Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.

[WishIWasFlying]

What I use to think:
A stripped lower receiver was shipped to an FFL on my behalf and I would declare it to be a long gun or pistol (or perhaps other.)
I did this a few years ago when I assembled my first M4-gery. At transfer/PICS/NICS time I was asked and declared it to be a long gun.

Why I am asking:
A few days ago I had two Aero Precision stripped lowers shipped to a local FFL. My plan was to build one as an AR Pistol and one as a rifle. As they were filling out their paperwork, I explained that I wanted to build one out as a pistol and one as a long gun. The gentleman told me it "didn't matter." I asked if he was writing them up as 'other' and he did not answer that question directly but said it was "nothing until I built it." That "it is just a receiver." I had this same conversation with another gentleman behind the counter a few minutes later. He said much the same thing. None of the paperwork I left the shop with has any indication of their status.

As I ReallyReally(tm) don't want to run afoul of any laws, what is the status of these. Should I assume they were filed as 'other?' I know it's really important that a pistol is only a pistol, never has a stock, and that a long gun can never have a barrel shorter than sixteen inches. Do I just declare them to be what they are to myself? Record their state somewhere in my own documents that I can reproduce at a later date?

What do I need to know to proceed legally and safely?

Thanks,...

[JDA58]

short answer---They are right with the info they gave you...
someone will be along soon with the long answer

[Xringshooter]

Here's the long answer:

A virgin stripped lower receiver is an "Other". It IS NOT a pistol nor is it a long arm. It is an Other until you put an upper w/ a barrel on it. It DOES NOT MATTER how it comes in - it can come in complete with a rifle buttstock or a pistol buffer already attached, it is still an OTHER until you attach the upper with a barrel and then it becomes a rifle or a pistol or an SBR (after you get the tax stamp). The PSP tried a number of years ago to make FFLs fill out the SP4-113 (Application/Record of Sale) like you would a handgun/SBR/SBS and threatened FFLs who would not do this. Well, they got their peepees severely whacked by the BATFE and they actually printed a retraction in the bulletins we used to get.

So, if you go to a FFL and they try to make you do the SP4-113, you can either read them the riot act or tell them to send it to an FFL who knows the law.

A virgin stripped lower IS NOT A PISTOL OR A RIFLE. Now, that said, if you bought an AR pistol, complete upon receipt, it is a pistol would be transferred as such with all the accompanying paperwork and if you stripped everything off and sold the receiver, legally it would transfer as a pistol (however, who would know unless you told someone or did the transfer at the same place that transferred the pistol to you and they remembered - I am not in any way advocating breaking the law, just being realistic about it.)

[Rosco the Iroc]

Here's the long answer:

A virgin stripped lower receiver is an "Other". It IS NOT a pistol nor is it a long arm. It is an Other until you put an upper w/ a barrel on it. It DOES NOT MATTER how it comes in - it can come in complete with a rifle buttstock or a pistol buffer already attached, it is still an OTHER until you attach the upper with a barrel and then it becomes a rifle or a pistol or an SBR (after you get the tax stamp). The PSP tried a number of years ago to make FFLs fill out the SP4-113 (Application/Record of Sale) like you would a handgun/SBR/SBS and threatened FFLs who would not do this. Well, they got their peepees severely whacked by the BATFE and they actually printed a retraction in the bulletins we used to get.

So, if you go to a FFL and they try to make you do the SP4-113, you can either read them the riot act or tell them to send it to an FFL who knows the law.

A virgin stripped lower IS NOT A PISTOL OR A RIFLE. Now, that said, if you bought an AR pistol, complete upon receipt, it is a pistol would be transferred as such with all the accompanying paperwork and if you stripped everything off and sold the receiver, legally it would transfer as a pistol (however, who would know unless you told someone or did the transfer at the same place that transferred the pistol to you and they remembered - I am not in any way advocating breaking the law, just being realistic about it.)

^
I second that.

[RenoV8]

So, how do you go about buying a lower receiver that was never registered as a rifle, if you intend to build it as a pistol? I have the upper looking to mate with a lower. Can a lower that was once registered as a rifle be reregistered to become a pistol?

[knight0334]

So, how do you go about buying a lower receiver that was never registered as a rifle, if you intend to build it as a pistol? I have the upper looking to mate with a lower. Can a lower that was once registered as a rifle be reregistered to become a pistol?

When you buy virgin receivers they are only supposed to be transferred as "Other" because they are neither a handgun or long gun. No SP4-113 should be filled out - period. PA's definition of a "firearm" requires a barrel length as part of the equation - if it doesn't have a barrel it cannot be a PA defined "firearm" for the purposes of a Record of Sale. (probably some gray area for dedicated handgun receivers like a 1911, Glock, etc since 99.99999% of those receivers are for a "firearm")

Once you build one as a rifle, it is a rifle for life. If you build one as a "firearm", any subsequent transfers of that handgun requires a SP4-113 so long as that handgun meets the PA definition of a firearm.

You can turn a handgun into a long gun(26"+ OAL + 16"+ rifled barrel with shoulder stock), and back again. But you cannot convert a long gun into a handgun without an NFA stamp.

[RenoV8]

When you buy virgin receivers they are only supposed to be transferred as "Other" because they are neither a handgun or long gun. No SP4-113 should be filled out - period. PA's definition of a "firearm" requires a barrel length as part of the equation - if it doesn't have a barrel it cannot be a PA defined "firearm" for the purposes of a Record of Sale. (probably some gray area for dedicated handgun receivers like a 1911, Glock, etc since 99.99999% of those receivers are for a "firearm")

Once you build one as a rifle, it is a rifle for life. If you build one as a "firearm", any subsequent transfers of that handgun requires a SP4-113 so long as that handgun meets the PA definition of a firearm.

You can turn a handgun into a long gun(26"+ OAL + 16"+ rifled barrel with shoulder stock), and back again. But you cannot convert a long gun into a handgun without an NFA stamp.

Appreciate the insight on the virgin receivers being registered as "other". Once the receiver has been registered as other, how would I go about building it into a AR pistol. I have a 10.5 " upper and would use a stabilizer brace, in lieu of, a stock. Does the build need to be registered as a handgun?

[knight0334]

Appreciate the insight on the virgin receivers being registered as "other". Once the receiver has been registered as other, how would I go about building it into a AR pistol. I have a 10.5 " upper and would use a stabilizer brace, in lieu of, a stock. Does the build need to be registered as a handgun?

You assemble it..

There is no registration. Not on federal or state levels. You don't need to do a thing other than assemble the gun.

If you build a "firearm" and decide to sell it later in that configuration - it would then require a SP4-113 during the transfer.

[Sgt.K]

Does the build need to be registered as a handgun?

Uh oh...

<finding safe space>

[JDA58]

Appreciate the insight on the virgin receivers being registered as "other". Once the receiver has been registered as other, how would I go about building it into a AR pistol. I have a 10.5 " upper and would use a stabilizer brace, in lieu of, a stock. Does the build need to be registered as a handgun?

No.. Not unless you sell it to someone as a pistol.. then it would need to be transferred at an FFL like any other pistol you would sell