---
title: HB 4. Brady Law Regulations; three-day waiting period for purchase or transfer of certain firearms; require
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb4
cite_as: HB 4, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb4
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb4.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb4/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69284
date: 2025-01-15
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb4.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 4
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-13
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Michelle Au
- Long Tran
- Marvin Lim
- Saira Draper
- Ruwa Romman
- Samuel Park
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB4/2025
upstream_id: 1916804
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- gun control
- firearm purchases
- waiting period
- criminal penalties
- weapons carry license
---
# HB 4. Brady Law Regulations; three-day waiting period for purchase or transfer of certain firearms; require
## Text
House Bill 4
By: Representative Au of the 50th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 5 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to Brady Law Regulations, so as to require a three-day waiting period for
the purchase or transfer of certain firearms; to provide for inspection; to provide for
exceptions; to provide for criminal penalties; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 5 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to Brady Law Regulations, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"16-11-172.1.
(a) No purchase or transfer of a firearm conducted by a licensed importer, licensed
manufacturer, or licensed dealer shall be completed until the third day after the initiation
of such purchase or transfer; provided, however, that the calculation of the three days shall
not include Saturdays, Sundays, or state or federal holidays and provided, further, that the
NICS check provided for under Code Section 16-11-172 may be conducted within the three
days.
(b) Licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, and licensed dealers shall, during normal
business hours, make records available for inspection by any law enforcement agency for
purposes of any criminal investigation.
(c) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply when a firearm is being purchased
by or transferred to:
(1) The holder of a weapons carry license issued pursuant to Code Section 16-11-129;
or
(2) Any person provided for under Code Section 16-11-130.
(d) Any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer that violates this Code
section, or any purchaser or transferee who uses fraud or false representation to avoid the
requirements of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five
years."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 4 would require a three business day waiting period before licensed gun dealers can complete most firearm sales or transfers in Georgia, with exceptions for weapons carry license holders.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, a licensed firearm dealer can complete a sale as soon as the required background check (NICS check) clears. This bill would add a new waiting period on top of that check. Licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers could not complete a purchase or transfer until the third day after it began, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or state and federal holidays. The background check could still happen during that window.
The waiting period would not apply to people who already hold a Georgia weapons carry license (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129) or to certain other people covered under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-130. Dealers would have to make their sales records available to law enforcement during normal business hours for criminal investigations. A dealer that violates the waiting period, or a buyer who uses fraud to get around it, would be guilty of a felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
### What it does
- Adds a new Georgia code section requiring licensed dealers to wait until the third business day (excluding weekends and holidays) before completing a firearm purchase or transfer.
- Allows the required federal background check (NICS check) to take place at any point during the three day waiting window.
- Exempts sales to people who hold a Georgia weapons carry license or who qualify under a separate existing exemption in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-130.
- Requires licensed dealers to make sales records available to law enforcement during normal business hours for criminal investigations.
- Makes it a felony, punishable by one to five years in prison, for a dealer to violate the waiting period or for a buyer to use fraud to dodge it.
### Who it affects
Licensed firearm importers, manufacturers, and dealers in Georgia; anyone buying or receiving a transferred firearm from a licensed dealer; people who already hold a Georgia weapons carry license, who would be exempt; and law enforcement agencies conducting criminal investigations.
### Why it matters
Georgians buying firearms from licensed dealers would generally have to wait several extra business days before taking possession, unless they hold a weapons carry license. Dealers would face new recordkeeping duties and felony liability for violations, changing how quickly and under what conditions firearm sales can be completed.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Section 16-11-172.1 to Part 5 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16, creating the three day waiting period.
- Subsection (a) sets the waiting period as ending on the third day after a purchase or transfer begins, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays, while allowing the background check to run during that time.
- Subsection (b) requires dealers to make records available for law enforcement inspection during normal business hours for criminal investigations.
- Subsection (c) exempts weapons carry license holders and people covered under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-130 from the waiting period.
- Subsection (d) makes violations by dealers, or fraud by buyers to avoid the waiting period, a felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-13)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-15)
- Sponsors: Michelle Au, Long Tran, Marvin Lim, Saira Draper, Ruwa Romman, Samuel Park
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69284
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb4.md?full=1