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July 11, 2017

ATF Q&A: Firearms Transactions


I have an elderly customer who cannot leave his home. I have a gun in my store that he wants to buy. Can I go to his house, have the Form 4473 completed, call for a background check and deliver the gun to him, providing that all the background checks clear?

Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) are required to conduct business from their licensed business premises. The Form 4473 is intended for an over the counter transaction.  The buyer must appear in person at the FFL’s premises to complete the 4473.  Licensees may not conduct firearms transactions from locations other than their licensed premises, with the exception of gun shows or other events dedicated to the sporting use of firearms and held in the state where the FFL’s premises are located.  See the regulations, at 27 CFR 478.96(b), for a very specific and limited exception to the requirement for over-the-counter transfers.  That limited exception is rarely used.