Wisconsin initiated background
checks for handgun sales in 1978 by requiring federally licensed firearms dealers to comply
with a minimum 48-hour waiting period between the time of a handgun purchase and actual
transfer of the handgun. Background checks for handguns are conducted at the state level by
the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ). The state’s 48-hour waiting period applies only
to handguns, not to purchases of rifles or shotguns.
From the time the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-159)
was passed, until November 30, 1998, federal law generally required a 5-day waiting period
and criminal history background check before handgun purchases were completed. Wiscon*
sin was exempted from the longer federal waiting period because its background check and
48-hour waiting period laws were already in place.