I’ve made it through all the paperwork hurtles and now I’m down to my final inspection, FFL 07. I have an appointment with the ATF inspector to come out and do the on-site inspection/interview next week. What should I expect during this? I asked the question of the inspector and I was told I would not need to provide anything because they had everything they needed already.   That we would be going over paperwork, procedures and security.

That is all they did on my first inspection, paperwork, procedures and security, nothing more, nothing less.  It is a pretty painless visit.

Do they issue your license to you at the end of that visit? Or is it something you receive weeks later in the mail? I forgot to ask that question when I was on the phone with them this morning.

I just had mine last week.  He was there 3.5 hours.  Went over all the regs, how to make entries in the bound book, 4473's, any questions I had, you name it.  No physical inspection.  Pretty easy thing really.  I looked up my number on FFL EZcheck and it's already approved.  He said I should get the license and packet in 2-4 weeks.

Later in the mail.

The First "inspection" is more of compliance education. My IOI just went over laws and ATF regulations and how to not F-up, lHe'll go over when to do what forms and when. He went down a check list and went over everything. I recall a few security plan questions which I exceeded. CA laws are much tougher.

When I was getting my license I remember someone saying the ATF doesn't even care if you have a front door on your house or shop as long a you have an approved way of securing everything.

This is how mine was too. Four hour discussion at my shop about regs and best practices, I was on EZ-Check right away, and got my license almost exactly two weeks later.

There is no requirement to have a front door, a safe, an alarm system or security of any type.  And there is no such thing as "an approved way of securing everything".
The "safe storage requirement" that an applicant certifies to abide by, is about gun locks or other safe storage devices being available for handgun sales/transfers.

No ATF regulation prohibits a licensee from storing his inventory in a cardboard box in the backyard if he chose to do so.

Things went very smooth today. And barring some sort of hiccup within the government computer system I'm expecting my license in the mail in the next 2 to 3 weeks. How did you guys look your license up on the ez system without having the number issued to you?

Well, you can't.
If ATF hasn't issued you an FFL you won't have a number until then.
ONCE you have the number you can look it up.

I had my inspection the 31st and got the license in the mail today.  My IOI emailed me a copy of my application prior to the interview and had me make a change and email it back to him.  The number was on the front of the app.

Other than the last segment that I obtained during my interview, I was able to determine and confirm mine (via FFL eZCheck) before I received the actual license in the mail by using a little trial and error and referring to existing FFL licensees in my area.

An FFL number is made up of six segments:  X-XX-XXX-XX-XX-XXXXX

You can determine the first four segments based on where you are and what type of FFL you will have.  
The fifth segment is the only one you don't know 100% for sure, but you can easily try a couple of different "months" and get it right.  
You can get the last (sixth) segment from your IOI (I got mine during the interview, as it was all over his screen and paperwork).

If you're impatient and can't wait for your license to arrive via USPS, read on.  It won't change the fact that you can't do anything without your actual license, but I digress.

To help you figure out what yours will be, I suggest you look up the FFL number for another licensee (same license type) in your immediate geographic area.  To do this, grab the small list of FFLs by State for your state from https://www.atf.gov/firearms/listing-federal-firearms-licensees and find one in your two or area.  Pick one that's near you and write it down, referring to it as you continue to read this.

The first segment of an FFL number is a single digit that represents which of the seven regions of the country your FFL is located.  The seven regions are:

1. Southeast
3. Midwest
4. Central
5. Southwest
6. North Atlantic
8.Mid Atlantic
9. Western

The second segment is a two-digit number that represents the IRS district where the FFL is located.  Again, reference the FFL number for another FFL dealer in your area.  Mine is 38, and that's the same as an FFL just down the road from me.

The third segment is a three-digit number that represents the FIPS code where your FFL is located.  FIPS is an acronym for Federal Information Processing Standards. Again, reference the FFL number from a licensee who is close by.  Mine is 093.

The fourth segment is a two-digit number that represents the FFL license type.  I'm an 01 licensee (Dealer or Gunsmith of Title 1 firearms), so mine is 01.  If you are and 07 (Manufacturer/Dealer of Title 1 firearms), yours will be 07.  It will match whichever one of the nine current FFL license types you applied for.

The fifth segment is important, especially when you are checking on another FFL's license.  This two character value  indicates when a license will expire. The first character is a digit that represents the YEAR that it will expire.  If it's a 9, it will expire in 2019.  A zero would be 2020.  A 3 would be 2023.  FFLs are only good for three years, so you should never be confused about which DECADE a licenses expires. The second second character is a letter that represents the MONTH (of the above year) that the license will expire. A is JAN, B is Feb, C is March.  The only letter that is skipped is I, so SEP is J instead of I, OCT is K, etc. So if your license will expire in FEB of 2021, your fifth segment would be B1.  If it will expire in AUG of 2023, it would be H3.

The sixth segment is a five digit number assigned to your FFL not long after they receive your application.  I got mine from the IOI during my interview.

Once you are able to piece together what you think your FFL number will be, you can use the FFL eZCheck system to "check" if it's valid.  Mine started showing up on the eZCheck just about a week before I received it in the mail.

I would "Like" this if I could!

I had a longer wait... but was able to find out the day it was issued because I downloaded the list daily from the eZCheck website.

Inspection was on 11-12-19 and my FFL was posted marked 11-15-19. That’s pretty fancy turn around time for .Gov.

I have heard from others that when they come out to do the "inspection" they already have your number... some have gotten their number at the end of the inspection.
I do know that my IOI had to write up a report and forward it to his superior in the regional office and once they approved it would be mailed. I assume that if the IOI is in one of the regional offices, or even would be the supervisor, the approval would be pretty much instant at the conclusion of that meeting.

The going rate here is $50 minimum, and thats what I charge. I would charge less if I could, but my time/work put in to reviewing and state compliance doesn't make it worth less. My State and local Licensing, is at least triple each year compared to the 3 year FFL fee.

I'm a one man/home based FFL and most guys will actually save money by buying guns directly from me. I typically mark up new guns only to be competitive with online retailers or other local shops and chains. I'm not "hurting" if I don't sell a gun, either way I usually make $50.

CA charges a $25 background check and they make the dealer collect sales tax if it comes from a FFL. If it comes from an individual I have to have proof it's a "infrequent" sale or interfamily transfer.

That being said, So far this year my 4473' are about 2" high. My CA forms are about 13". I have allot of state compliance to deal with, I end up reviewing everything 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything.

My IOI might say "fix this" but my CA inspector will crush me.

Awesome write up!

Also... if you click the little FFL Download link near the top right and then enter any valid FFL, you'll get a TXT document containing all currently valid FFL data. So if yours is valid it will be there. Just search by FFL name or trade name. (Ctrl+F)

It has phone numbers buried in there too.

The only FFLs not in that constantly-updated file are Type 03 (Collectors of Curios and Relics) and Type 06 (Manufacturer of Ammunition) licenses.
A few websites populate their FFL search pages using that data file.

Here are the other code lists for IRS district offices: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0101103015#b

and FIPS locations (counties): https://www.census.gov/prod/techdoc/cbp/cbp95/st-cnty.pdf
(or as text): https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/info/maps/census/fips/fips.txt