FFL3 and COE Eligibility

[Hinnerk]

Are there any things in a person's background that would preclude them from obtaining a FFL3 or COE and yet not prevent them from passing a background check for firearm purchase?

[SkyHawk]

If you ever had a FFL revoked, that would probably be a thing.

[Hinnerk]

How about arrests that went to arraignment but which the DA later decided to drop?

[SkyHawk]

How about arrests that went to arraignment but which the DA later decided to drop?

It could very likely hold up the FFL. I have seen this happen. Even with a COE and a hundred guns purchased in recent years, if there is no final disposition on your federal record, ATF will mail you a letter saying that a felony arrest on your federal NCIC or NLETS record appears without a disposition. It will list the date of the arrest, the charge, and the arresting agency.

ATF will request that YOU provide court documents to indicate the final disposition, on official court letterhead. You will have 45 days to mail the documents they request, or your FFL application will be considered abandoned and the fee refunded.

[Don the savage]

You can have an issue with a misdemeanor arrest if the result isnt posted properly also.

[Hinnerk]

It could very likely hold up the FFL. I have seen this happen. Even with a COE and a hundred guns purchased in recent years, if there is no final disposition on your federal record, ATF will mail you a letter saying that a felony arrest on your federal NCIC or NLETS record appears without a disposition. It will list the date of the arrest, the charge, and the arresting agency.

ATF will request that YOU provide court documents to indicate the final disposition, on official court letterhead. You will have 45 days to mail the documents they request, or your FFL application will be considered abandoned and the fee refunded.

I had one such incident quite a few years ago that has never come up in any DROS checks or resulted in any other adverse circumstances except for one time shortly thereafter I was pulled aside and detained for a while upon reentry to the U.S. (even though I was traveling on official red passport). Subsequent foreign travel went off without incident.

After charges were dropped in that case, I filed a BOF 119 (or whatever it was at that time) and got a letter from the CA DOJ to recover my firearms that were temporarily detained. I also have the dismissal paperwork from the court.

So, no worries, I guess. I was just wondering whether there were different rules that might apply.