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Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 18 : Section 923


   


U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 923. Licensing
      (a) No person shall engage in the business of importing,
    manufacturing, or dealing in firearms, or importing or
    manufacturing ammunition, until he has filed an application with
    and received a license to do so from the Attorney General. The
    application shall be in such form and contain only that information
    necessary to determine eligibility for licensing as the Attorney
    General shall by regulation prescribe and shall include a
    photograph and fingerprints of the applicant. Each applicant shall
    pay a fee for obtaining such a license, a separate fee being
    required for each place in which the applicant is to do business,
    as follows:
      (1) If the applicant is a manufacturer - 
        (A) of destructive devices, ammunition for destructive devices
      or armor piercing ammunition, a fee of $1,000 per year;
        (B) of firearms other than destructive devices, a fee of $50
      per year; or
        (C) of ammunition for firearms, other than ammunition for
      destructive devices or armor piercing ammunition, a fee of $10
      per year.

      (2) If the applicant is an importer - 
        (A) of destructive devices, ammunition for destructive devices
      or armor piercing ammunition, a fee of $1,000 per year; or
        (B) of firearms other than destructive devices or ammunition
      for firearms other than destructive devices, or ammunition other
      than armor piercing ammunition, a fee of $50 per year.

      (3) If the applicant is a dealer - 
        (A) in destructive devices or ammunition for destructive
      devices, a fee of $1,000 per year; or
        (B) who is not a dealer in destructive devices, a fee of $200
      for 3 years, except that the fee for renewal of a valid license
      shall be $90 for 3 years.

      (b) Any person desiring to be licensed as a collector shall file
    an application for such license with the Attorney General. The
    application shall be in such form and contain only that information
    necessary to determine eligibility as the Attorney General shall by
    regulation prescribe. The fee for such license shall be $10 per
    year. Any license granted under this subsection shall only apply to
    transactions in curios and relics.
      (c) Upon the filing of a proper application and payment of the
    prescribed fee, the Attorney General shall issue to a qualified
    applicant the appropriate license which, subject to the provisions
    of this chapter and other applicable provisions of law, shall
    entitle the licensee to transport, ship, and receive firearms and
    ammunition covered by such license in interstate or foreign
    commerce during the period stated in the license. Nothing in this
    chapter shall be construed to prohibit a licensed manufacturer,
    importer, or dealer from maintaining and disposing of a personal
    collection of firearms, subject only to such restrictions as apply
    in this chapter to dispositions by a person other than a licensed
    manufacturer, importer, or dealer. If any firearm is so disposed of
    by a licensee within one year after its transfer from his business
    inventory into such licensee's personal collection or if such
    disposition or any other acquisition is made for the purpose of
    willfully evading the restrictions placed upon licensees by this
    chapter, then such firearm shall be deemed part of such licensee's
    business inventory, except that any licensed manufacturer,
    importer, or dealer who has maintained a firearm as part of a
    personal collection for one year and who sells or otherwise
    disposes of such firearm shall record the description of the
    firearm in a bound volume, containing the name and place of
    residence and date of birth of the transferee if the transferee is
    an individual, or the identity and principal and local places of
    business of the transferee if the transferee is a corporation or
    other business entity: Provided, That no other recordkeeping shall
    be required.
      (d)(1) Any application submitted under subsection (a) or (b) of
    this section shall be approved if - 
        (A) the applicant is twenty-one years of age or over;
        (B) the applicant (including, in the case of a corporation,
      partnership, or association, any individual possessing, directly
      or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the
      management and policies of the corporation, partnership, or
      association) is not prohibited from transporting, shipping, or
      receiving firearms or ammunition in interstate or foreign
      commerce under section 922(g) and (n) of this chapter;
        (C) the applicant has not willfully violated any of the
      provisions of this chapter or regulations issued thereunder;
        (D) the applicant has not willfully failed to disclose any
      material information required, or has not made any false
      statement as to any material fact, in connection with his
      application;
        (E) the applicant has in a State (i) premises from which he
      conducts business subject to license under this chapter or from
      which he intends to conduct such business within a reasonable
      period of time, or (ii) in the case of a collector, premises from
      which he conducts his collecting subject to license under this
      chapter or from which he intends to conduct such collecting
      within a reasonable period of time;
        (F) the applicant certifies that - 
          (i) the business to be conducted under the license is not
        prohibited by State or local law in the place where the
        licensed premise is located;
          (ii)(I) within 30 days after the application is approved the
        business will comply with the requirements of State and local
        law applicable to the conduct of the business; and
          (II) the business will not be conducted under the license
        until the requirements of State and local law applicable to the
        business have been met; and
          (iii) that the applicant has sent or delivered a form to be
        prescribed by the Attorney General, to the chief law
        enforcement officer of the locality in which the premises are
        located, which indicates that the applicant intends to apply
        for a Federal firearms license; and

