A lot of people are curious about the firearms industry and want to get involved. Why? But, because it is a very profitable business. Can an individual or a company be directly involved in this business of trading/manufacturing guns and ammunition? The answer is yes but you need to acquire a license (Federal Firearms License). Here’s how to get started as a licensed/legal firearms wholesaler.
In most countries, someone who wants to legally sell guns, needs to hold a license that will allow him/her to engage in certain activities (buying guns as a dealer and sell them to potential customers).
First you need to fill a Federal Firearms License application. Find the department or administration that is responsible for the firearms licensing system. In the USA the authority is called Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. They will provide you with an application form to fill. After filling the form you must choose the type of license you want to acquire (there are more than one license types). If your application is approved your Federal Firearms License will be valid for a limited period of time (e.g. 3 years). After that, you need to renew it.
What are the requirements for obtaining a federal firearms license?
In most cases you need to follow strict rules and fulfill requirements in order to acquire your Federal Firearms License. And here are some of them:
* You need to be at least 23 years old or older (depends on the country/state)
* You must not be prohibited from holding/trading guns or ammunition for any reason
* Your federal records must be clean
* You are bound to provide all information required by the licensing administration
* You are allowed to legally engage in business in the country/state you reside
* Your premise for conducting business must follow all local or state laws
* You must notify your local police chief of your business and inform him/her of the address and other details of your premise. In some cases you need to acquire a written permission from the police chief in order to obtain the federal firearms license
* Your premise for conducting business should have all required storage and safety devices for your firearms. You must make sure your guns will not be available to persons who are not licensees.
How about application fees?
Different fees apply for different countries. Also different fees apply for different types of firearms licenses. In the USA the standard application fees for Non-Destructive devices start from 30$ and reach 200$ (depends if you want a collector, dealer, importer, pawnbroker or manufacturer license). The standard fees for Destructive devices start from $2500 (or a bit more). Remember that you have to re-pay those fees when you renew your federal firearms license.
The cheapest license (around $30) is for those who want to be collectors of non-destructive devices or manufacturers of ammunition.
The Federal Firearms License is the most important part of your business as a licensed firearms dealer. Once you got that, everything else is up to you.
