What is an FFL?

An FFL is a Federal Firearms License typically held by gun stores, sporting goods stores, and pawnshops. A holder of an FFL is typically also referred to as an FFL, as “L” can abbreviate both “license” and “licensee”. FFLs are licensed to arrange your firearm transfer for you. A Federal Firearms License Transfer (also called an FFL Transfer) is necessary when a person wishes to purchase a firearm from an online retailer outside of the area they reside in or from a geographically inconvenient FFL holder. Our FFL is type 07: Manufacturer of firearms other than destructive devices, which also allows us to act as a dealer in firearms. We are also an SOT; Special Occupational Taxpayers are a group of federal firearm licensees in the United States who manufacture, import, and/or transfer NFA weapons. The National Firearms Act Special Occupational Taxpayer class is part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Take the stress out of the purchasing process and let the experts at Darmok Firearms assist you with your firearm transfers from licensed FFL dealers.

How do FFL Transfers Work?

Placing Your Order

1. Complete the purchase of a firearm and obtain your order number.
2. Visit our “Contact Us” page and select “I need your FFL for a purchase I made online”.
3. We will exchange FFL information with the original firearm dealer and the dealer will ship to us. In some cases, dealers may already have a copy of our FFL information and can begin the shipment process immediately. We are pre-registered with many online retailers already.
4. We will contact you when the firearm has been checked in by our receiving department and schedule a time for you to pick it up.

Completing the Transfer and Obtaining the Firearm:

1. You will need to complete ATF Form 4473 “Firearms Transaction Record“. This form will be filled out electronically during the transfer process; You do not need to print/prefill this form. You must also be the original purchaser; We do not process “gift” transfers.
2. After the ATF Form 4473 is completed, we will query the FBI NICS system to complete the requisite background check. We do not release firearms without a PROCEED on a background check.
3. The appropriate transfer fees are payable at the time of transfer.

Notes:

• We will require a valid form of government issued photo identification upon pick up of all firearm transfers. The identification MUST show the address at which you currently reside and the address MUST be in the state of Michigan. A Michigan driver’s license with your current address works well. In the event that your driver’s license does not have your correct address, or the government issued photo identification doesn’t have your address (in the case of a passport) you will need to supplement with additional government-issued documentation showing your address. Such additional documentation would include:
  • Property Tax Bill
  • Vehicle Registration
  • Voter Identification Card
• Only the person whose name is on the transferred item’s paperwork can legally pick up the firearm.
• We do not accept non-serialized firearms
• If you are transferring a pistol, please review the requirements in our FAQ section for the required CPL / License to Purchase documentation.
• Michigan State Police form RI-059 mandates that a trigger lock or portable gun safe is included with all transferred firearms. Without a trigger lock being present, we will not be able to complete the transfer to you. Many firearms we obtain include a trigger lock from the vendor, so this is typically not an issue. For firearms that do not include a trigger lock from the vendor, you may either:
  • Purchase a trigger lock from us, for each firearm being transferred, for $9.43 each ($10 inclusive of state taxes) OR
  • Bring your own trigger lock AND a copy of the purchase receipt for the trigger lock for each firearm you are transfering when completing the transfer.

For NFA Purchases:

If the firearm you purchased is regulated under the NFA, the appropriate NFA paperwork will need to be completed and approved by the ATF prior to transfer. You can complete this process yourself, or we can provide assistance in filing the appropriate records to the ATF.