March 2006 FFL NEWSLETTER
Q. How should a dealer record the sale of a
personal firearm that has never been
entered into his or her bound book, or
that has been in his or her personal
firearms collection for less than a year?
A. If the transaction does not comply with all
of the conditions set forth in section
478.125a, the firearm must be sold through
the dealer’s business inventory, subject to
the requirements for an ATF Form 4473 and
a background check under the Brady law.
For example, if a dealer decides to
immediately sell a personal firearm that he
or she acquired prior to obtaining his or her
license, but which was never entered in his
or her records, he or she must record the
acquisition of the firearm in his or her
bound book and sell the firearm subject to
the same requirements applicable to the
sale of any firearm from his or her business
inventory. Similarly, if a dealer wishes to
immediately sell a firearm that was
transferred from the business inventory into
the personal collection less than a year
earlier, the firearm should be transferred
back into the business inventory, and sold
subject to the requirements for an ATF Form
4473 and a background check under the
Brady law.

March 2006 FFL NEWSLETTER

Q. Do these recordkeeping requirements
apply to the sale of personal firearms?
A. Under certain circumstances, a licensed
dealer is exempt from the requirements to
complete an ATF Form 4473 and to initiate
a background check under the Brady law
when selling a firearm from his or her
personal firearms collection. 18 U.S.C.
923(c) and 27 CFR 478.125a. Transfers of
personal firearms are exempt from these
requirements only if the following
conditions are met:

-First, the licensee must have recorded
in the bound book the acquisition of
the firearm.

-Second, the licensee must have
recorded in the bound book, as a
disposition, the transfer of the firearm
from the business inventory to the
personal firearms collection or other
acquisition of the personal firearm.

-Third, the licensee must have maintained
the firearm as part of his or her personal
firearms collection for 1 year from the
date the firearm was transferred to the
personal collection, as shown in the
bound book.

-Finally, the licensee must record the
transfer in his or her disposition records
of personal firearms, in the format set
forth in the regulations. This means that
the licensee must record, from his or her
personal collection, specified identifying
information about the firearm; the date
of the sale or other disposition; and the
name, address, and date of birth of the
transferee (or, if the transferee is a
licensee, the name and business address
of the transferee). In addition, the
licensee shall cause any unlicensed
transferee to be identified in any manner
customarily used in commercial
transactions (e.g., a driver’s license).