I've been surfing a few dealer and auction sites and was wondering how this works. Do I order through a local FFL in my area?

All firearms are from FFL to FFL. If you find something, you have to go to a dealer and get a copy of his FFL to send to the other party.

1) Anything "person-to-person" across state lines must be received by an FFL, who will sign it over to you, following all rules pertaining to the transaction.

Contrary to popular belief, the sender does NOT have to send through an FFL, he can have FedEx pick it up directly from him and deliever it to an FFL. He must have an ink-signed copy of the recieving FFL's federal license in possession to ship, that's it.

I bought an AR15 about five years ago from a private party in Oregon, and a bolt gun through this forums classifieds from another private party in Georgia within the last year, so I know this is the law. The private parties shipped it, my FFL recieved it and then I finally got it.

Some dealers are "fuzzy" on the law and want to err on the side of caution/profit. It must not profitable to get clarified and lose the shipping-out business. I've been told wrong by two out of four here.

2) Any dealer you would buy from not in your state, or in adjacent, contiguous state, will have to ship it to an FFL who would then do the transfer to you. You can buy "in person" from a dealer in a state touching yours, but it cannot ship directly to you without an FFL face-to-face transfer.

Buying from a Private Party in state or out of state .

1.I go to my FFL guy pay him for the transfer/back ground check and get his fresh signed dated FFL licence copy

2.I send the FFL licence/money order to the seller, He ships it to the FFL guy , then I pick it up.


This last time my ffl guy tells me that the seller has to SEND the gun through a FFL guy with a copy of a FFL licence also.

So I ask him is this a new law that just pasted in the last couple months? No its been that way for years he says.

Well i have done several transfers through him and never had a sender get a ffl to ship.

So I dont know what the true law about shipping is...

Ive shipped guns to my gunsmiths , no proplem

How do you find out the real law? Im sure if I call some federal gun agency I will not get the real truth either.

GSP, what your FFL is doing is creating a paper trail for when stuff goes sour. When the ATF does an audit, he can positively identify where the gun came from, if asked. If it comes from "joe smith" in the mail, there is no way for him to be sure where the gun actually came from. My ffl works that way, for that reason.

For long guns, it's not legally required, but it's a way to ensure trackability. Given the ATF's propensity to crawl up dealer's behind with a microscope under certain circumstances, I can't blame them. JMO, Dutch.

Dutch,,, So are you saying that he is only trying to protect himself and a Sender is not breaking the law by shipping without a ffl, but must send to a recieving ffl.

That sounds what he is doing is making a paper trail to protect himself , but it isnt illegal for the sender.

I asked him (my ffl guy)about the sender needing a ffl to ship. He told me the sender would be breaking the law if he shipped with out a sending ffl. I think that statement is false.



Thanks Rick

BACK 40:



From the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms web site:



B3) May an unlicensed person obtain a firearm from an out-of-state source if the person arranges to obtain the firearm through a licensed dealer in the

purchaser's own state? [Back]





A person not licensed under the GCA and not prohibited from acquiring firearms may purchase a firearm from an out-of-state source and obtain the firearm if an arrangement is made with a licensed dealer in the purchaser's state of residence for the purchaser to obtain the firearm from the dealer. [18 U. S. C 922( a)( 3) and (5), 922( b)( 3), 27 CFR 178.29]





Additionally:



(B17) What recordkeeping procedures should be followed when two private individuals want to engage in a firearms transaction? [Back]



When a transaction takes place between private (unlicensed) persons who reside in the same State, the Gun Control Act (GCA) does not require any record keeping. As noted in FAQs B1 and B2, which are posted on this Web site in the "Firearms" section, a private person may sell a firearm to another private individual in his or her State of residence and, similarly, a private individual may buy a firearm from another private person who resides in the same State. It is not necessary for a Federal firearms licensee (FFL) to assist in the sale or transfer when the buyer and seller are "same-State" residents. Of course, the transferor/seller may not knowingly transfer a firearm to someone who falls within any of the categories of prohibited persons contained in the GCA. See 18 U.S. C. �� 922(g) and (n). However, as stated above, there are no GCA-required records to be completed by either party to the transfer.



For information about any State or local regulations that may govern this type of transaction, it is advisable to contact State Police units or the office of your State Attorney General.



Please note that if a private person wants to obtain a gun from a private person who resides in another State, the gun will have to be shipped to an FFL in the buyer's State. The FFL will be responsible for record keeping. See FAQ B3 (Firearms).



My experience and summary is this: Rifle must be shipped to an FFL for record purposes, but it does not have to be shipped by an FFL. There are a lot of FFL holders who do not or will not understand this. I make arrangements for my receiving FFL to mail a copy of his license to the seller and I mail my payment to the seller along with contact information and mailing info. The buyer ships the firearm to the FFL holder who does the paperwork, takes my $10 and gives me the firearm. My FFL holder usually wants some form of identification from the seller (copy of driver's license) for registration purposes.



Hope this helps.

I agree in that only the reciever needs to make arrangments with an FFL licence holder. the sender mearly needs to have recievers FFL in hand and place in the mail. These are the rules others change them because they want to be anal about rules. My gun club charges if i remember correctly 5$ for each transfer. Memembership is 50$ each year and you can do all the shooting you want, sounds like a good deal to me. This is also one of the good reasons why I have a C&R licence anything over 50 years old comes right to my door. I have also heard of the receiving FFL trying to collect sales tax, this to me is another misfunction, and the lack of paying sales tax is one of the big factors that makes internet sales feasable.

POP, I stand corrected. Everything here requires so much paperwork that I forget about the other parts of the country.