        (G) in the case of an application to be licensed as a dealer,
      the applicant certifies that secure gun storage or safety devices
      will be available at any place in which firearms are sold under
      the license to persons who are not licensees (subject to the
      exception that in any case in which a secure gun storage or
      safety device is temporarily unavailable because of theft,
      casualty loss, consumer sales, backorders from a manufacturer, or
      any other similar reason beyond the control of the licensee, the
      dealer shall not be considered to be in violation of the
      requirement under this subparagraph to make available such a
      device).

      (2) The Attorney General must approve or deny an application for
    a license within the 60-day period beginning on the date it is
    received. If the Attorney General fails to act within such period,
    the applicant may file an action under section 1361 of title 28 to
    compel the Attorney General to act. If the Attorney General
    approves an applicant's application, such applicant shall be issued
    a license upon the payment of the prescribed fee.
      (e) The Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for
    hearing, revoke any license issued under this section if the holder
    of such license has willfully violated any provision of this
    chapter or any rule or regulation prescribed by the Attorney
    General under this chapter or fails to have secure gun storage or
    safety devices available at any place in which firearms are sold
    under the license to persons who are not licensees (except that in
    any case in which a secure gun storage or safety device is
    temporarily unavailable because of theft, casualty loss, consumer
    sales, backorders from a manufacturer, or any other similar reason
    beyond the control of the licensee, the dealer shall not be
    considered to be in violation of the requirement to make available
    such a device). The Attorney General may, after notice and
    opportunity for hearing, revoke the license of a dealer who
    willfully transfers armor piercing ammunition. The Secretary's (!1)
    action under this subsection may be reviewed only as provided in
    subsection (f) of this section.

      (f)(1) Any person whose application for a license is denied and
    any holder of a license which is revoked shall receive a written
    notice from the Attorney General stating specifically the grounds
    upon which the application was denied or upon which the license was
    revoked. Any notice of a revocation of a license shall be given to
    the holder of such license before the effective date of the
    revocation.
      (2) If the Attorney General denies an application for, or
    revokes, a license, he shall, upon request by the aggrieved party,
    promptly hold a hearing to review his denial or revocation. In the
    case of a revocation of a license, the Attorney General shall upon
    the request of the holder of the license stay the effective date of
    the revocation. A hearing held under this paragraph shall be held
    at a location convenient to the aggrieved party.
      (3) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the Attorney
    General decides not to reverse his decision to deny an application
    or revoke a license, the Attorney General shall give notice of his
    decision to the aggrieved party. The aggrieved party may at any
    time within sixty days after the date notice was given under this
    paragraph file a petition with the United States district court for
    the district in which he resides or has his principal place of
    business for a de novo judicial review of such denial or
    revocation. In a proceeding conducted under this subsection, the
    court may consider any evidence submitted by the parties to the
    proceeding whether or not such evidence was considered at the
    hearing held under paragraph (2). If the court decides that the
    Attorney General was not authorized to deny the application or to
    revoke the license, the court shall order the Attorney General to
    take such action as may be necessary to comply with the judgment of
    the court.
      (4) If criminal proceedings are instituted against a licensee
    alleging any violation of this chapter or of rules or regulations
    prescribed under this chapter, and the licensee is acquitted of
    such charges, or such proceedings are terminated, other than upon
    motion of the Government before trial upon such charges, the
    Attorney General shall be absolutely barred from denying or
    revoking any license granted under this chapter where such denial
    or revocation is based in whole or in part on the facts which form
    the basis of such criminal charges. No proceedings for the
    revocation of a license shall be instituted by the Attorney General
    more than one year after the filing of the indictment or
    information.
      (g)(1)(A) Each licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, and
    licensed dealer shall maintain such records of importation,
    production, shipment, receipt, sale, or other disposition of
    firearms at his place of business for such period, and in such
    form, as the Attorney General may by regulations prescribe. Such
    importers, manufacturers, and dealers shall not be required to
    submit to the Attorney General reports and information with respect
    to such records and the contents thereof, except as expressly
    required by this section. The Attorney General, when he has
    reasonable cause to believe a violation of this chapter has
    occurred and that evidence thereof may be found on such premises,
    may, upon demonstrating such cause before a Federal magistrate
    judge and securing from such magistrate judge a warrant authorizing
    entry, enter during business hours the premises (including places
    of storage) of any licensed firearms importer, licensed
    manufacturer, licensed dealer, licensed collector, or any licensed
    importer or manufacturer of ammunition, for the purpose of
    inspecting or examining - 
        (i) any records or documents required to be kept by such
      licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or
      licensed collector under this chapter or rules or regulations
      under this chapter, and
        (ii) any firearms or ammunition kept or stored by such licensed
      importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed
      collector, at such premises.

