Like any other items, the federal firearm licenses (FFL) have their fair share of myths that include:
The ATF can Inspect Your Home at Any Time
This is probably the most common myth. It stems from the fact that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is allowed to interview and inspect your home or business premises when giving you the FFL.
You should note that while the ATF is allowed to inspect your home, it’s allowed only one warrantless annual inspection, and even then, they often call, and you agree on the most appropriate time to do it.
If the ATF has to inspect your home for any reason within the year, they have to get a warrant, and obviously, the warrant has to be tied to criminal activity.
Now that is out of the way, you can rest easy knowing that you don’t lose the 4th amendment just because you got a gun business, and the ATF can’t raid your home anytime.
Unless you are running guns like a biker gang, your home and guns are safe, and you have nothing to worry about.
You Have to Have a Retail Storefront to Get an FFL
Since the license is given to people in the gun business, many people believe that you can only get the license if you have a retail storefront. Unfortunately, this is further from the truth.
You will legally be given a license even if you are running the business at home. In fact, most of the FFLs in the country are currently home-based, so if you are thinking about doing the business from your home, you can go ahead and apply for the license.
You should remember that the ATF authorities will visit your home to inspect and determine whether it’s safe for gun storage, so you need to have a designated area for the guns. To be even more attractive, have a gun safe.
You Have to Sell a Certain Number of Guns to Retain Your FFL
You must have heard that if you don’t sell a certain number of guns a year, you will lose your license, but this isn’t true. The only thing you have to do is to show that you have a business intent. This means you are acquiring and selling guns at a profit.
It doesn’t matter the number of guns you are selling. As long as you have acquired and sold a gun at a profit, you are good to go.
You Can’t Use FFL to Buy Your Own Guns
The ATF is strict that you should only get the license to buy guns for business purposes, but this doesn’t mean you can’t use the license to buy your own guns—you only need to be wise about how you go about it.
You should buy the gun from the dealers, then after logging it in your book, dispose of it to yourself. If you wish to sell the gun, later on, log it in and sell it like any other gun. As simple as that.
While it’s possible to use the FFL for yourself, you should avoid overdoing it as the ATF staff will catch on to it and withdraw your license. For example, don’t transfer too many guns to yourself or obvious family members and friends.
Parting shot
These aren’t the only FFL myths available. There are plenty of others you can find at https://paymentcloudinc.com/blog/ffl-license/