I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5678 
To require federally licensed firearms manufacturers, importers, and dealers 
and their employees to undergo annual training to be eligible to sell 
a firearm, to require a notice to be posted at retail firearms locations 
that describes the signs of unlawful firearms purchases, to require such 
licensees to maintain physical security elements to prevent theft and 
a minimum level of business liability insurance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 22, 2021 
Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 
DEAN, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. LAN-
GEVIN, Mr. LIEU, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. 
MCBATH, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 
SCHIFF, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require federally licensed firearms manufacturers, import-
ers, and dealers and their employees to undergo annual 
training to be eligible to sell a firearm, to require a 
notice to be posted at retail firearms locations that de-
scribes the signs of unlawful firearms purchases, to re-
quire such licensees to maintain physical security ele-
ments to prevent theft and a minimum level of business 
liability insurance, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Firearms Retailer 
Code of Conduct Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR FIREARMS MANUFACTUR-
ERS, IMPORTERS, AND DEALERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 923 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(m)(1)(A) The Attorney General shall annually 
make available to each licensed importer, licensed manu-
facturer, and licensed dealer, and each employee of such 
a licensee who is authorized to engage in the transfer of 
firearms or ammunition in the course of the firearms busi-
ness to unlicensed persons, a training course in the con-
duct of firearm transfers. 
‘‘(B) The training course shall describe Federal law 
governing firearms transfers, and cover, at a minimum, 
the following matters: 
‘‘(i) How to recognize and identify straw pur-
chasers and fraudulent activity. 
‘‘(ii) The indicators that a person is attempting 
to purchase a firearm illegally. 
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‘‘(iii) How to recognize and identify indicators 
that an individual intends to use a firearm for un-
lawful purposes. 
‘‘(iv) How to recognize and identify indicators 
that an individual intends to use a firearm for self- 
harm. 
‘‘(v) How to prevent theft or burglary of fire-
arms and ammunition. 
‘‘(vi) How to respond in the circumstances de-
scribed in clauses (i) through (v), and the applicable 
reporting requirements. 
‘‘(vii) Other reasonable business practices that 
the Attorney General determines will deter gun traf-
ficking, or deter the provision of a firearm to those 
who indicate an intent to use a firearm for unlawful 
purposes or for self-harm. 
‘‘(C) The training course shall include an examina-
tion with not less than 20 questions derived from the 
course materials and intended to confirm that a course 
participant has learned the information covered by the 
course. To receive certification of completion of the course, 
a participant must answer at least 70 percent of the exam-
ination questions correctly. 
‘‘(D) Not less frequently than annually, the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney Gen-
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eral for the Civil Rights Division, shall review the training 
course materials, and revise them as necessary. 
‘‘(E) On successful completion of the training course 
by a participant— 
‘‘(i) the participant shall attest to his or her 
participation in the course; 
‘‘(ii) the participant shall attest to his or her 
receipt of the course materials; 
‘‘(iii) if the participant is not a licensed manu-
facture, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, the 
participant has submitted to the national instant 
criminal background check system established under 
section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Preven-
tion Act sufficient information to enable the system 
to determine whether the participant is prohibited by 
subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 or State law 
from receiving a firearm; and 
‘‘(iv) if the system has determined that the par-
ticipant is not so prohibited, the Attorney General 
shall immediately issue to the participant, through 
United States mail or electronic means, a certificate 
which indicates successful completion of the training 
course and includes a unique certification number, 
both of which shall expire 2 years after issuance un-
less renewed. 
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‘‘(F) The Attorney General shall— 
‘‘(i) create and maintain a database which iden-
tifies each individual to whom such a certificate is 
issued, the date the certificate is issued, the date the 
certificate expires, and the unique certification num-
ber on the certificate; 
‘‘(ii) make readily available to persons licensed 
under this chapter and Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement authorities, on request, the certification 
status of current or potential employees; and 
‘‘(iii) on a monthly basis, provide to the Bureau 
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives a com-
plete list of the certificates issued under subpara-
graph (E) that have expired or been renewed since 
the most recent prior provision of information, if 
any, to the system under this clause. 
‘‘(G) Each licensee referred to in subparagraph (A) 
shall keep— 
‘‘(i) a copy of any certificate issued to the li-
censee under subparagraph (E); and 
‘‘(ii) a copy of any such certificate issued to any 
employee of the licensee, throughout the duration of 
employment. 
‘‘(H) Beginning 545 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for such a 
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licensee or an employee of such a licensee to transfer a 
firearm or ammunition in the course of firearms business, 
unless the licensee or employee, as the case may be, has 
been issued a certificate under this paragraph which has 
not expired. 
‘‘(2) In the course of firearms business with a person 
who is not such a licensee, such a licensee— 
‘‘(A) shall not transfer a firearm to an indi-
vidual if the licensee or an employee of the licensee 
knows or has reasonable cause to know that the in-
dividual is a straw purchaser or a gun trafficker; 
‘‘(B) shall not transfer a firearm or ammuni-
tion to an individual if the licensee or an employee 
of the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to 
know that the individual is intoxicated; 
‘‘(C) shall not transfer a firearm or ammunition 
to an individual if the licensee or an employee of the 
licensee knows or has reasonable cause to know that 
the individual will attempt to harm the individual or 
others with the firearm or ammunition; 
‘‘(D) shall not transfer a firearm to an indi-
vidual not paying in United States currency, unless 
the identity of the individual matches the name on 
the payment method used by the individual; and 
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‘‘(E) immediately notify the Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local law en-
forcement authorities if the licensee or an employee 
of the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to 
know that the individual has engaged or attempted 
to engage in a straw purchase or gun trafficking. 
