[lastcast]

Greetings All:

Question? Does a person actually need to have a store/business to get an FFL?, or can you get it if you just occasionally work on others firearms? It would be beneficial to buy some weapons and ammo to have one.

THANKS in advance.

Lastcast,,Ranger Recon, Class of 67.

[danf_fl]

You know, I always found that going to the source helps:

ATF Online - Firearms - How To - Become An FFL

[c3shooter]

Good referal from Dan.

There are several different FFLs. Most folks mean 01 Dealer when they say FFL. To get an 01, you do not need a storefront, but you DO need "premises to be licensed". Those premises will have to be a place it is legal to have a business (zoning)- and you need a business license, etc.

You will not get an 01 FFL for personal use- you must intend to "engage in the business". However, an 03 Collector's License is very handy, covers guns 50 yrs old or older, and is not for business purposes. Most wholesalers and supply companies give discounts to 03 holders.

[FFLTrader]

I applied for my FFL as a gunsmith. I was approved and now I work on others firearms here and there, buy and sell stuff here and there, and run a gun related website. Great hobby / business!

[wjnfirearms]

When I decided to open a home based FFL, I was told that ATF wasn't allowing that anymore. They were quite wrong. That was in 2009. It still holds true now.

If you want to do a home based FFL, or for that matter, any place where you might wish to open a shop, first you MUST research your local ordinances. You may not be able to open one where you live or where you desire to open it. Also, there may be other restrictions that may make it impossible to do business even though having the FFL in your municipality is legal. For example, I personally know someone that opened a home based dealership in a northern suburb of Pittsburgh. He then found out after the fact that while it was legal to have such a business in his municipality, it was illegal to have an inventory of firearms there within the municipal boundaries. Talk about a charlie foxtrot.

Once you have the green light where you live or where you wish to set it up, do what was suggested and carefully learn all of the rules. They aren't a staggering amount and they aren't complicated, but you must have several things in place to even be considered for approval. Once you have all of what you need to have in place and your paperwork is properly filed along with your prints, you will be contacted by the local field office of ATF for an inspection. They will not approve or deny your request until this is done in person so long as the paperwork has an initial nod of approval, which is not all that uncommon from what I have been told. I had no problems myself, with the exception of my first fingerprint card being rejected by the FBI because they said it was unclear. This is why you HAVE to submit more than one card with your Form 7. The second one went through just fine.

You must also make yourself fluent in the laws of your particular state. These vary from state to state and will have an impact on your doing business.

I've related in detail what my experiences were for a couple of others desiring to get into the business. I'd be glad to do the same for you or anyone else on here.

[airborngrunt]

Same here. Got the go ahead from ATF but had to jump many road blocks where I live to work out of my house. Thought I was going nuts over the local issues from the county but just kept at it. Worst thing I had to do was inform everyone who lived two houses deep around me on what I was doing. Did not like that but you do what you have to do. Having fun with it now that I can do stuff. Like he says in the above post get your 03 & 01 FFL and you can get some deals. Have fun.