Unsplash Iowans are no longer required to get a permit to purchase or carry a handgun under a new state law. Iowans are no longer required to get a permit to purchase or carry a handgun after changes to the state's gun laws took effect Thursday. Those who want to purchase a handgun from a federally licensed gun seller without a permit will still have to get a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Iowans no longer need a permit or a background check to buy a handgun in a private sale. Sellers can be charged with a felony if they give a gun to someone they “know or reasonably should know” is prohibited from having a gun.