Out of state handgun transfer

[cptpowder]

Good evening,

My brother who is in the US Army (Ft Carson, Colorado) is deploying back to Iraq in about 2 weeks. Driving down to see him for his send off, but need to transfer a 1911 handgun that he purchased for me for Christmas (there are worse gifts once can receive). As I understand, we need to mail the handgun through an FFL in Colorado to an FFL near the Bay Area and then I accept the firearm from the local FFL here. I cannot transfer the handgun from my brother to myself with an FFL in Colorado.

So, to accept the firearm from a local FFL as a permanent US resident I need to demonstrate proof of residency (CA drivers license I have). This is the real problem - I am house sitting in my parents house (they currently live in Europe). I have been doing this since November, passing the three month requirement. However all the utilities are still in my parents name. I don't own the property, so that's out. I have a Wachovia bank account, but that won't be useful as I understand to prove residency. The car is not registered under my name. All that I can really do is submit a residential lease agreement which would state that I'm paying $0/month on a month-by-month basis signed by one of my parents as the landlord. Would that be accepted by an FFL here?

The fees for the entire affair as I understand would be the DROS (max $35) to receive the firearm and shipping from Colorado?

I imagine it would be best to get my HSC before I initiate this process. I'd be happy to drop by/meet an FFL anytime on Thursday to get the ball rolling if you think you can provide clarity to this entire process.

If you have any questions ask away whether in this thread or by PM!

[paul0660]

You need an HSC to start the process (I think), certainly to finish it after 10 days. The gun does not have to be shipped from an FFL, but some FFLs will not receive one otherwise. The receiving FFL can charge whatever he wants for his service.......that low price you mention is for face to face transfers between individuals.

Your residential lease agreement IS a proof of residency.......I suggest picking another number than 0 per month however, just for grins.

[ke6guj]

Is the handgun on the roster? If not, your FFL will not be able to transfer the handgun to you.

[cptpowder]

@paul0660, thank you for the run down. I'm feeling much more confident to actually call up an FFL to move ahead (once I get my HSC tomorrow).

@ke6guj, As I recall it is on the roster when he first told me about it in December and I checked. I will follow-up though (better be able to be specific when O talk directly with an FFL).

Thank you for running me through this and I'm looking forward to being a proud Californian gun owner!

[paul0660]

good save on the roster ke6guj. Thank you.

Powder, by all means call the FFL and get squared away. If he does not seem amenable, there may be others who can help you.

There is also the possibility of an intrafamilial transfer if your mom or dad is alive, but it is more complicated than your current plan.

[ke6guj]

The fees for the entire affair as I understand would be the DROS (max $35) to receive the firearm and shipping from Colorado?

OK, I missed this the first time. No, the fees would not be $35 max + what ever shipping is from CO.

The $35 max fee that you are thinking only applies to PPT transfers, which CADOJ defines as a transfer between two CA-residents, who both go to the same FFL to do the transfer. A transfer with an out-of-state seller, or a shipped in handgun is not a PPT. As such, they can charge any fee they wish + the $25 DROS.

So, you are looking at $25DROS + $25-125 transfer fee from your FFL + $25HSC + shipping from CO ($50-75 from UPS/Fedex). Might even need a handgun safety lock as well. You need to confirm if your FFL will accept a shipment from a private party. Not all will. Some require any shipments come from other FFLs, which will mean that you have to pay an FFL in CO to ship it, and you would need to find a CO FFL that is willing to sign up with the CFLC program to get an approval to ship it. ON the plus side, the CO FFL can mail it instead of ship it, so your $50-75 shipping costs may be down to $15-25 + FFL shipping fee.