I am planning on getting an ffl out of my house. What steps should I take and what should I expect? I realize there are companies offering a guarantee to be approved but I do not really see the need to spend the extra money. Also is there any requirements for a number of transfers or sales and is there any extra steps to add to your personal collection? Final question what exactly is a bound book? Thanks in advance.
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FFL in TN
- Thread starter OldSoul
- Start date
Fishing_Cabin
New member
Since you havent said what, if anything you have done so far...The general guide I typed up for the first steps you should take:
1. Speak with your local zoning folks to ensure that a home based business is legal in your area. If possible, try to get it in writing. If it is not legal:
a) Ask to see about a possible zoning variance, or waiver.
b) If going with a variance or waiver, you need to know, and abide by the restrictions, if any are placed upon you.
c) Ask and find out what other businesses may be operating from a home near you to see how they are in compliance, so that information may help you.
2. Contact your local office, generally a city/town/county tax office that deals with, or issues the business privledge licenses. Since you will probably need a business license for a retail businss to be legal in some areas, find out for sure, what is applicable to you, and what you need to do to obtain a business license. You may need to take a document from zoning to let the tax office know you are in compliance with the zoning regulations since you are doing a home based business.
3. Since retail sales are subject to sales tax in some areas, you need to also speak with your state dept of revenue to see about setting up a retail sales and use tax account with your state, so you can collect, and turn in sales tax.
4. When steps 1-3 above are done, and you are sure you want to proceed, you can then fill out, and send in to the ATF a complete license application for a class 01 FFL. You will need the FFL application, a compliance certification, and a set of finger print cards from the ATF. You can either get them through the ATF website, or you can contact your local field office and they should be able to provide them to you as well. You will also need a passport photo to go with the application.
5. While your application is being processed, you will need to go over steps 1-3 once again, and get the paperwork in order for sure. Why? In most places a few weeks before you get your FFL an ATF inspector will arrange to set up a meeting with you to go over the regulations, and ensure you are in compliance locally as well. The ATF inspector may go by your local town/city/county offices as well, to ensure you are in compliance with the business license, sales tax requirement, and any other restrictions that may be. You want to go through and triple check to make sure everything is good to go when the ATF inspector arrives, and be able to provide any documention that may be needed.
6. After your inspection, if all goes well in 2-3 weeks your license should arrive by mail. The ATF inspector that visited you should have left you a handful of copies of the 4473 form, as well as other forms for you to start with. You can now order extras from the ATF, and the inspector will have gone over this part as well.
7. Since you are in compliance with the local, state, and now have your FFL, you can now start to do business.
There is no number of transfers or sales. The ATF inspector will look for activity with your license when you come up for renewal. The FFL is a license to do business in selling firearms, and not for personnal collecting, so if you have all of the transfers to yourself, you may be asked about it politely.
To add a firearm to your personal collection, if you are set up for the business as a sole proprioter, is to transfer the firearm from your bound book, to your personnal collection. Since you are a sole proprietor, you will more then likely be required to keep a bound book for the business which will list the firearms in inventory, and you will keep a second personnal collection bound book to document your personal firearms that you own. You will record the transfer to your personnal collection in both bound books. Why? So it shows you are transfering the firearm to yourself, an have the documentation to prove it with.
The bound book is the Firearm Acquisition and Disposition Record Book. This the book you record all of the incoming firearms that you receive, and also you must document the disposition such as when you transfer/sale a firearm to another.
1. Speak with your local zoning folks to ensure that a home based business is legal in your area. If possible, try to get it in writing. If it is not legal:
a) Ask to see about a possible zoning variance, or waiver.
b) If going with a variance or waiver, you need to know, and abide by the restrictions, if any are placed upon you.
c) Ask and find out what other businesses may be operating from a home near you to see how they are in compliance, so that information may help you.
2. Contact your local office, generally a city/town/county tax office that deals with, or issues the business privledge licenses. Since you will probably need a business license for a retail businss to be legal in some areas, find out for sure, what is applicable to you, and what you need to do to obtain a business license. You may need to take a document from zoning to let the tax office know you are in compliance with the zoning regulations since you are doing a home based business.
3. Since retail sales are subject to sales tax in some areas, you need to also speak with your state dept of revenue to see about setting up a retail sales and use tax account with your state, so you can collect, and turn in sales tax.