      (B) The Attorney General may inspect or examine the inventory and
    records of a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed
    dealer without such reasonable cause or warrant - 
        (i) in the course of a reasonable inquiry during the course of
      a criminal investigation of a person or persons other than the
      licensee;
        (ii) for ensuring compliance with the record keeping
      requirements of this chapter - 
          (I) not more than once during any 12-month period; or
          (II) at any time with respect to records relating to a
        firearm involved in a criminal investigation that is traced to
        the licensee; or

        (iii) when such inspection or examination may be required for
      determining the disposition of one or more particular firearms in
      the course of a bona fide criminal investigation.

      (C) The Attorney General may inspect the inventory and records of
    a licensed collector without such reasonable cause or warrant - 
        (i) for ensuring compliance with the record keeping
      requirements of this chapter not more than once during any
      twelve-month period; or
        (ii) when such inspection or examination may be required for
      determining the disposition of one or more particular firearms in
      the course of a bona fide criminal investigation.

      (D) At the election of a licensed collector, the annual
    inspection of records and inventory permitted under this paragraph
    shall be performed at the office of the Attorney General designated
    for such inspections which is located in closest proximity to the
    premises where the inventory and records of such licensed collector
    are maintained. The inspection and examination authorized by this
    paragraph shall not be construed as authorizing the Attorney
    General to seize any records or other documents other than those
    records or documents constituting material evidence of a violation
    of law. If the Attorney General seizes such records or documents,
    copies shall be provided the licensee within a reasonable time. The
    Attorney General may make available to any Federal, State, or local
    law enforcement agency any information which he may obtain by
    reason of this chapter with respect to the identification of
    persons prohibited from purchasing or receiving firearms or
    ammunition who have purchased or received firearms or ammunition,
    together with a description of such firearms or ammunition, and he
    may provide information to the extent such information may be
    contained in the records required to be maintained by this chapter,
    when so requested by any Federal, State, or local law enforcement
    agency.
      (2) Each licensed collector shall maintain in a bound volume the
    nature of which the Attorney General may by regulations prescribe,
    records of the receipt, sale, or other disposition of firearms.
    Such records shall include the name and address of any person to
    whom the collector sells or otherwise disposes of a firearm. Such
    collector shall not be required to submit to the Attorney General
    reports and information with respect to such records and the
    contents thereof, except as expressly required by this section.
      (3)(A) Each licensee shall prepare a report of multiple sales or
    other dispositions whenever the licensee sells or otherwise
    disposes of, at one time or during any five consecutive business
    days, two or more pistols, or revolvers, or any combination of
    pistols and revolvers totalling two or more, to an unlicensed
    person. The report shall be prepared on a form specified by the
    Attorney General and forwarded to the office specified thereon and
    to the department of State police or State law enforcement agency
    of the State or local law enforcement agency of the local
    jurisdiction in which the sale or other disposition took place, not
    later than the close of business on the day that the multiple sale
    or other disposition occurs.
      (B) Except in the case of forms and contents thereof regarding a
    purchaser who is prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922
    of this title from receipt of a firearm, the department of State
    police or State law enforcement agency or local law enforcement
    agency of the local jurisdiction shall not disclose any such form
    or the contents thereof to any person or entity, and shall destroy
    each such form and any record of the contents thereof no more than
    20 days from the date such form is received. No later than the date
    that is 6 months after the effective date of this subparagraph, and
    at the end of each 6-month period thereafter, the department of
    State police or State law enforcement agency or local law
    enforcement agency of the local jurisdiction shall certify to the
    Attorney General of the United States that no disclosure contrary
    to this subparagraph has been made and that all forms and any
    record of the contents thereof have been destroyed as provided in
    this subparagraph.
      (4) Where a firearms or ammunition business is discontinued and
    succeeded by a new licensee, the records required to be kept by
    this chapter shall appropriately reflect such facts and shall be
    delivered to the successor. Where discontinuance of the business is
    absolute, such records shall be delivered within thirty days after
    the business discontinuance to the Attorney General. However, where
    State law or local ordinance requires the delivery of records to
    other responsible authority, the Attorney General may arrange for
    the delivery of such records to such other responsible authority.
      (5)(A) Each licensee shall, when required by letter issued by the
    Attorney General, and until notified to the contrary in writing by
    the Attorney General, submit on a form specified by the Attorney
