FALCO

Selling firearms and collections from a Tennessee estate

A gun safe, a coin collection, a garage full of militaria. These are often the most valuable things in an estate after the house, and the easiest to sell badly. Here is what federal and Tennessee law allow an executor to do, who can legally buy, and how collections get in front of the buyers who pay the most.

Short answer

An executor can pass a firearm to an heir named in the will or entitled by inheritance, even in another state, if that heir may legally own it. Selling is where the risk is: never sell to someone you know or have reason to believe is prohibited, send out-of-state buyers through a licensed dealer, and transfer NFA items like suppressors only through ATF.

Licensed Tennessee auctioneerUpdated November 2026

First, slow down and secure everything

Before anything is sold or handed out, three things protect the estate and the family:

  • Lock it up and list it. Keep firearms secured and write down the make, model and serial number of each one. For collections, photograph items where they sit and keep any receipts, certificates or letters that show where they came from.
  • Know who is allowed to hold a gun. Tennessee and federal law bar certain people from possessing firearms or ammunition, including people with certain felony convictions.[5][1] If anyone in the household falls into that group, the guns should not end up in their hands, even temporarily.
  • Do not clean, polish or sort. Cleaning coins, refinishing a stock or splitting up a set can cut the value sharply. Leave that judgment to the specialist.
Authority still comes first. The executor or administrator, acting under letters from the court, is the person who can sell or distribute estate property. Our estate property guide covers how that works.

Passing guns to heirs, including heirs in other states

Federal law generally prohibits a private person from transferring a firearm to someone who lives in another state. There is a specific exception for estates: a transfer made to carry out a bequest in a will, or to an heir by intestate succession, is allowed as long as the person receiving it may lawfully own that firearm in their home state.[1][2]

That means an executor can usually deliver a rifle to a nephew in Georgia the will names, without going through a dealer. Before shipping anything, check carrier rules and the laws of the heir's state, which can be stricter than Tennessee's.

Suppressors, machine guns and other NFA items

Items registered under the National Firearms Act, such as suppressors, machine guns and short-barreled rifles, follow their own process. The executor may possess them during probate, but no later than the close of probate must apply to ATF to transfer them.[3]

How NFA transfers work from an estate
A transfer to a beneficiary named in the will or entitled by inheritance goes on ATF Form 5, which is tax-exempt. A transfer to anyone else, including a buyer, goes on ATF Form 4, which is a tax-paid transfer. The application includes proof of the executor's appointment, the death certificate and the will.[3]

If you find an NFA item and cannot find its registration paperwork, stop and talk to an attorney before doing anything with it.

Who can legally buy from the estate

Selling is where executors get into trouble, usually by accident. The rules that matter most:

Private sales inside Tennessee
Tennessee requires licensed dealers to run a background check through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation before delivering a firearm. That requirement does not apply to an occasional sale of a used firearm by someone who is not a dealer.[4] But selling a firearm to someone you know is prohibited from having one is a crime in Tennessee, and federal law also bars sales when you have reasonable cause to believe the buyer is prohibited. That federal rule covers ammunition too.[4][1]
Buyers from other states
A private seller may not transfer a firearm to someone they believe lives in another state, outside the bequest and inheritance exception. A licensed dealer can sell a rifle or shotgun in person to a non-resident when the sale is legal in both states. Handguns for out-of-state buyers go through a licensed dealer in the buyer's state.[1]
Antique firearms
Federal law defines an antique firearm to include one made in or before 1898, plus certain replicas and muzzleloaders, and excludes antiques from its definition of "firearm."[6] Tennessee's dealer background check statute also excludes them.[4] They are often the most valuable pieces in a collection and the ones most damaged by well-meant cleaning.
The cleanest way for an estate to sell firearms is through a licensed auction firm that holds a federal firearms license. Every buyer goes through the dealer's background check, out-of-state buyers receive their guns through a dealer where they live, and the estate gets a paper trail for every transfer. That is the only kind of firm FALCO routes firearms to.