‘‘(3)(A) The Attorney General shall make available 
to each licensee referred to in paragraph (1)(A) written 
protocols which— 
‘‘(i) outline the indicators of straw purchasing 
and gun trafficking, including the presence of a pro-
spective firearm transferee who— 
‘‘(I) is accompanied by 1 or more individ-
uals; 
‘‘(II) is communicating with other individ-
uals by telephone or other means; 
‘‘(III) is buying multiple firearms; 
‘‘(IV) has been the subject of a crime gun 
trace; 
‘‘(V) has purchased a firearm in the pre-
ceding 30 days; or 
‘‘(VI) otherwise indicates that a firearm is 
being obtained for another person; 
‘‘(ii) instruct licensees and their employees to 
attempt to ascertain whether a prospective firearm 
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transferee is lawfully purchasing a firearm, including 
by asking questions of the prospective firearm trans-
feree (including whether he or she intends to trans-
fer the firearm to another person); and 
‘‘(iii) inform licensees and their employees 
about how to report a suspected fraudulent firearm 
purchase to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire-
arms and Explosives. 
‘‘(B) Beginning 545 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this subsection, each such licensee shall— 
‘‘(i) obtain the written protocols described in 
subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) during all business hours, display the writ-
ten protocols at each point of sale in the firearms 
business of the licensee, in a manner that is clearly 
visible to employees of the business. 
‘‘(4) Beginning 545 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this subsection, each licensee referred to in para-
graph (1)(A) of this subsection shall maintain general 
business and liability insurance as described in subsection 
(d)(1)(F)(iv) during each day of a calendar month, unless 
the licensee has certified to the Attorney General, on the 
1st day of that month, that the licensee— 
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‘‘(A) did not transfer more than 20 firearms in 
the 12-month period that precedes the date of the 
certification; and 
‘‘(B) expects to transfer not more than 20 fire-
arms in the 12-month period that begins with that 
date. 
‘‘(5)(A) Beginning on the date that is 24 months 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, each 
licensee referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection 
shall, when the premises covered by the license is not open 
for business except as provided for in subsection (j), secure 
each firearm in the business inventory of the licensee by 
means of devices or storage containers that are designed 
to deny unauthorized access to, and theft of, firearms. 
‘‘(B) Each device or storage container shall be se-
cured by a combination lock, key lock, or lock based on 
biometric information which, once locked, is incapable of 
being opened without the combination, key, or biometric 
information, respectively.’’. 
(b) DEADLINE
FOR DEVELOPMENT
OF FIREARM 
TRANSFER TRAINING COURSE.—Within 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
eral, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General 
for the Civil Rights Division, shall develop the training 
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course provided for in section 923(m)(1) of title 18, 
United States Code. 
(c) DEADLINE
FOR DEVELOPMENT
OF WRITTEN 
BUSINESS PROTOCOLS FOR FIREARMS SALES.—Within 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall, in consultation with the Assistant 
Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division— 
(1) develop the written protocols provided for in 
section 923(m)(3) of title 18, United States Code; 
and 
(2) not less frequently than annually, review the 
protocols, and revise them as necessary. 
(d) BUSINESS LIABILITY INSURANCE CERTIFICATION 
REQUIRED IN APPLICATION FOR FIREARMS LICENSE.— 
Section 923(d)(1)(F) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause 
(ii)(II); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iv) the applicant has applied for, and will 
not conduct the business before the applicant 
has received, a general business and liability in-
surance policy from an insurance company li-
censed to do business in the State in which the 
licensed premises is located, which provides cov-
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erage for damages for the negligent or unlawful 
transfer of a firearm in an amount of at least 
$1,000,000, unless the applicant certifies in the 
application that the applicant expects to trans-
fer to persons not licensed under this chapter 
not more than 20 firearms per year; and’’. 
(e) VALIDATION OF LICENSEE AND EMPLOYEE CER-
TIFICATIONS.—Section 922(t)(1) of such title is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B)(ii); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) a unique certification number has been 
issued 
to 
the 
transferor 
under 
section 
923(m)(1)(E)(iv) and has not expired, and the 
transferor has validated that number with the sys-
tem.’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(36) The term ‘straw purchase’ means the purchase 
of a firearm by an individual who conceals, or intends to 
conceal, from any entity that the purchase is being made 
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on behalf of a third party who is identified or not yet iden-
tified. The term shall not include a bona fide gift to a 
person who is not prohibited by law from possessing or 
receiving a firearm. For purposes of the preceding sen-
tence, a gift to a person is not a bona fide gift if the per-
son has offered or given the purchaser a service or thing 
of value to acquire the firearm for the person. 
‘‘(37) The term ‘straw purchaser’ means a person en-
gaged in a straw purchase. 
‘‘(38) The term ‘gun trafficking’ means the knowing 
acquisition, transfer, or attempted acquisition or transfer 
of a firearm for purposes of unlawful commerce by a li-
censed or unlicensed person.’’. 
SEC. 4. PENALTIES. 
Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(q)(1) With respect to each violation of subpara-
graph (A), (B), or (C) of section 923(m)(2), a person shall 
be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 18 
months, or both. 
‘‘(2) With respect to each violation of section 
923(m)(2)(D), a person shall be fined not more than 
$2,500, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 
‘‘(3) With respect to each violation of paragraph 
(1)(G) or (3)(B) of section 923(m), and with respect to 
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