    General, for periods and at the times specified in such letter, all
    record information required to be kept by this chapter or such
    lesser record information as the Attorney General in such letter
    may specify.
      (B) The Attorney General may authorize such record information to
    be submitted in a manner other than that prescribed in subparagraph
    (A) of this paragraph when it is shown by a licensee that an
    alternate method of reporting is reasonably necessary and will not
    unduly hinder the effective administration of this chapter. A
    licensee may use an alternate method of reporting if the licensee
    describes the proposed alternate method of reporting and the need
    therefor in a letter application submitted to the Attorney General,
    and the Attorney General approves such alternate method of
    reporting.
      (6) Each licensee shall report the theft or loss of a firearm
    from the licensee's inventory or collection, within 48 hours after
    the theft or loss is discovered, to the Attorney General and to the
    appropriate local authorities.
      (7) Each licensee shall respond immediately to, and in no event
    later than 24 hours after the receipt of, a request by the Attorney
    General for information contained in the records required to be
    kept by this chapter as may be required for determining the
    disposition of 1 or more firearms in the course of a bona fide
    criminal investigation. The requested information shall be provided
    orally or in writing, as the Attorney General may require. The
    Attorney General shall implement a system whereby the licensee can
    positively identify and establish that an individual requesting
    information via telephone is employed by and authorized by the
    agency to request such information.
      (h) Licenses issued under the provisions of subsection (c) of
    this section shall be kept posted and kept available for inspection
    on the premises covered by the license.
      (i) Licensed importers and licensed manufacturers shall identify
    by means of a serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or
    frame of the weapon, in such manner as the Attorney General shall
    by regulations prescribe, each firearm imported or manufactured by
    such importer or manufacturer. The serial number of any
    semiautomatic assault weapon manufactured after the date of the
    enactment of this sentence shall clearly show the date on which the
    weapon was manufactured. A large capacity ammunition feeding device
    manufactured after the date of the enactment of this sentence shall
    be identified by a serial number that clearly shows that the device
    was manufactured or imported after the effective date of this
    subsection, and such other identification as the Attorney General
    may by regulation prescribe.
      (j) A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed
    dealer may, under rules or regulations prescribed by the Attorney
    General, conduct business temporarily at a location other than the
    location specified on the license if such temporary location is the
    location for a gun show or event sponsored by any national, State,
    or local organization, or any affiliate of any such organization
    devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use
    of firearms in the community, and such location is in the State
    which is specified on the license. Records of receipt and
    disposition of firearms transactions conducted at such temporary
    location shall include the location of the sale or other
    disposition and shall be entered in the permanent records of the
    licensee and retained on the location specified on the license.
    Nothing in this subsection shall authorize any licensee to conduct
    business in or from any motorized or towed vehicle. Notwithstanding
    the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a separate fee
    shall not be required of a licensee with respect to business
    conducted under this subsection. Any inspection or examination of
    inventory or records under this chapter by the Attorney General at
    such temporary location shall be limited to inventory consisting
    of, or records relating to, firearms held or disposed at such
    temporary location. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed
    to authorize the Attorney General to inspect or examine the
    inventory or records of a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer,
    or licensed dealer at any location other than the location
    specified on the license. Nothing in this subsection shall be
    construed to diminish in any manner any right to display, sell, or
    otherwise dispose of firearms or ammunition, which is in effect
    before the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners' Protection
    Act, including the right of a licensee to conduct "curios or
    relics" firearms transfers and business away from their business
    premises with another licensee without regard as to whether the
    location of where the business is conducted is located in the State
    specified on the license of either licensee.
      (k) Licensed importers and licensed manufacturers shall mark all
    armor piercing projectiles and packages containing such projectiles
    for distribution in the manner prescribed by the Attorney General
    by regulation. The Attorney General shall furnish information to
    each dealer licensed under this chapter defining which projectiles
    are considered armor piercing ammunition as defined in section
    921(a)(17)(B).
      (l) The Attorney General shall notify the chief law enforcement
    officer in the appropriate State and local jurisdictions of the
    names and addresses of all persons in the State to whom a firearms
    license is issued.



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