Info on FFL 7 for manufacturers

[scottnorthwest]

Any of you got an FFL 7? How hard was it?

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[Nosferatu]

Easy peasy.

 

[scottnorthwest]

Easy peasy.

Awesome, how long did it take?

 

[Nosferatu]

Awesome, how long did it take?

Couple months, IIRC. It was about 15 years ago.

Talk to your local ATF office. They are good at answering any questions and leading you through the process.

 

[scottnorthwest]

Couple months, IIRC. It was about 15 years ago.

Talk to your local ATF office. They are good at answering any questions and leading you through the process.

That was my next step, just wanted to see what I was in for.

 

[braaap_n_pew]

I had one for years but have decided to invest my time in my other businesses that allow me more personal flexibility and be less tied to established retail hours and have put the building I ran it out of up for sale (listed in the classifieds here ). It's not a hard process just time consuming and if I recall it was in the 2-3 month range from start to approved with my FFL in hand. The ATF Seattle office also offers new FFL's the option to come down to the field office and they give a course and Q & A for how things work and how you should be doing things so you don't get in trouble. I found them to be quite nice and reasonable people and if you give respect, then they will also give you the same in return but if you're a dick, then they can in fact be the bigger dick. I never once had an issue with them and they were super helpful any time I had any questions but other shops with different attitudes will have different stories. I STRONGLY suggest you look into the laws that come into effect in 2025 from HB2118 where you now need 24/7 security cameras that record audio, all firearms must be locked and secured, and you need a locked fireproof safe or vault (my building is a former Bank with a vault so this never mattered to me but it matters to a lot of people without this infrastructure in place) and making a home or a freshly moved in commercial space compliant has an average cost of $250,000-700,000 (from industry testimony that went against the bill) on top of the fact you will need to carry a $1,000,000 per incident liability policy for the business that can vary anywhere from $250 a year to $250 a month (depending on your credit, risk, ect.). FFL's for Washington are now being shifted to almost exclusively serious and committed businesses, not just side hustles or hobbies, so make sure your business plan is viable, profitable and contains proper risk management so you can easily succeed with your venture. Good luck!!!

 

[Jason200911]

I had one for years but have decided to invest my time in my other businesses that allow me more personal flexibility and be less tied to established retail hours and have put the building I ran it out of up for sale (listed in the classifieds here ). It's not a hard process just time consuming and if I recall it was in the 2-3 month range from start to approved with my FFL in hand. The ATF Seattle office also offers new FFL's the option to come down to the field office and they give a course and Q & A for how things work and how you should be doing things so you don't get in trouble. I found them to be quite nice and reasonable people and if you give respect, then they will also give you the same in return but if you're a dick, then they can in fact be the bigger dick. I never once had an issue with them and they were super helpful any time I had any questions but other shops with different attitudes will have different stories. I STRONGLY suggest you look into the laws that come into effect in 2025 from HB2118 where you now need 24/7 security cameras that record audio, all firearms must be locked and secured, and you need a locked fireproof safe or vault (my building is a former Bank with a vault so this never mattered to me but it matters to a lot of people without this infrastructure in place) and making a home or a freshly moved in commercial space compliant has an average cost of $250,000-700,000 (from industry testimony that went against the bill) on top of the fact you will need to carry a $1,000,000 per incident liability policy for the business that can vary anywhere from $250 a year to $250 a month (depending on your credit, risk, ect.). FFL's for Washington are now being shifted to almost exclusively serious and committed businesses, not just side hustles or hobbies, so make sure your business plan is viable, profitable and contains proper risk management so you can easily succeed with your venture. Good luck!!!

whats the point of going to their field office? don't they have to visit you regardless?

 

[braaap_n_pew]

whats the point of going to their field office? don't they have to visit you regardless?

The visit you receive is about your FFL application and they inspect the property to make sure everything is all good. They are not visiting you to give you a class on how to be legal, that's what going to the class at the Seattle office is for, if you don't know everything about doing business in the firearms industry and every wonky law Washington has and how to be legal and compliant for all of it.