No 'Delivery' If You Clutch Your Gun on the Greyhound Ride
Published Date: 5/6/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
If you’re traveling with a firearm or ammo on a bus, train, or plane and you keep it with you the whole time, you’re not considered to have ‘delivered’ it to the carrier. This change clears up confusion about who’s responsible during travel and affects anyone carrying firearms on common or contract carriers. You’ve got until August 4, 2026, to share your thoughts—no fees or extra costs involved!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Keeping Your Firearm Onboard Is Not a 'Delivery'
If you travel on a common or contract carrier (for example, an airline or intercity bus) and you keep a firearm or ammunition on your person or in baggage under your immediate control for the entire trip, ATF says you are not treated as having "delivered" it to the carrier under 18 U.S.C. 922(e). This clarification applies when you maintain direct control and do not relinquish possession or custody to the carrier.
Taxis, Rideshares, and Metro Trains Aren't 'Carriers' Here
ATF proposes that for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 922(e), public or private for-hire vehicles (like taxis, limousines, and rideshares) and municipal or regional mass transit vehicles (including ones that cross state lines) are not "common or contract carriers" when passengers cannot deliver firearms into the custody of the operator. That means the statute's delivery/notice rules do not apply to those types of vehicles as described.
Checked Baggage Still Triggers Notice Requirements
ATF reiterates that if you relinquish control of a suitcase or other baggage that contains a firearm or ammunition (for example, by checking it with an airline), that constitutes a "delivery" under 18 U.S.C. 922(e) and the individual must provide the required written notice to the carrier before transport.
Federal 922(e) Rules Don’t Replace Other Laws
ATF says that compliance with 18 U.S.C. 922(e) is separate from other federal, state, or local rules that limit carrying firearms on certain transport modes (for example, aircraft rules at 49 U.S.C. 46505 or state bans on firearms aboard buses). You could comply with 922(e) but still be barred by other laws or regulations.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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