26 U.S.C. § 5872
Section 5872 · Forfeitures
This is § 201 of the Gun Control Act of 1968
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 38 court decisions — leading case Lowther v. United States (1973)
Most recently applied in Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc. v. Merrick B. Garland (August 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Any firearm involved in any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture, and (except as provided in subsection (b)) all the provisions of internal revenue laws relating to searches, seizures, and forfeitures of unstamped articles are extended to and made to apply to the articles taxed under this chapter, and the persons to whom this chapter applies.
In the case of the forfeiture of any firearm by reason of a violation of this chapter, no notice of public sale shall be required; no such firearm shall be sold at a public sale; if such firearm is forfeited for a violation of this chapter and there is no remission or mitigation of forfeiture thereof, it shall be delivered by the Secretary to the Administrator of General Services, General Services Administration, who may order such firearm destroyed or may sell it to any State, or possession, or political subdivision thereof, or at the request of the Secretary, may authorize its retention for official use of the Treasury Department, or may transfer it without charge to any executive department or independent establishment of the Government for use by it.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in prior section 5862, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 729, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 90–618.
Amendments
1976—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–455 struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing.
Effective Date
Section effective on first day of first month following October 1968, see section 207(a) of Pub. L. 90–618, set out as a note under section 5801 of this title.
Cross References
Seizure and forfeiture of carriers transporting contraband articles, see section 80301 et seq. of Title 49, Transportation.