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C&R
License (03 FFL)
A few
facts answered:
What is a
C&R firearm? and what is a a C&R License?
How to get a
C&R License?
Bound
book and how do you use it
Buying
C&R firearms
Selling C&R Firearms
BATF
Inspections?
Everything
you want to know about C&R is here (just about) on the BATF’s
website
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/curios-relics.html
Some
of it is hard to understand and some is straight forward. So we will
quote the BATF where possible and elaborate after.
FAQ from BATF
https://www.atf.gov/faq-page/306
What is a
C&R firearm? and what is a a C&R License?
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/curios-relics.html#definition
“Firearm
curios or relics include firearms which have special value to
collectors because they possess some qualities not ordinarily
associated with firearms intended for sporting use or as offensive or
defensive weapons. To be recognized as curios or relics, firearms must
fall within one of the following categories:
1.
Have been manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date, but
not including replicas thereof; or
2.
Be certified by the curator of a municipal, State, or Federal museum
which exhibits firearms to be curios or relics of museum interest; or
3.
Derive a substantial part of their monetary value from the fact that
they are novel, rare, bizarre, or from the fact of their association
with some
historical figure, period, or
event.”
C&R
firearm for the most part are 50 years or older firearms and firearms
that are deemed "of interest" to museums. Firearms that were made in
1898 or before are know ans "antiques" and have a different set of
rules. So C&R really deals in that area between antiques and
more modern firearms. Mostly, C&R are ex military firearms
known as Mil surplus, but they also include any fire arms that was for
civilian use of the same age group. This license if for the collector,
not for the sale of firearms. You may sell (periodically) firearms to
make room for other firearms in your collections, but you may not under
any circumstances use it to buy firearms for others. That requires a
01FFL license.
Advantages
of having a C&R,
1)
You don't have to go through a 01FFL and pay their costs nor endure the
waiting periods
2)
You buy direct from the seller
3)
The firearm is sent directly to your house (no middle man)
4)
Some dealers (mostly online) give discounts to a FFL holder on their
other products
Disadvantages
of having a C&R,
1)
You have to log in any C&R purchase in to a
"bound book" even if you don't use the
C&R license to buy the firearm (more later)
2)
If you sell a C&R while holding a
C&R license, you must log it out of your bound book, even if it
was bought before you got a license. (more later)
3)
You must endure (and this is the big one) and inspection of
your C&R firearms collection and bound book
if the BATF decides to do this.(more later)
Those
are the main reasons, but many others can be found.
How
to get a C&R License?
"Submit
ATF F 5310.16 (Form 7CR), Application for License (Collector of Curios
or Relics), with the appropriate fee in accordance with the
instructions on the form. These forms may be obtained from the Firearms
and Explosives Licensing Center in Atlanta, Georgia, your local ATF
office, or downloaded from ATF’s Internet site (www.atf.gov).
[27 CFR 478.41(c)]"
It's easy really, but there are a few requirements you must meet first
1)
You have to be at least 21 years old
2)
You are not prohibited from owning firearms or ammunition by any State
or Federal laws
3)
Not in violation of the Gun Control Act and provide true and
accurate information on the application.
4)
You must also disclose the location of the premises where you will
store your collection.
5)
You must agree to follow all Federal, State and Local Laws. A
C&R FFL does not allow you to disregard State or Local laws.
Things
to do to get the license.
1)
Fill out the BATF form ATF F 5310.16 (Form 7CR) and you can download it
here
https://www.atf.gov/sites/default/files/assets/Library/Forms/Firearms/atf-f-5310-16.pdf
2)
Send in the form to BATF (with the $30 fee) and a copy to your CLEO
(Chief Law Enforcement Officer). In a city that would be a Chief of
police and in the rural areas it would be your Sheriff. They do not
need to do anything and they do not approve or deny you a license, that
is the job of the BATF. Their forums is just a requirement of the BATF
to let them know it is being applied for. Most CLEO's will not even
know what to do with it or you will hear nothing from them. I
have heard of them calling the applicant and asking what they are
supposed to do with it. Politely tell them it is just informational and
they don't need to anything, and they can do what they will
with it (including file it, or toss it).
Now
you wait! (don't ask how long because one person will get it
back in 3 weeks and another 3 months)
When it
comes this is very important! Do not sign
it!
The
original should remain unsigned. You should make copies of it and those
can be signed when they are needed. Sometime people or companies
require a "signed copy", and sometime they require it in blue ink so
the rest is in black. Sometime they will except a fax copy of it
signed, sometime an attachment to an email is OK. All of these forms
are OK to the BATF. But never sign the original and use it, or your
without a license and a way of making copies.
Now
you are ready to make a C&R purchase. Many dealers love for you
to send them a signed copy of your license. If you are going to make a
lot of purchases, I guess that might be a good deal. Me, I just send
them to who I'm dealing with.
Within
a few days after receiving your license, You will also receive a packet
of papers that are all the rules that come with having a C&R
license. You should read it, but it is pretty straight forward.