4. When steps 1-3 above are done, and you are sure you want to proceed, you can then fill out, and send in to the ATF a complete license application for a class 01 FFL. You will need the FFL application, a compliance certification, and a set of finger print cards from the ATF. You can either get them through the ATF website, or you can contact your local field office and they should be able to provide them to you as well. You will also need a passport photo to go with the application.
5. While your application is being processed, you will need to go over steps 1-3 once again, and get the paperwork in order for sure. Why? In most places a few weeks before you get your FFL an ATF inspector will arrange to set up a meeting with you to go over the regulations, and ensure you are in compliance locally as well. The ATF inspector may go by your local town/city/county offices as well, to ensure you are in compliance with the business license, sales tax requirement, and any other restrictions that may be. You want to go through and triple check to make sure everything is good to go when the ATF inspector arrives, and be able to provide any documention that may be needed.
6. After your inspection, if all goes well in 2-3 weeks your license should arrive by mail. The ATF inspector that visited you should have left you a handful of copies of the 4473 form, as well as other forms for you to start with. You can now order extras from the ATF, and the inspector will have gone over this part as well.
7. Since you are in compliance with the local, state, and now have your FFL, you can now start to do business.
Also is there any requirements for a number of transfers or sales and is there any extra steps to add to your personal collection? Final question what exactly is a bound book?
There is no number of transfers or sales. The ATF inspector will look for activity with your license when you come up for renewal. The FFL is a license to do business in selling firearms, and not for personnal collecting, so if you have all of the transfers to yourself, you may be asked about it politely.
To add a firearm to your personal collection, if you are set up for the business as a sole proprioter, is to transfer the firearm from your bound book, to your personnal collection. Since you are a sole proprietor, you will more then likely be required to keep a bound book for the business which will list the firearms in inventory, and you will keep a second personnal collection bound book to document your personal firearms that you own. You will record the transfer to your personnal collection in both bound books. Why? So it shows you are transfering the firearm to yourself, an have the documentation to prove it with.
The bound book is the Firearm Acquisition and Disposition Record Book. This the book you record all of the incoming firearms that you receive, and also you must document the disposition such as when you transfer/sale a firearm to another.
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My daughter just set up a home based buisness. In our zonning she can conduct buisness at home but cannot have any walk in buisness. This will vary a lot with where you live, but if you want people to be able to your home buy to buy guns make sure your buisness permit allows it.
OldSoul- I recommend you go to the ATF website and download the application form and instructions. Those will answer a lot of your questions.
There is a section detailing all owners/partners/responsible persons for the business. I am not sure of this means each person is listed on the actual license though. Maybe someone can elaborate.
One more question is there anyway to list anyone else under one license? Like a friend or family member.
There is a section detailing all owners/partners/responsible persons for the business. I am not sure of this means each person is listed on the actual license though. Maybe someone can elaborate.
Fishing_Cabin
New member
Old Soul,
I would make the suggestion that if you want to list more then one person on the FFL application, that you consider setting up the FFL as possibly an LLC, or something similar. There are different trains of thought on this. While I am by no means an expert on corporate law, the LLC may/can offer a slight shield for the main person responsible if the second in command makes a gross mistake. Its worth talking to your local lawyer, or tax advisor on how this may help or not in your individual case if you decide to have more then yourself involved with the FFL. Just mentioning it to be on the better safe then sorry later side.
Also, if you do set up the FFL under an LLC, if you transfer a firearm from the LLC to your personnal collection, you would transfer it as a regular sale, with a 4473, NICS, etc, then you would log it in to your personnal collection documentation. Just an fyi since you asked about transfering to your self earlier.
I would make the suggestion that if you want to list more then one person on the FFL application, that you consider setting up the FFL as possibly an LLC, or something similar. There are different trains of thought on this. While I am by no means an expert on corporate law, the LLC may/can offer a slight shield for the main person responsible if the second in command makes a gross mistake. Its worth talking to your local lawyer, or tax advisor on how this may help or not in your individual case if you decide to have more then yourself involved with the FFL. Just mentioning it to be on the better safe then sorry later side.
Also, if you do set up the FFL under an LLC, if you transfer a firearm from the LLC to your personnal collection, you would transfer it as a regular sale, with a 4473, NICS, etc, then you would log it in to your personnal collection documentation. Just an fyi since you asked about transfering to your self earlier.