How to get your C&R license.
It's actually pretty darn simple:
- Step 1: Go here.
- Step 2: Request F 7CR (5310.16) - Application for License (Collector of Curios and Relics) Under 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44, Firearms
- Step 3: Receive form, fill out, send back with payment.
- Step 4: Submit a copy (minus payment/payment info) to your local Chief of Police
- Step 5: Wait for C&R license to show up.
Things to do once you have your C&R.
First thing you'll want to do is to make a couple dozen copies of your C&R. DO NOT SIGN THE ORIGINAL. EVER. In fact, sign one copy (blue ink) and scan with the highest resolution scanner you can find, and then DO NOT SIGN any more copies. Scan another unsigned copy and save for future use. File away several unsigned copies, keep a copy or two in every gun case you have, heck, I even have a copy in my truck's console - just in case...
Now get a good Bound Book to record all of your acquisitions and dispositions - this one from Brownells is what I use. Anything that you purchase that is C&R eligible (either over 50 years old or on the C&R list) regardless of whether you use your C&R license to acquire the firearm, and must be recorded.
The next thing to do IMHO is to send a signed copy of your 03FFL to as many online retailers as you can think of:
MidwayUSA
Brownells
SOG
J&G Sales
AIMSurplus
Century
SAMCO
Both MidwayUSA and Brownells are kind enough to extend their dealer pricing to C&R holders. On more than one occasion, the discount on even a single item paid for the C&R license fee... Be sure to send a short letter introducing yourself as a C&R holder and include any other relevant information like shipping addresses, copies of state permits needed, etc.
Some tips on record-keeping.
Any firearm that is C&R eligible that you acquire or relinquish while you are the holder of an 03FFL must be recorded accordingly. Even if you did not use your C&R license to acquire said firearm, you still must record it in your bound book. If you own C&R eligible firearms before you get your license, they do not need to be recorded in your book unless you relieve yourself of these arms while holding the C&R license. IOW, the Mannlicher-Carcano I inherited from my grandfather is not currently recorded. If I decided tomorrow that I wanted to give it to my dad, I would have to record it as a disposition even though I owned it before the C&R license.
It is incumbent on you as an 03FFL to make sure that you properly record all C&R eligible firearms. There are many websites devoted to discerning the age of a given firearm via the serial number, but remember that these are not definitive nor legally binding - it's up to you. Erring on the side of caution would be recommended here - better to record the acquisition of a gun you think is only 49 years old based on an internet search than to find out the website was off by a year during an audit. The ATF gives the required format for recording transactions here - it's about halfway down the page, as shown here:
Firearms Acquisition and Disposition Record
| Description of firearm | Receipt | Disposition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer and/or Importer | Model | Serial No. | Type | Caliber or gauge | Date | Name and address or name and license No. | Date | Name | Address or license No. if licensee, or Form 4473 Serial No. if Forms 4473 filed numerically |
As always, I am not a lawyer, this is not to be considered legal advice, nothing is legally binding, etc. There's a lot of good things that come with having a C&R license, especially in the Volksrepublik of MA, and the discounts alone are worth the process IMHO. For me, the experience of having a semi-automatic handgun not on the Approved Firearms Roster {spit} delivered right to my door with the Attorney General being powerless to stop the transaction was reason enough for me to get the C&R license.
Hello, my name is Jay G., and I'm a cruffler.
That is all.