Bound
book and how do you use it
The
paperwork that you are required to keep is minimal. A "bound book" is
required. So, what is "bound". It used to be a book where the pages are
bound into a book format, but now the BATF has loosened that to include
a "binder" type book. This book is almost as important to you as it is
to the BATF, and the format is not written in stone, but there are a
few things that should
be in it.
1)
Manufacturer/importer
2)
Model
3)
Year of the Receiver
4)
Action type
5)
Caliber
6)
Date received
7)
Name and address and/or FFL number of the person or company that you
purchased the gun from
They
are available on the internet and doing a search for C&R Bound
Book will bring up a lot of information and sellers.
Here
are a few:
http://fflboundbook.com/preprintedfflboundbooks.html
$7.50
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT107430/it.A/id.557/.f?sc=23&category=349 Hard bound $30 This
is what I started with, but expensive these days
Make
your own!
Print
out these pages, and put them in a 3 ring binder.
Bound_Book_1 (PDF Format)
Bound_Book_2
(xls (word document)
Bound_Book 3
(PDF Format)
Bound_Book_4
(PDF Format)
Buying
C&R firearms
You
only need to enter C&R purchases made after
you receive your license, nothing from before.
When
you receive a firearm into your collection you must log it into your
book within three days.
If
you sell a firearm you have to fill out similar information about the
person who is receiving the firearm, no background checks and no Form
4473 is required. You should obtain a photocopy of their Drivers
License or FFL.
When
and if you decide to quit collecting firearms and decide not to renew
your 03 FFL you are NOT required to turn in any of your documentation
to the BATF. It may be discarded, but I'd keep it for you own sake for
later.
Selling
C&R Firearms
This
type of FFL license is for collecting firearms, not for "dealing" in
firearms. You can occasional sell firearm to make room and funds for
other firearms into your collection, but it does not allow you to make
a business out of it.
"A collector’s license only enables the collector to transport, ship,
receive, and acquire curios and relics in interstate or foreign
commerce, and to make disposition of curios and relics in interstate or
foreign commerce, to any other licensee, for the period stated on the
license. A collector’s license does not authorize the collector to
engage in a business required to be licensed under the Act. Therefore,
if the acquisitions and dispositions of curios and relics by a
collector brings the collector within the definition of a manufacturer,
importer, or dealer, he shall qualify as such. A dealer’s license must
be obtained to engage in the business of dealing in any firearms,
including curios or relics."[18
U.S.C. 922(a)
and 923(a)(1), 27
CFR 478.41(c)(d)]
The
term “engaged in the business,” as applicable to a firearms dealer, is
defined as a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing
in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal
objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and
resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes
occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the
enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all
or part of his personal collection of firearms. [27
CFR 478.11]
In
short, you are not licensed to buy and sell firearms as a business on a
regular basis. You are allowed to buy and sell firearms to improve your
collections. The selling part is where the BATF get a little concerned.
But as long as you are not doing it on a regular basis, you should be
OK.
OK,
you want examples that maybe look bad to the BATF......
1)
You buy a Mosin rifle and turn around the next day and sell it to your
neighbor or a friend or a relative.
Maybe not illegal,
but that will raise their eyebrows. Buying and selling a gun fast like
that is suspicious.
You may be called to
provide an explanation if you are ever audited later. This is called a
"Strawman" purchase.
2)
You buy a "crate of Mosins" and sell all of them off except one or two.
That will raise their eyebrows. (Again, not necessarily illegal)
3)
Buying and selling the same rifles on a regular basis will defiantly
get their attention.
It's
a collectors license, If you want to deal in firearms, get a 01FFL
license.
BATF
Inspections?
If
you didn't know about this part, I'll bet it got your attention...right?
Yes,
if you hold this license, the BATF has the right to inspect your
firearms (C&R one's purchased under the current license only)
and your bound book once a year. This inspection may take place in your
home or in their office. This is not a common thing and is fairly rare,
but it does happen from time to time. You can play hard nose with them
if you like and refuse entry into your home, but they can require you
to bring every C&R under your license and the book into their
office, and you must comply. If you do not, well, I've never been that
stupid to go there.
Most
inspections go very easy and without any problems at all. The one's
where they have came into the home, the people restrict the access to
the C&R rifle area and it is done in quick order. I have only
seen one issue and all that was asked of the person was to correct the
issue in his book. For the most part, the agents are used to inspecting
01FFL's and sometimes get confused with the rules and what are required
of a 03FFL and a 01FFL. Things like, they didn't have their license
posted on the wall or of that nature. That is not required of a 03FFL,
but is of a 01FFL.
For
the most part, it's easy, IF it ever happens. But it is something to
consider and understand.
So is
it worth it? Yes if you are going to buy more than a "few" C&R
firearms. In the end, If you decide you are done with the license, you
can send it back to the BATF and do what you will with your bound book
and you are free of the BATF.
Follow the rules, and you will have no troubles.
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