H.R. 4222 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on the Judiciary, Jun 27, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryRestricts firearm transfers when dealer licenses end
When a federally licensed firearms dealer, importer, or manufacturer loses or is denied their license, this bill prohibits them from transferring their business firearms to themselves personally, to employees, or to anyone else (if they're no longer licensed). It also prevents them from moving firearms from their personal collection within a year of having transferred them there. Anyone who breaks these rules can face criminal penalties including fines and up to one year in prison, or up to five years if done intentionally.
How it affects you
This primarily affects federally licensed firearms dealers whose licenses are revoked or denied. If you work in the firearms industry, you'd need to follow these transfer restrictions when a license ends. For most people, this doesn't create a direct change, though it aims to prevent loopholes in how firearms are handled when a dealer's license is no longer active.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jun 27, 2025)
Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act of 2025
This bill establishes restrictions on the transfer of business inventory firearms by a federally licensed dealer, importer, or manufacturer of firearms (i.e., a federal firearms licensee, or FFL) whose license is revoked or denied. The term business inventory firearm means a firearm that is required to be recorded in the acquisition and disposition logs of a firearms business.
Among the restrictions, the bill generally prohibits the transfer of a business inventory firearm by an FFL to their personal collection or employee after they receive written notice revoking or denying their license or by a former FFL to any non-FFL on or after the date their license is revoked. The bill also prohibits the transfer of a former business inventory firearm from a personal collection within one year of the date the firearm was transferred to the personal collection.
An individual who violates the restrictions is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, prison term of up to one year (or five years if the violation was willful), or both.
Finally, the bill requires the written notice revoking or denying a license to include the federal statutes and regulations that prohibit a non-FFL from engaging in the business of dealing in firearms, as well as the restrictions on transferring business inventory firearms by an FFL or former FFL whose license is revoked or denied.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 4222
A BILL
Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act of 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4) · Introduced Jun 27, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jun 27, 2025: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.”