Out of state private handgun sale??

**2DogsBarking** · February 15th, 2024, 07:42 PM

Dumb question time - a co-worker, out of state in Illinois, has a few handguns for sale that i may buy. Can HE ship it directly to my PA-FFL for the paperwork, or must he go to the Illinois-FFL and ship only FFL-to-FFL?

**tl_3237** · February 15th, 2024, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by 2DogsBarking

Dumb question time - a co-worker, out of state in Illinois, has a few handguns for sale that i may buy. Can HE ship it directly to my PA-FFL for the paperwork, or must he go to the Illinois-FFL and ship only FFL-to-FFL?

There is no Federal law that prohibits the shipping directly to your PA-FFL from whom you take possession assuming your FFL agrees. However since almost all common carriers (FedEX, UPS, etc) changed their tariff a few years ago, with few exceptions, they will only transport between FFLs on both ends of the shipment effectively foreclosing that option.

**SevenMilePete** · February 15th, 2024, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by 2DogsBarking

Dumb question time - a co-worker, out of state in Illinois, has a few handguns for sale that i may buy. Can HE ship it directly to my PA-FFL for the paperwork, or must he go to the Illinois-FFL and ship only FFL-to-FFL?

Most if not all FFLs in PA will not accept or ship guns from or to anyone other than a manufacturer or FFL. Years ago, it was fairly common for a non FFL to ship a firearm to an FFL for a transfer. Not much anymore.

**esh21167** · February 16th, 2024, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by SevenMilePete

Most if not all FFLs in PA will not accept or ship guns from or to a manufacturer or FFL. Years ago, it was fairly common for a non FFL to ship a firearm to an FFL for a transfer. Not much anymore.

Did you perhaps mean exactly the opposite?

**JoshIronshaft** · February 16th, 2024, 09:18 AM

Ya, FFLs ship firearms to other FFLs all the time, I'm guessing that was a typo.

The simplest thing is to have the guy find a local-to-him FFL to ship to your FFL. And make sure you give your FFL a heads up as a courtesy.

**WCMG** · February 16th, 2024, 09:39 AM

Originally Posted by SevenMilePete

Most if not all FFLs in PA will not accept or ship guns from or to a manufacturer or FFL. Years ago, it was fairly common for a non FFL to ship a firearm to an FFL for a transfer. Not much anymore.

This always puzzled me why FFL's don't accept shipments from civilians. WTF do I care who shipped it as long as the required info is in the box, like a copy of the driver license. If the box doesn't contain that, then nobody is picking it up until I get it. Same for packages that arrive without a copy of their FFL license, no license, then nobody is picking it up. Just don't understand this hassle of forcing civilians to use an FFL to ship an item.

**Spaceballs** · February 16th, 2024, 11:38 AM

Slight variation on this....

What about a Maryland resident physically brining a handgun to a PA FFL to transfer to a PA resident

Is that kosher?

**JCinPA** · February 16th, 2024, 01:44 PM

Yes, that would be fine. Handgun laws just say that the buyer of a handgun has to do it at an FFL is his/her state of residence. A Maryland seller can bring the gun to a PA FFL, present driver*s license and process the sale. The seller need not be a resident of the same state, it just has to happen in the state of residence of the buyer, not the seller. In other words the PA resident could not go to Maryland and have a Maryland FFL process it. But what you describe is fine.