Question for the FFL's

[duggan]

A buddy of mine is going to sell a handgun to an FFL, presumably this firearm is going to be added to the FFL's inventory/being purchased to sell to the FFL's customer. What is needed for this transaction (the FFL told my buddy he didn't have to be present to do the paperwork, i.e. my buddy ships the handgun to the FFL after filling out the DROS worksheet). I don't think a guy with an FFL is going to do anything to jeopordize his freedom or livlihood by doing things under the radar, but I figured I'd ask the experts to give my buddy a little piece of mind. Thanks in advance.

[VCEnterprises]

The FFL doesn't need to do paperwork on the acquisition. They do in order to transfer it to a non-licensee, customer. It needs to be on the safe handgun list or transferred to the FFL's customer on a SSE.
Your friend needs not be concerned with how the FFL transfers it to his customer unless your friend is doing a PPT of the firearm to the recipient. This would not be the FFL selling to his customer though. Your friend would be selling it to the recipient and the FFL would only be facilitating the transfer.
The FFL may also have second hand dealer requirements to comply with. Again, not a concern for your friend.
I would ask for some sort of receipt of the transfer though so he can prove he was no longer in possession of it after the transfer date, if the need ever arises.

[kemasa]

The first thing is to ensure that the person has a valid FFL by using the BATF ezcheck web page.

Your message is a bit confusing since why would the seller fill out a DROS worksheet and then ship it to the FFL. The DROS worksheet would only be needed for a PPT, which both people have to go to the FFL. It might be that the handgun is not on the certified list, but that is not proper since the FFL is not actually looking at the person's ID.

A receipt would also be a good idea. There is a CA DOJ form that can be filled out saying that you no longer own a handgun as well.