Used Firearms and Consignment: How to Handle Form 4473

Used and consignment firearms move through FFL dealers constantly. While the Form 4473 transfer process is the same regardless of whether a firearm is new or used, the acquisition side has specific requirements that affect your bound book and your compliance exposure.

Acquiring a Used Firearm

When a customer brings a used firearm to your store for trade, sale, or consignment, it must be logged in your acquisition record before it can be offered for sale or transferred. The firearm's make, model, serial number, caliber, and type must all be recorded. For used firearms, the acquisition date is the date the gun comes into your inventory — not the date you eventually sell it.

The ATF Form 4473 on Resale

When a used firearm is sold from your inventory to a retail customer, the Form 4473 process is identical to selling a new firearm. A complete Form 4473, a NICS background check, and proper Section E completion are all required. The age of the firearm doesn't change any of the transfer requirements.

Consignment Specifically

A firearm taken on consignment enters your licensed inventory the moment it crosses your threshold. It must be logged in your A&D records on acquisition. When it sells, a Form 4473 must be completed and a NICS check run just as for any other sale. When the consignment firearm doesn't sell and is returned to the owner, a disposition entry must be made in your bound book.

Pawn Transactions

Pawned firearms follow the same acquisition rules — they must be logged when received. When a pawn customer redeems their firearm, a Form 4473 is required because the redemption constitutes a transfer. A customer picking up their own pawned firearm from your inventory is legally a transfer from a licensed dealer and requires full compliance.

Serial Number Issues on Used Firearms

Used firearms occasionally arrive with damaged, obscured, or missing serial numbers. A firearm with an altered or removed serial number cannot be transferred and must be reported to the ATF. Do not accept a firearm for your inventory if the serial number has been removed or obliterated.