Agent?

[halifax]

Hypothetically speaking.

A good customer asks me for a copy of my FFL because the seller wants it sent with the payment. So, I give him one. He then proceeds to drive to AZ and tries to use my FFL to purchase a handgun and tells the AZ dealer he is acting as my "agent" and wants the dealer to give the firearm to him (not send it to me). Mind you this customer is a former FFL himself. My customer seems to think there is nothing illegal with this because when he was an FFL he did it all the time.

WTH?

[kemasa]

The BATF says to not give a copy of your FFL to a non-FFL. This is one of the reasons why. I also log who I send my FFL due to a trace that the BATF called about and who I had never dealt with.

Just say "no".

You could report it to the BATF, but they might ask why you gave him a copy.

[halifax]

The BATF says to not give a copy of your FFL to a non-FFL. This is one of the reasons why. I also log who I send my FFL due to a trace that the BATF called about and who I had never dealt with.

Just say "no".

You could report it to the BATF, but they might ask why you gave him a copy.

Copies of my (your) FFL are already out there and are out of my (your) control no matter who you gave them to in the first place.

My question is: Is this "agent" thing normal, legal, or "used to be common in the olden days but has since been banned?

[kemasa]

Copies are out there, but if the person is not a FFL, then there is more risk that they might do something which you do not like, as in your example.

You could have an agent, such as an employee, who you allow to make purchases. Unless the person's name is on the FFL, they should not be able to pick up a firearm. The term "agent" is a legal term, but I don't know that it has been banned or what limits there are with respect to FFLs. I suspect you would need to include a letter stating that the person is acting as your agent.

[halifax]

Copies are out there, but if the person is not a FFL, then there is more risk that they might do something which you do not like, as in your example.

You could have an agent, such as an employee, who you allow to make purchases. Unless the person's name is on the FFL, they should not be able to pick up a firearm. The term "agent" is a legal term, but I don't know that it has been banned or what limits there are with respect to FFLs. I suspect you would need to include a letter stating that the person is acting as your agent.

OK, that's a start kemasa. I had heard of this "agent" thing before but never really knew if it was for real or not.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

...He then proceeds to drive to AZ and tries to use my FFL to purchase a handgun and tells the AZ dealer he is acting as my "agent" and wants the dealer to give the firearm to him (not send it to me).

Is your good customer a common or contract carrier?

[USMG]

It is good practice not to release firearms to anyone with an out of state FFL and the firearms should be sent to the address on the FFL.

[kemasa]

The concept of an agent exists, but you would have to check with the BATF to see how it may apply to a FFL. In part, it would depends on how you are licensed. If your FFL is in the name of a corporation, then you may be an agent of the corporation in order to conduct business.

[JeffM]

Seems to me that any outgoing FFLs should be photocopies of an ink signed copy, NOT an actual signed copy and should be marked: FILE COPY ONLY.

[halifax]

Although no firearm was just handed to anyone; the notion by a former FFL that nothing was wrong or unusual about "agents" doing this was what I found interesting.

[SJgunguy24]

If someone were acting on your behalf legitimately as an "agent" wouldn't that person have a lifescan and have a COE listing the FFL for whom he is working for?
That is my understanding if someone were to buy guns out of his/her home state as an "agent" of an FFL.

[kemasa]

Sometimes people are amazing. In this case, I wonder if that the person was trying to get a firearm without you knowing about it. I have to question if he had managed to get a firearm if he would have had you transfer it. It is good that you were contacted by the AZ FFL about this.

In answer to your question about "agents", the correct term for FFLs is "responsible person". If you look at your FFL, you will see that term used above the area for the signature.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/how-to/become-an-ffl.html

Those are the only ones who can sign a FFL and who can therefore use a FFL in order to get a firearm.

This former FFL is completely off base. If that is really what he wanted to do, he should have told you. You made a serious mistaking in giving him the FFL, first without knowing who he was going to get the firearm from and second how he was going to try to get the firearm. This does not reduce his responsiblity in the matter and I suspect he could be charged with a crime since he was not a "responsible person" with respect to your business and since he was an unlicensed person, he is not allowed to receive a firearm from someone out of state.

Outgoing FFLs should only be directly sent to the FFL for who it is intended for. I also mark the copy that it is for a specific FFL. When I send it by email, I send it as an encrypted PDF with password being the receiver's information, so that others can not use it and if they other person gives it out it can be tracked back to that business.

While another FFL might commit an illegal act with your FFL, it is much less likely than a non-FFL.