A quick search in your forum revealed no answer, so I need to ask here. Forgive me if this has been covered before.

I hold an FFL and sold a firearm to an Illinois resident. The resident already picked up the firearm from his local dealer. The firearm needs to be sent back to me for a replacement. Federal law allows me to send another firearm directly to him regardless of the different serial number. Does the State of Illinois preclude him from receiving it directly, or must the replacement go through an FFL?

If it's not the same serial, then it's not the same firearm, and as such an FFL has to be involved.

The KAC stripped lower fiasco says different. People sent in their damage / out of spec stripped lowers & customers were sent replacement Lowers with diffenetent serial numbers. New replacement Lowers were all shipped back to buyers , home address.

This issue just became interesting..

Over the past 40 years, I've seen this issue come up on a few occasions.  When a manufacturer sent a replacement firearm after determining the original firearm could not be repaired under warranty, the new firearm (new serial number) was shipped to an Illinois FFL.  

If you want clarification, you might contact the Illinois State Police Firearm Services Bureau at 217-782-7980.

ATF has a branch in Fairview Heights, IL.  They will know the answer.

Thanks for the replies.

FFL.  I bought a Ruger 22 pistol, front sight was drilled way out of alignment, sent it back to Ruger, they called and said it could not be repaired, pick out another pistol.

The replacement had to be shipped to my FFL, period.