r/VAGuns • u/WetFartSurvivor • 2d ago
Interstate Transfer question
If someone wants to gift me a handgun and they live out of state and cannot travel. Can i bring the gun to an FFL in Virginia and have the transfer completed without them present?
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u/edcrosbys 5h ago
Call FFL’s to see if they accept mail transfers from individuals with a copy of their id. That can save the shipping person some money.
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u/Lossofvelocity 2d ago
They have to ship it.
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u/Malex730 2d ago
Wrong and bad information. There’s no law or regulation that they have to ship it.
Yes, you can bring it to a Virginia FFL for transfer. Coordinate with the receiving/transferring FFL to see what they’d want or need; if it were me, a copy of the gifting party’s drivers license is it.
As a dealer on a state border, I have employees and friends drop off guns to out of state dealers with a copy of my FFL often. Some of those are firearms going to those individuals.
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u/jtf71 VCDL Member 2d ago
Neither party in the OP are FFLs or employees of an FFL. Your employees are clearly covered by your FFL, your friends would be considered "agents" (if not employees) as you're directing them to take the firearm to another FFL and you've provided a copy of your FFL.
In the OP case it would be the non-owner of a firearm taking the firearm across state lines and then asserting to the FFL that they have the authority to issue a transfer to themselves.
How does that FFL know the gun isn't stolen? How does that FFL know that the person with the firearm is legally authorized to transfer the firearm to himself? Even if OP presents a letter from the owner how does the FFL know that's actually from the owner? And if they call the owner, how do they know they're actually talking with the owner?
if it were me, a copy of the gifting party’s drivers license is it.
How do you know that the presented DL is the actual owner of the gun? Can you tell if it's a fake ID based on a photo copy/scan/photo of the DL?
Best case the FFL in VA refuses to do the transfer and sends OP away. Worst case, they suspect it's some illegal action and they notify local/state Police and OP has a really bad day - even if no charges are ultimately brought.
The law says the transfer has to be done in the state of residence of the recipient by an FFL. You are correct that the law doesn't say that it must be shipped. If the current owner could bring it to VA FFL then it would be fine. But since the owner can't do that the safest thing to do is have the owner ship it to the VA FFL.
Also, for consideration, if a prosecutor really wanted to make things bad for OP, that prosecutor could assert that the transfer was done the moment the gun was handed by the owner to OP as the intent was that the owner would never see the gun again. Then OP (and the owner) can both be in trouble for transferring a handgun in violation of the law.
Finally, OP didn't provide any information on the state of origin. There may be laws in the state of the current owner that add requirements to this process.
If OP and current owner want to be certain, then the owner should take the gun to an FFL in that state and have it shipped to an FFL in VA by the out-of-state FFL. That out-of-state FFL should, hopefully, know the laws of that state and they can help the owner make sure they comply with both state and federal laws.
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u/WetFartSurvivor 2d ago
Great response. Thank you for the information. Every FFL i called said they have to ship it from an FFL in their state
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u/jtf71 VCDL Member 2d ago
If that's what the FFLs here in VA are telling you then follow that to avoid issues.
Technically, the current owner can ship it to an FFL in VA by themselves but they can only use UPS/FedEx/DHL - not the US Mail. But some of those shippers will only accept the shipment from an FFL - but legally it only has to be going TO an FFL in VA.
I've heard of people using
But I've never tried to do so.
Another tip is to make sure the VA FFL knows that it's coming, that it's for you, and that they agree to accept it and process if for you. Also inquire about the cost as the cost can vary greatly and one FFL may be significantly less expensive than another.
If you add you're general area, someone in this Subreddit may be able to recommend a good FFL in your area.
AGAIN - let me stress that I'm talking about Federal law and, to some extent, VA law. There may be applicable laws in the current owners state and you/that person need to make sure that those laws are complied with as well. For this reason, it may just be best to have an FFL in that state ship it to the FFL you select in VA as while that may cost a bit more (the FFL in the other state is going to charge for the service) it will give you the most confidence that the process has fully complied with the laws of both states and Federal law. Saving a few bucks may not be worth it!
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u/Forged_Trunnion_ 2d ago
I thought gifts didn't require anything?
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u/jtf71 VCDL Member 2d ago
The issue here is that it's an interstate gift/transfer. Therefore it MUST go through an FFL in the recipients state (VA in this case).
If it was two VA residents, and it was a gift with no exchange of anything of value, then it can just be handed from one party to the other. But that doesn't apply to this situation.
There are some other exceptions for a bequest - but then the person owning the firearm has to die and the bequest has to be documented in a will.
3
u/stumped831 1d ago
do you already have it? it seems like extra hoops to jump through to get it transferred; maybe instead of a gift you’re just semi-permanently storing it for your friend, and performing function checks after routine and preventative maintenance whenever you’re carrying it or firing it?
anyway, i’m pretty sure you’d need some kind of “bill of sale” signed by the other party that lays out their intent to transfer the firearm to you as a gift (similar to the “receipt” that travels with a firearm you purchase online) if they can’t be there in person
and even then i think it would depend on the FFL if they’d be willing to incur the risk of doing an OOS transfer without the other party present based only on a BoS ¯_(ツ)_/¯