran for two years. On June 12, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered final judgment in State of Texas v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, holding the rule unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and vacating it nationwide. The vacatur applies to everyone, not only the parties who sued.

Separately, ATF had already moved to unwind parts of the rule itself. A proposed rule published May 6, 2026 would rescind provisions ATF concluded had not produced the expected effect on licence applications, administrative actions, or forfeitures. That rulemaking remained pending as of this writing, with the comment period having closed in August 2026.

What did not change

This is the part that gets lost in the celebration, and it is the part that matters for a vendor.

The court vacated an ATF regulation. It did not touch the statute. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, enacted by Congress in June 2022, broadened the statutory definition of engaging in the business of dealing firearms to cover people who devote time, attention and labour to dealing as a regular course of trade or business, to predominantly earn a profit through repetitive purchase and resale.

That language is federal law passed by Congress. A court striking down an agency's interpretation of it does not repeal it.

So do you need an FFL to rent a table?

Renting a table does not require a licence. What you do at the table might.

You are very likely required to be licensed if…

• You buy firearms in order to resell them, repeatedly, with profit as the point.
• Firearms sales are a regular course of trade or business for you rather than an occasional event.
• You are working shows on a circuit with inventory you acquired to sell on.

If that describes your table, the statutory definition reaches you regardless of what happened to the 2024 regulation, and it has since 2022.

You are generally not required to be licensed if…

• You are making occasional sales from a genuine personal collection.
• You are selling to enhance a collection or as a hobby rather than to earn a living.
• You are liquidating inherited firearms.

The two layers most vendors forget

State law is entirely separate

Federal licensing is only one layer. States impose their own requirements — background checks on private transfers, state dealer licensing, waiting periods, registration, permit-to-purchase schemes. None of that was affected by a federal court vacating a federal regulation.

A transfer that raises no federal licensing question can still be a state crime. Check the rules for the state the show is in, not the state you live in.

Promoter rules are a third layer

Promoters set their own conditions and they are stricter than the law in many cases:

• Some require an FFL to hold a table at all.
• Some price non-licensed vendors differently — one vendor reported a $150 per-table non-FFL rate at a mid-sized Texas show.
• Many require a state sales tax licence or seller's permit regardless of licensing.
• At least one promoter states plainly that a dealer selling without a required background check is permanently barred from their shows.

Ask the promoter directly what they require. Their answer governs your table whatever the federal position is.

What to do with this

1. Be honest with yourself about the pattern. Not the count — the pattern. Buying to resell for profit, repeatedly, is dealing.
2. If you are near the line, get the licence. The cost of an FFL is small against the exposure of guessing wrong on a federal felony.
3. Check the show's state, every time. Circuit vendors cross into states with materially different rules.
4. Ask the promoter what they require before you book, not at load-in.
5. Talk to a lawyer if you are unsure. One consultation is cheaper than any part of being wrong.
6. Re-check the federal position periodically. ATF's replacement rulemaking is pending and this will move again.

Questions vendors actually ask

Do I need an FFL to sell a gun at a gun show?

Renting a table does not itself require a licence, but dealing does. Federal law as enacted by Congress in 2022 requires a licence for anyone devoting time and effort to dealing firearms as a regular course of trade or business to predominantly earn a profit through repetitive purchase and resale. Occasional sales from a genuine personal collection generally fall outside that. State law and promoter rules apply on top.

Was the ATF Engaged in the Business rule struck down?

Yes. On June 12, 2026 a federal district court in Texas entered final judgment vacating the 2024 rule nationwide as unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act. ATF had separately proposed rescinding parts of it in May 2026.

Does that mean I can sell freely at gun shows now?

No. The court vacated an ATF regulation, not the statute behind it. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act definition Congress enacted in 2022 remains federal law, and state and local requirements are entirely unaffected.

How many guns can I sell before I need a licence?

There is no set number, and there never was. The test turns on intent and pattern of conduct — whether you are buying to resell for profit as a regular course of business. Volume is evidence of that, not a threshold.

Do promoters require an FFL for a table?

Some do, some do not, and some price non-licensed vendors differently. Many also require a state seller's permit or sales tax licence regardless. Ask before you book — the promoter's requirements govern your table whatever federal law says.

Do state laws still apply to private sales at shows?

Yes, completely. Many states require background checks on private transfers, state-level dealer licensing, waiting periods, or permits to purchase. Federal developments do not change any of that. Check the rules of the state the show is held in.