How old do you have to be to buy a handgun in Pennsylvania (2026)

Pennsylvania law in detail

Under Pennsylvania law the minimum age to buy a handgun is 18. That is a state rule and it stands on its own, whatever the Justice Department decides about the federal one.
Rifles and shotguns: 18.
Possessing a handgun in Pennsylvania: 18. Buying and possessing are separate questions in most states and the ages often differ.
A stripped or complete AR-15 lower receiver is a firearm that is neither a rifle nor a shotgun, so a dealer transfers it in the Other column of the Form 4473 and federal law puts it at 21. That is why an 18 year old can buy a complete rifle but not the receiver to build one, and the 2026 opinion expressly left frames and receivers alone.
Sources disagree about this state. Everytown lists Pennsylvania as 21 for handguns. Giffords reads Pennsylvania as 18 for purchase and possession under state law. Read the code or ask a dealer in Pennsylvania before you rely on either.

The federal rule

Federal law has two floors. A licensed dealer may sell a rifle or shotgun at 18, and 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1) bars that dealer from selling any other firearm, which includes handguns and bare frames and receivers, to anyone under 21. On September 17, 2026 the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the 21 rule is unconstitutional as applied to 18 to 20 year olds and cannot be criminally enforced against dealers. The statute, the ATF regulations and Form 4473 are all unchanged, ATF has issued no guidance, and the opinion expressly does not reach frames and receivers. State age law is untouched by any of it.

Minimum age in neighboring states

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