I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3088 
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to ensure that all 
firearms are traceable, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2021 
Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 
TRONE, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. COO-
PER, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. MENG, Mr. 
BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. 
AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. DEMINGS, 
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. POR-
TER, Mr. CARSON, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. 
SCHIFF, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. DEAN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, 
Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. JONES, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, 
Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. EVANS, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. SWALWELL, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. TORRES of 
New York, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 
BROWN, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. 
LIEU, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. HIMES, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. KIL-
DEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to 
ensure that all firearms are traceable, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Untraceable Firearms 
Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) without the enactment of this Act, the Bu-
reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 
has the authority to regulate ghost guns (as defined 
in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as 
amended by section 3 of this Act) and unfinished 
frames and receivers; and 
(2) the purpose of this Act is to clarify and 
strengthen such authority. 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT ALL FIREARMS BE TRACE-
ABLE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘The term ‘manufacturing firearms’ shall 
include assembling a functional firearm or molding, 
machining, or 3D printing a frame or receiver, and 
shall not include making or fitting special barrels, 
stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms.’’; 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (29) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(30)(A) The term ‘frame or receiver’— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) means a part of a weapon that provides or 
is intended to provide the housing or structure to 
hold or integrate 1 or more fire control components, 
even if pins or other attachments are required to 
connect those components to the housing or struc-
ture; 
‘‘(ii) includes a frame or receiver, blank, cast-
ing, or machined body, that requires modification, 
including machining, drilling, filing or molding, to be 
used as part of a functional firearm, and which is 
designed and intended to be used in the assembly of 
a functional firearm, unless the piece of material has 
had— 
‘‘(I) its size or external shape altered solely 
to facilitate transportation or storage; or 
‘‘(II) solely its chemical composition al-
tered. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), if a weap-
on with more than 1 part that provides the housing or 
a structure designed to hold or integrate 1 or more fire 
control or essential components, each such part shall be 
considered a frame or receiver, unless the Attorney Gen-
eral has provided otherwise by regulation with respect to 
the specific make and model of weapon on or before Janu-
ary 1, 2022.’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(36) The term ‘ghost gun’— 
‘‘(A) means a firearm, including a frame or re-
ceiver, that lacks a unique serial number engraved 
or cast on the frame or receiver by a licensed manu-
facturer or importer in accordance with this chapter; 
and 
‘‘(B) does not include— 
‘‘(i) a firearm that has been rendered per-
manently inoperable; 
‘‘(ii) a firearm identified by means of a 
unique serial number assigned by a State agen-
cy and engraved or cast on the receiver or 
frame of the weapon before the effective date of 
the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021 in ac-
cordance with a State law; 
‘‘(iii) a firearm manufactured or imported 
before December 16, 1968; or 
‘‘(iv) a firearm identified as provided for 
under section 5842 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986. 
‘‘(37) The term ‘fire control component’— 
‘‘(A) means a component necessary for the fire-
arm to initiate or complete the firing sequence; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) includes a hammer, bolt or breechblock, 
cylinder, trigger mechanism, firing pin, striker, and 
slide rails.’’. 
(b) PROHIBITION; REQUIREMENTS.—Section 922 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(aa)(1) The Congress finds and declares the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) Firearms tracing is the systematic track-
ing of the movement of a firearm recovered by law 
enforcement officials from the first sale of a firearm 
by the manufacturer or importer through the dis-
tribution chain (including the wholesaler and re-
tailer) to the first retail purchaser. 
‘‘(B) Law enforcement agencies across the 
country work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives to trace firearms and 
thereby obtain investigative leads in the fight 
against violent crime and terrorism. 
‘‘(C) The ability of law enforcement agencies to 
trace a firearm is dependent on the serial number or 
other marks on the firearm that identify the manu-
facturer or importer who manufactured or imported 
the firearm and that are unique to the firearm. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(D) Interstate gun trafficking interferes with 
lawful commerce in firearms and significantly con-
tributes to gun crime. Of the 254,700 firearms 
traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 
and Explosives in 2018, 71,910 of those firearms 
were originally sold by a licensed firearms dealer in 
a State other than the State where the firearms 
were recovered. These guns made up 28.2 percent of 
all firearm recoveries in 2018. 
‘‘(E) Even before the sale of a firearm, the gun, 
its component parts, and the raw materials from 
which they are made have considerably moved in 
interstate commerce. 
‘‘(F) If unserialized and untraceable firearms 
may be constructed and transported freely from 
State to State, ordinary citizens and foreign visitors 
may fear to travel to or through certain parts of the 
country due to concern about violent crime and gun 
violence, and law enforcement agencies may be un-
able to address it. 
‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), it 
shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell, offer 
to sell, transfer, purchase, or receive a ghost gun in or 
affecting interstate or foreign commerce. 
