What is a Federal Firearms License?

ByManoj Bhatt

A federal firearms license is a United States regulatory law that allows a legal entity, such as a corporation or a partnership, to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms. A person needs to obtain one if they make sales of guns at wholesale or retail.

As a firearms dealer, you will buy guns from manufacturers or importers and then sell them to your customers. Such purchases can include weapons that you have manufactured yourself as well as those that other manufacturers have made. If you are a manufacturer of firearms, for example, a federal firearms license will allow you to make gun barrels and receivers using special machines that, depending on size and model, can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 each.

Types of Licenses:

There are nine categories under which one may obtain a federal firearms license. They are as follows:

  • Firearms dealers or collectors (includes pawnbrokers)
  • Importers of firearms or ammunition
  • Manufacturers of ammunition, except for destructive devices or armor piercing ammunition
  • Manufacturers or importers of destructive devices, grenades, and other concealable weapons with a barrel length under 16 inches. Firearms issued under this category also include any semi-automatic shotgun with either a chamber that holds 5+ cartridges or a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds.
  • Manufacturers or importers of destructive devices, including the following: bombs, grenades, mines and other similar devices which have been in use for military purposes; smokeless powder intended for sporting purposes; and black powder when stored in quantities not exceeding 50 lbs. per container.
  • Importers of destructive devices or ammunition for destructive devices
  • Manufacturers of safes, vaults and other security containers intended to be secure from burglary.
  • Importers of firearms, firearm barrels, machine guns and parts thereof. However, the importer must file their request at least 90 days before importation so that the BATF can make a “determination” that the firearms are appropriate for importation.
  • Importers of information, when restricted by other federal law or regulation, for use in relative physical protection

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