How long for removing gun serial number

| by Max Soni

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We’ve got over 40 years of combined experience handling federal firearm cases, including cases that made national headlines. If you’ve seen the Netflix series about Anna Delvey, you know Todd Spodek doesn’t back down from complicated legal battles. We’ve also handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case and defended clients in the Alec Baldwin stalking matter. When you’re facing federal gun charges – especially something like possession of a firearm with a removed serial number – you need attorneys who’ve been in federal court, many, many times.

The statute is 18 USC 922(k). Maximum penalty? Five years in federal prison. But that’s not the number that matters – actual sentences depend on your criminal history, whether you’re facing other charges, and how the sentencing guidelines calculate your offense level. Most people don’t get the statutory maximum. Some walk out of federal court with probation. Others face serious prison time when serial number charges stack with felon-in-possession or drug trafficking counts.

Federal prosecutors don’t typically charge serial number removal by itself. You get arrested with a gun that’s got the numbers filed off, they’re looking at everything else – are you a prohibited person, were you selling guns without a license, did they find drugs or cash that suggests trafficking. The serial number violation becomes one charge in a multi-count indictment. That’s when the guidelines start adding up and prison time gets real.

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines Control Your Actual Sentence

Statutory maximum is one thing. What the judge actually imposes is calculated through the federal sentencing guidelines. Under USSG Section 2K2.1, firearm offenses start with a base offense level. If you’re charged under 922(k) for the serial number violation, there’s a base level for that. But most cases involve multiple charges.

The guidelines add a 4-level enhancement if any firearm had an altered or obliterated serial number and you’re facing other gun charges. Four levels can mean years of additional prison time, depending on where you land on the sentencing table. Your criminal history category matters too – someone with no prior record sits in Category I, someone with felony convictions might be in Category III or higher. Same offense level, different criminal history, completely different sentencing range.

A first-time offender with a base offense level of 14 and acceptance of responsibility reductions might face 12-18 months. That same offense level with a Category IV criminal history? You’re looking at 27-33 months. The guidelines aren’t mandatory after United States v. Booker, judges can vary from them, but they’re the starting point for every federal sentencing hearing.

Criminal history includes old state convictions, even misdemeanors if they resulted in jail time. Probation violations. Prior federal sentences. It all gets counted. We challenge the presentence report, remove criminal history points, argue for downward variances, identify calculation errors probation officers missed.

Constitutional Challenges Are Creating Uncertainty in 2025

In October 2022, a federal judge in West Virginia struck down 18 USC 922(k) as unconstitutional in United States v. Price. The reasoning? In 1791, firearms didn’t have serial numbers. The Second Amendment protects your right to possess firearms, serial numbers weren’t required or commonly used back then, so criminalizing possession of a gun without a serial number doesn’t fit within historical tradition. The same judge upheld the felon-in-possession ban but said 922(k) goes too far.

That decision got appealed to the Fourth Circuit. As of 2025, most federal courts are still enforcing 922(k) – but defense attorneys are raising this constitutional challenge in cases across the country. The law is on the books, prosecutors are still charging it, but there’s real legal uncertainty about whether it survives post-Bruen scrutiny.

What does that mean for your case? There are arguments to make. Your attorney should be filing motions to dismiss on Second Amendment grounds if you’re in a circuit where this hasn’t been resolved. Even if denied, you’re preserving the issue for appeal. Gun law is shifting fast after Bruen.

When Serial Number Charges Stack With Other Federal Crimes

You don’t get indicted just for filing off a serial number. Federal prosecutors bundle charges. Possession of a firearm with obliterated serial number plus felon in possession – that’s 922(g)(1) and 922(k) together. Now you’re facing 10 years statutory maximum on the felon count, 5 years on the serial number count, and sentencing enhancements that push your guidelines range into territory where people serve significant time.

Add a drug trafficking charge and things get worse. If you possessed that gun during a drug crime, 18 USC 924(c) kicks in – that’s a mandatory minimum 5 years, consecutive to whatever you get on the drug charge. Mandatory means the judge has no discretion, you’re doing that time. And if the serial number was obliterated, prosecutors will argue you were trying to evade tracing, which suggests consciousness of guilt, which makes the jury less sympathetic.

Straw purchasing cases often involve serial number issues. You buy a firearm legally, transfer it to a prohibited person, they file the numbers off. ATF traces the gun back to you. Now you’re facing conspiracy charges, false statements on ATF Form 4473, maybe unlicensed dealer charges if you did this multiple times.

Cooperation matters in federal gun cases. If you’re a low-level player in a trafficking operation, providing substantial assistance – identifying suppliers, testifying against organizers – can result in a 5K1.1 motion that reduces your sentence below the guidelines. We’ve had clients facing 5-7 years walk out with time served because they cooperated. The serial number charge disappears into a global plea deal.

What Actually Happens in Federal Court

Most federal gun cases resolve through plea agreements. Trials are risky – conviction rates in federal court exceed 90%, juries tend to trust ATF agents and federal prosecutors. If the evidence is strong, your attorney should be negotiating the best possible plea. That might mean pleading to the serial number count and dismissing the felon-in-possession charge. Or pleading to one gun and getting three others dismissed. Or cooperation that results in a massive sentencing reduction.

First-time offenders with no other criminal charges might get probation. We’ve seen judges vary downward when there’s no indication of trafficking or violent crime – someone inherited a gun with the serial number removed years ago, didn’t know it was filed off. That’s sympathetic. Acceptance of responsibility, strong family ties, steady employment, no prior record – these factors matter.

Career criminals face different outcomes. Multiple prior felonies, armed career criminal enhancements, refusal to accept responsibility – you’re looking at the top end of the guidelines or higher. Someone with three prior violent felonies caught with multiple guns with obliterated serial numbers during a drug buy is going to federal prison for years.

At Spodek Law Group, we handle these cases from investigation through sentencing. We challenge stops and searches. We file motions to suppress evidence obtained without probable cause. We argue for minimal guidelines calculations and variances based on individual circumstances. When cooperation is an option, we negotiate agreements that protect our clients. Federal gun charges are serious, prison time is real, but outcomes vary dramatically based on your case details and defense quality.