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) the manufacture of a firearm by a licensed 
manufacturer if the licensed manufacturer complies 
with section 923(i) before selling or transferring the 
firearm to another person; 
‘‘(ii) the offer to sell, sale, or transfer of a fire-
arm to, or purchase or receipt of a firearm by, a li-
censed manufacturer or importer before the date 
that is 30 months after the date of enactment of the 
Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021; or 
‘‘(iii) transactions between licensed manufactur-
ers and importers on any date. 
‘‘(3) It shall be unlawful for a person other than a 
licensed manufacturer or importer to engrave or cast a 
serial number on a firearm in or affecting interstate or 
foreign commerce unless specifically authorized by the At-
torney General. 
‘‘(4) Beginning on the date that is 30 months after 
the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act 
of 2021, it shall be unlawful for any person other than 
a licensed manufacturer or importer to knowingly possess 
a ghost gun in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. 
‘‘(5) Beginning on the date that is 30 months after 
the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act 
of 2021, it shall be unlawful for any person other than 
a licensed manufacturer or importer to possess a ghost 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
gun in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce with 
the intent to sell or transfer the ghost gun with or without 
further manufacturing or to manufacture a firearm with 
the ghost gun. 
‘‘(6)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, 
offer to sell, or transfer, in or affecting interstate or for-
eign commerce, to any person other than a licensed manu-
facturer a machine that has the sole or primary function 
of manufacturing firearms. 
‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (A), begin-
ning on the date that is 180 days after the date of enact-
ment of the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021, it shall 
be unlawful for any person other than a licensed manufac-
turer to possess, purchase, or receive, in or affecting inter-
state or foreign commerce, a machine that has the sole 
or primary function of manufacturing firearms. 
‘‘(C) Subparagraph (B) shall not apply to a person 
who is engaged in the business of selling manufacturing 
equipment to a licensed manufacturer who possesses a ma-
chine with the intent to sell or transfer the machine to 
a licensed manufacturer.’’. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) REMOVAL OF SERIAL NUMBERS.—Section 
922(k) of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(A) by striking ‘‘importer’s or manufactur-
er’s’’ each place it appears; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘authorized by this chap-
ter or under State law’’ before ‘‘removed’’. 
(2) LICENSED IMPORTERS AND MANUFACTUR-
ERS.—Section 923(i) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Licensed’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘The serial number shall be engraved or cast 
on the frame or receiver in a manner sufficient 
to identify the firearm and the manufacturer or 
importer that put the serial number on the fire-
arm. 
‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021, the 
Attorney General shall prescribe regulations for engraving 
a unique serial number onto a ghost gun. 
‘‘(B) The regulations prescribed under subparagraph 
(A) shall— 
‘‘(i) allow an owner of a firearm described in 
subparagraph (A) to have a unique serial number 
engraved on the firearm by a licensed manufacturer 
or importer; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(ii) require that a serial number be engraved 
on the frame or receiver in a manner sufficient to 
identify the firearm and the manufacturer or im-
porter that put the serial number on the firearm. 
‘‘(C) The regulations authorized under this para-
graph shall expire on the date that is 30 months after 
the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act 
of 2021.’’. 
(d) PENALTIES.—Section 924 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘or (q)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(q), (aa)(2), (aa)(3), (aa)(5), or 
(aa)(6)’’; 
(2) in subsection (c) 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 
preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘func-
tional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’ each place it ap-
pears; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), in the mat-
ter preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘func-
tional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’; and 
(iii) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by in-
serting ‘‘functional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘all or 
part of the firearm’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘person.’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘all or part of the functional firearm, or other-
wise make the presence of the functional fire-
arm known to another person, in order to in-
timidate that person, regardless of whether the 
functional firearm is directly visible to that per-
son.’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘or (k)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(k), (aa)(2), (aa)(3), (aa)(5), or 
(aa)(6)’’; 
(4) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘through 
the possession of a functional firearm’’ before ‘‘and 
has three’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(q) A person who violates section 922(aa)(4) shall— 
‘‘(1) in the case of the first violation by the per-
son, be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 
than 1 year, or both; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of any subsequent violation by 
the person, be fined under this title, imprisoned not 
more than 5 years, or both.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
SEC. 4. MODERNIZATION OF THE PROHIBITION ON UNDE-
TECTABLE FIREARMS. 
Section 922(p) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by striking ‘‘any firearm’’; 
(B) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(A) an undetectable firearm; or’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘any 
major component of which, when subjected to 
inspection by the types of x-ray machines com-
monly used at airports, does not generate’’ and 
inserting the following: ‘‘a major component of 
a firearm which, if subjected to inspection by 
the types of detection devices commonly used at 
airports for security screening, would not gen-
erate’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(A) the term ‘undetectable firearm’ means a 
firearm, as defined in section 921(a)(3)(A), of which 
no major component is wholly made of detectable 
material;’’; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3088.IH
H3088
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS