How !uch Does It Cost To Register A Shotgun In California

When it comes to the process of applying for your Federal Firearms License (FFL), each state has its own unique set of rules and regulations that you lot must follow. Local zoning laws can cause some pasty problems in becoming a gun dealer.

California is notorious for having some of the strictest firearms regulations in America.

The mountain of regulations federal firearms licensees must complete in the sunshine land may scare many people away from their goal of becoming an FFL dealer or gun benefactor. They may fifty-fifty think that information technology is impossible to pursue licensing.

However, it is possible — getting your FFL in California doesn't have to be overly complex or challenging.

If you keep reading beneath, you will observe answers to many of your questions and the first steps you need to take to fulfill your dreams of being a licensed firearms dealer in the land of California.

In this article, we will embrace:

FFL Cost in California
Steps to Getting Your FFL in California
Federal Requirements for an FFL
California State Requirements for an FFL
California Local (City/Town) FFL Requirements
California FFL Summary
FAQ for California FFL Licensing
Extra Resources For Getting a California FFL

FFL Cost in California

How much does an FFL cost? An FFL in CA costs between $30-$200 for the first 3 years.

Depending on the FFL license type you choose, the awarding fee and renewal fee vary.

There are several FFL types that you will take to choose from on your FFL application. Each of these varies in price due to the various functions they allow the license holders to perform.

Most people get a Type 01 FFL license, which costs $200 for the application fee and $90 for renewal every 3 years. A Type 01 license allows yous to purchase and sell guns every bit a firearm dealer and/or be a gunsmith. This will likewise permit you to handle transfers, and charge fees for the service.

To make guns to sell, y'all demand a Type 07 FFL license. This manufacturer'southward FFL costs $150 for the showtime 3 years and for every three-year renewal.

FFL License Cost by Type

At that place are some other costs to be considered to getting a CA FFL. If y'all'd similar to learn more, check out our breakdown of the costs to become your FFL.

Steps to Getting Your FFL in California

Despite the boosted regulations that California imposes on the FFL process, the actual steps of applying for one are relatively uncomplicated.

To get your FFL in California, you demand to:

Ensure y'all meet the federal and state requirements for an FFL
Choose the right blazon of FFL for your needs
Have an FFL course
Submit your FFL awarding forms

Pace 1: Ensure You lot Run into the Federal and Country Requirements

Starting time, make certain that you meet all Federal and State requirements to apply for your FFL.

We discuss these requirements in item below.

Step two: Cull the Correct Type of FFL

Second, you'll cull the appropriate FFL license blazon .

Depending on the goals you lot take for your business, you volition need to make certain yous choose the blazon of license that will allow yous to operate within the confines of the police force.

The two virtually common types of FFLs are Type 01 (used by most firearms dealers/gunsmiths) followed by Blazon 07 (for firearm manufacturing). A Type 07 license allows yous to both manufacture and deal firearms.

To sell certain firearms and related items, you'll need to become a SOT (Special Occupational Taxpayer) after existence assigned your FFL number. This is based on the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), which was later updated in 1968 with Title Two of the Gun Control Act.

NFA items include:

Silencers
Full-automobile machine guns
Brusk-barreled rifles (rifles with a barrel shorter than 16″ or an overall length under 26″)
Brusk-barreled shotguns (shotguns with a butt shorter than xviii″ or an overall length nether 26″)
Destructive devices (grenades, mines, bombs, etc.)
Any other weapons (pen guns, certain special handguns, etc.)

The table beneath describes each FFL License type and which SOT Course you'll need to apply for after getting your FFL to sell firearms covered under the NFA.

We cover all the specifics of SOT classes and the NFA in our Get Your FFL Grade .

Step 3: Take an Online FFL Course

Next, we highly recommend you have an FFL grade.

The bodily process of getting your FFL license tin can be complicated. Sure, you can do it on your ain (I did).

But if you want to make sure that you set it up the right style and don't run into whatever troubles subsequently, the easiest way is to complete our FFL outset-upward guide.

Encouraging y'all to larn more isn't just a sales pitch for a form I created. I am a firearms chaser that specializes in ATF compliance. That ways I could make much more money letting people get their FFL the wrong way, and and so charge them my hourly rate afterward to fix it.

Instead, I designed this form equally a simple, painless mode to walk fellow firearms entrepreneurs through the procedure of getting their FFL the right fashion.

