How an FFL transfer works in New York
Every firearm bought online in New York goes through a licensed dealer. Nothing is mailed to your house. This is what actually happens between the moment you pay and the moment you walk out with the gun.
1. You order, and you name the dealer
At checkout there is a box for your FFL dealer: the shop's name and address. That is where we send the firearm. If you already use a range or a gun shop, use them - most accept transfers, and many will tell you their fee on the phone in under a minute. If you leave the box empty, we find a licensed dealer near you and set it up for free.
Ammunition, optics, magazines and parts are not part of this. They ship to your own address wherever local rules allow, and they usually arrive before the firearm does.
2. We ship it sealed, and the dealer signs for it
The firearm leaves with the paperwork that licence-to-licence shipping requires, and the receiving dealer logs it into their books the day it lands. They will call or email you once it is in. Ground shipping inside New York is normally two to five business days after the order leaves.
3. You go in with ID and fill in the form
Bring a government photo ID with your current address. You fill in ATF Form 4473 at the counter - name, address, a page of yes-or-no questions - and the dealer runs the background check. For long guns, most people are cleared while they wait. If the system delays a check, the dealer will tell you what happens next.
4. Handguns: the pistol licence comes first
New York does not let a dealer hand you a handgun without a pistol licence, and in most counties the handgun must be added to that licence before you can take it. You can order ahead of time, but the pistol will sit in the dealer's safe until your paperwork is finished, so most people apply first and shop second. Licences are issued at county level, and New York City runs its own process with its own timeline.
5. What it costs at the other end
We do not charge for arranging the transfer. The receiving dealer charges their own fee for the work they do - typically $25 to $75 in New York, sometimes more in the city, sometimes less upstate for a regular customer. Ask when you call them. Some dealers also charge a small storage fee if a firearm waits weeks for a licence.
What can and cannot be transferred
New York limits certain configurations, and New York City, Nassau and Suffolk add their own rules on top of the state's. In practice that means some rifles and some magazines that are ordinary elsewhere cannot go to an address in those areas. We check your order against its destination before it ships. If an item cannot legally be transferred where you live, we tell you, refund that item the same day, and send the rest.
The two mistakes we see most
The first is ordering a handgun before the pistol licence is in hand. The gun arrives, the dealer cannot release it, and it waits. The second is naming a dealer who does not take transfers, or who has closed. One phone call before you order prevents both.
Short version
Order here, tell us your dealer, wait a few days, walk in with your ID, fill in one form, pay the dealer their fee, and leave with it. If anything about your order looks like it will not clear where you live, you will hear from us before it ships, not after.
