How Many Guns Can You Put on a 4473?

If you already have your FFL, you know how important the Form 4473 is – filling it out wrong or storing it incorrectly can get you into lots of trouble.

We’re going to over information in a series for FFLs that helps you make sure you’re doing things the right way to stay out of trouble.

In this article, we’re going to explore: How Many Guns can an FFL put on a 4473 transfer form for a Customer?

4473 Background

When a customer purchases firearms from you, both you and the customer fill out the ATF Form 4473 (Over the Counter Firearm Transaction Record).

You start by filling out how many guns they’re having transferred to them and then they fill in their information and answer the questions that help them determine if they are a prohibited person.

Next, you satisfy the background check requirements and, if all is good to go, you finalize the 4473 and transfer their guns.

Hopefully you’ll have someone else to double check the 4473 before the customer leaves because it can be easy to make mistakes and even typos on the form can be a violation from the ATF during an inspection.

Not-so-fun fact: 7 out of the top 10 violations from the ATF each year are from the Form 4473!

Then, you will store the 4473 (whether paper or electronic) in the right format and order and move on to the next sale.

Number of Guns on a 4473

Starting at the beginning of the 4473 (and the beginning of the firearm sales transaction/transfer), you as the FFL enter the relevant details for each gun you’re transferring on that particular Form 4473.

A question I often get as an attorney that specializes in helping FFLs stay complaint with ATF rules and regulations is: How many Guns can I put on the 4473?

Federally, there is NO LIMIT TO HOW MANY GUNS CAN GO ON A 4473!

Well, technically, only 3 guns can be added to the beginning of the 4473 itself, but according to the instructions from ATF, you can add as many additional firearms (more than 3) as you need to the transaction by using an ATF Form 5300.9A Firearms Transaction Record Continuation Sheet and then attaching it to the original 4473.

So, if you want to get specific, there’s no limit to the number of guns in a transaction that you’re using the 4473 for but only 3 guns go “on” the 4473 where the rest go on a Form 5300.9A that is attached to the 4473.

Multiple Firearms / Transaction Considerations

Now, state laws do vary and you need to be careful if there’s a limit to the number of guns you can transfer at a time in your state.

Also, be careful to not accidentally combine multiple transactions onto one 4473. For example, if a customer finishes purchasing one gun and then before leaving decides to purchase another gun, that would require a new 4473 Form for the second transaction.

So, as long as it is all part of the same transaction, you can you buy multiple guns with one background check.

Also, if there are multiple handguns being purchased within 5 business days (clearly the case if they’re on the same 4473), then a multiple handgun sales form must be used and reported. The same is true for certain rifles along states that border Mexico.

If you’re looking for help keeping track of all of this, you might want to check out the Best FFL Software

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