(Bonus: You'll likely brand the coin back that you pay for the form in your kickoff gun sale.)

If you lot plan to bargain in NFA items, such equally silencers or machine guns, get our combo pack. This not only walks you through how to become your FFL in CA, but also how to become a SOT to legally sell these more niche firearms and weapons accessories.

Footstep 4: Apply for Your FFL License in California

The last step is to actually submit your FFL application.

Once you have made certain you fulfill all federal/country requirements, take verified the license type you need, and understand the application process, you can "pull the trigger" and apply for your FFL!

The steps to this can exist challenging and may require multiple forms and extra steps depending on your location. However, if you completed our first-up guide, you'll take every item and admission to all the necessary forms to get your ain Federal Firearms License hassle-free.

Federal Requirements for an FFL

The first step to getting your FFL in California is to make sure you meet the Federal requirements for the license. These take to be met before even considering applying for an FFL in whatever country.

To become your FFL, the federal government requires that you:

Are at to the lowest degree 21 years sometime
Are a US Citizen or legal permanent resident
Are legally immune to possess firearms and ammunition
Have a predetermined location for conducting FFL activities (this includes dwelling-based FFLs )
Ensure your business organisation action at that location meets zoning requirements
Take not violated the Gun Control Act (GCA) or its regulations
Do non lie on your FFL application

To over-simplify information technology: You authorize for an FFL if yous're at least 21, lawfully allowed to possess firearms and ammunition, and intend to sell guns and/or ammo equally a business organisation.

Can you get an FFL without a business organization? No, yous cannot get an FFL without a business. You must intend to found a business to become an FFL. According to federal guidelines, you lot should not apply for an FFL only to save money on guns.

Withal, your business could just exist charging for an occasional private political party transfer or fifty-fifty receiving firearms shipped from another FFL for a firearm transfer.

[ 18 U.S.C. 923(d)(1) ; 27 CFR 478.47(b) ]

Once you satisfy all of these requirements, you can then move on to the state-specific requirements.

California State Requirements for an FFL

State requirements for an FFL in California can be broken down into 3 categories:

State licensing requirements
Business registration requirements
California Ammunition Vendor License (if you plan to sell ammo)

CA State Licensing Requirements

Co-ordinate to California penal lawmaking, the State Licensing Requirements are:

Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
A valid listing on the DOJ Centralized List of Firearm Dealers

Document of Eligibility

A California Certificate of Eligibility is a certification from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) that the recipient is not prohibited from acquiring or possessing firearms. The Certificate of Eligibility application process involves a criminal groundwork check by the CA DOJ.

To get a California COE, applicants must apply for the CoE online and register annually. Additionally, employees of the gun dealer must also have their own CoE.

The toll for the initial COE is $71, and CoE renewals are $22.

DOJ Centralized List of Firearm Dealers

Applicants for an FFL in California must also be listed on the CA DOJ Centralized List of Firearm Dealers. This allows CA FFLs to be listed when a shipping FFL uses the California Firearms Licensee Check (CFLC) system .

To be listed:

Make full out the Centralized List of Firearms Dealers Application
Submit it to the CA DOJ Bureau of Firearms

CA Business Registration Requirements

In addition to the FFL registration requirements in California above, there are likewise special business concern registration requirements that must exist followed. These include:

A license granted by the duly constituted licensing authority of any city, county, or urban center and county
A Land Board of Equalization Seller's Let

California FFLs must go a business concern license from their local municipality and a Country Board of Equalization Seller'south Permit.

FFLs tin can apply for their let online on the California Department of Revenue enhancement and Fee Administration arrangement . You tin learn more about obtaining a seller's permit on this CA Seller's Permit FAQ page .

Like any other state, you'll demand to register your business organisation with the Country of California.

If y'all annals your business in another state (we suggest this in our Get Your FFL form ), you'll still need to take an official presence in California.

Registering a business in California is, you guessed it, complicated. Thankfully, the California Secretary of State (SOS) has a registered California business concern guide .

California Ammunition Vendors License

Many gun dealers don't just conduct firearms in their store, but also sell ammo to become with them.

To sell ammunition in California, dealers must pass background checks are required and accept a valid Armament Vendor License.

To learn all most the additional California requirements for FFLs, meet the California Firearm and Ammunition Seller requirements .