Coins, art, memorabilia and other collections

Tennessee lets a personal representative sell estate personal property at a public or private sale without a court order, unless the will says otherwise or an item was left to a specific person. A private sale to the executor, their immediate family or a business associate needs court approval or the written consent of everyone who shares in the rest of the estate.[7]

For collections, the selling question is mostly about the audience. A coin collection, a run of vintage guitars and a box of war medals each have a different set of serious buyers, and those buyers follow different auction houses. Selling everything to one local buyer, or one general auction, often leaves money on the table. FALCO's job is matching each collection to the licensed Tennessee firm whose bidders want it.

A note on sales tax
Tennessee does not tax occasional and isolated sales by someone who is not in the business of selling, although that exemption does not cover vehicles, boats or aircraft that must be registered.[8] When an auctioneer sells for a disclosed owner, the sale is treated as the owner's sale for sales tax purposes, rather than the auctioneer's.[9] Whether a particular estate auction is taxable depends on the facts, so ask the estate's CPA or attorney.

What it costs, and what FALCO does

We look at what the estate holds, tell you plainly what is worth a specialist auction and what is not, and route each piece to the licensed firm that sells it best. The executor sees the plan in writing before anyone signs.

No cost to you. The buyer pays a 10% premium on top of the winning bid, and FALCO is paid from that premium. FALCO never takes possession of firearms or anything else.

Questions

Common questions

Can an executor give a deceased person's guns to an heir who lives in another state?

Federal law allows a transfer made to carry out a bequest, or to an heir by intestate succession, even across state lines, as long as the heir is legally allowed to own that firearm in their home state. The heir must not be a prohibited person, and NFA items such as suppressors and machine guns have their own ATF transfer process.

Does Tennessee require a background check for a private gun sale?

Tennessee requires licensed dealers to run a background check through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation before handing over a firearm, but that requirement does not apply to an occasional sale of a used firearm by someone who is not a dealer. It is still a crime to sell a firearm to someone you know is prohibited from having one, and federal law adds 'reasonable cause to believe.'

Can I sell an estate's firearm to a buyer from another state?

Not directly. A private seller may not transfer a firearm to someone they believe lives in another state, except for bequests and inheritance. Sales to out-of-state buyers go through a licensed dealer. A dealer can sell a rifle or shotgun in person to a non-resident when the sale is legal in both states. Handguns go through a dealer in the buyer's home state.

What happens to a suppressor or machine gun in an estate?

The executor may hold registered NFA items during probate, but must apply to ATF to transfer them no later than the close of probate. Transfers to a beneficiary go on a tax-exempt Form 5. Transfers to anyone else go on a tax-paid Form 4, with proof of the executor's appointment, the death certificate and the will.

Are antique guns treated differently?

Yes. Under federal law, an 'antique firearm' includes one made in or before 1898 and certain replicas and muzzleloaders, and antiques are excluded from the federal definition of 'firearm.' Tennessee's dealer background check statute also excludes them. Value depends heavily on condition and originality, so do not clean or refinish them before an expert looks.

What does it cost the estate to use FALCO?

No cost to you. The buyer pays a 10% premium on top of the winning bid, and FALCO is paid from that premium. FALCO never takes possession of firearms. They go only to licensed auction firms that hold a federal firearms license.

Sources

  1. [1]18 U.S.C. § 922 (unlawful acts, including transfers to non-residents and to prohibited persons)
  2. [2]27 C.F.R. § 478.30 (out-of-state disposition of firearms by non-licensees, including bequests)
  3. [3]27 C.F.R. § 479.90a (estates holding National Firearms Act items)
  4. [4]Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1316 (sales of firearms; dealer background checks; knowing sale to a prohibited person)
  5. [5]Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307 (unlawful possession of a firearm)
  6. [6]18 U.S.C. § 921 (definitions, including antique firearm)
  7. [7]Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-303 (sale of estate personal property)
  8. [8]Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1320-05-01-.09 (occasional and isolated sales)
  9. [9]Tennessee Department of Revenue, MF-17: Auctioneers Are Not Marketplace Facilitators

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This page is general information about Tennessee and federal law, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not a promise about any outcome. Laws change and every situation is different. For advice about your circumstances, consult a licensed Tennessee attorney, CPA, or other licensed professional. FALCO is not a law firm, a government agency, or a court, and is not affiliated with any of them. FALCO does not buy, list, broker, or sell anything itself. Licensed Tennessee auction firms, and licensed real estate firms where real estate is involved, run every sale.