Nosotros besides embrace each of these requirements in our course.

California Local (City/Boondocks) FFL Requirements

Zoning issues caused by local laws tin can be i of the biggest hang-ups for people applying for their FFL in California. You must ensure that the location you have chosen (most often a home-based FFL) allows for a concern.

Unfortunately, besides many people are told that they tin can't take an FFL in a residential area and requite upwardly. Very often, the restrictions on business in certain regions are due to a misunderstanding nigh business concern activity.

For example, zoning departments hear "FFL," and they assume heavy foot traffic and retail activities. However, most dwelling-based FFLs only occasionally take a customer stop past and aren't going to exist having retail-level traffic.

We comprehend this and more, including business concern hr requirements, in our Become Your FFL course .

California FFL Summary

As you can meet, with the right guidance, getting your California FFL is more achievable than many people believe (specially with all the California gun laws).

As long equally you use the resources we accept provided in this article, in addition to the information available to yous in our form, y'all should have no bug getting your FFL and condign a licensed dealer or manufacturer.

Simply note that fifty-fifty subsequently you get your ffl in California, at that place are more than things to pay attention to, like the California Handgun Roster and the DROS fee.

FAQ for California FFL Licensing

How much does it cost to get an FFL in California?

An FFL costs anywhere from $30 to $200 for 3 years. Here's a breakdown of all the costs associated with getting your FFL.

Do I need an FFL to sell guns in California?

Yep! According to California Law, you lot have to have an active FFL to be a legal firearms benefactor.

Does California crave extra licensing for FFLs?

Yes. In improver to having an active FFL, you are also required to:

Accept a Certificate of Eligibility
Be listed on the California DOJ Centralized Listing of Firearm Dealers
Require each of your employees to have their ain Document of Eligibility
Employ for a special license granted by the metropolis and/or town that your store will be located in
Learn a State Board of Equalization Seller's Permit.

Exercise I demand to register a business for an FFL in California?

Aye, when yous form a business organization for your FFL, it must be registered in the land of California.

How long does it take to go an FFL?

Co-ordinate to the ATF , it takes about lx days to get your FFL subsequently submitting your application.

Volition I be able to possess an assault weapon in california with an ffl?

Perhaps. The California assault weapons laws are strict, but most all of them have an exemption for federal firearm licensees.

Actress Resources For Getting a California FFL

Usa Lawmaking § 923 : This US code describes the federal regulations for importing, manufacturing, and dealing in firearms and ammunition. Code § 923 is the federal police force that requires everyone in the firearms business organisation to have an FFL.

Us CFR § 478.47 – Issuance of license. : Code CFR § 478.47 defines the process of issuing a Federal Firearms License, including who is responsible. It directs the ATF (Agency of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) on how to qualify applicants and effect Federal Firearms Licenses.

This code states that if a correctly submitted FFL application has been submitted on ATF Course seven, the Chief of the Federal Firearms Licensing Center (a department at the ATF) should issue the license and assign the licensee a serial number.

Gun Control Deed (GCA) : Passed in 1968 in response to three firearm-related assassinations, the GCA establishes stricter laws on the firearms industry. Specifically, it created new regulations regarding firearms offenses, firearms/ammunition sales to "prohibited persons," and federal jurisdiction over what it calls "destructive devices" (bombs, grenades, mines, etc.).

California FFL List : This database keeps a listing of current FFL dealers in the state of California.

Starting a Business organisation in California : This article from the State of California walks you through the circuitous laws of starting a business in the Golden State.

Certificate of Eligibility : This document outlines what the CoE in California is used for and why information technology is required.

Application for Centralized List of Firearms Dealers : You volition need to fill out this application to join California's Centralized Listing of Firearms Dealers.

FFL Types : At that place are several types of FFL'southward, depending on what you're going to be doing as a gun dealer. Use this guide to ensure that y'all cull the right kind of license for what you want to exercise.

Home-Based FFL : Don't want to pay for a storefront, merely instead want to operate as an FFL holder from your habitation? Check out this commodity with more details on how to do but that.

Ryan Cleckner is a former special operations sniper and current attorney specializing in firearms law/ATF compliance and is a firearms manufacture executive (former govt. relations director for NSSF, Vice President of Remington Outdoor Company, and a SAAMI voting board member).