Dec 21, 2023The first step to acquiring a firearm in FFLSafe is adding a contact.
The ATF requires certain information be added to your bound book depending on whether your contact is an individual, another FFL, or a government entity.
Step 1 – Choose to Select a Contact or Add a Contact
If you have previously dealt with a particular contact and they already exist in your bound book, then you may search for and select the contact that is already in your system.
With a known contact, you can jump to Adding a Firearm after selecting them.
If, however, you are adding a new contact, select “Add Contact” and continue to the next step.
Step 2 – Select the Type of Contact
There are three types of contacts from which you can acquire a firearm:
- FFL
- Individual
- Government Agency
Select the appropriate type of contact and then move to the appropriate next step:
Step 3a – Adding an FFL
The first step to adding an FFL from which you are acquiring a firearm is to enter their FFL number.
FFL Safe requires the full FFL number because it automatically checks the validity of the FFL, ensures it is not expired, and enters the FFL’s name and address from ATF’s records.
If the FFL number is valid and verified, you will see a pop-up window that says “FFL Number Verified” and you will see the contact information from the ATF.
You can either:
- “Confirm and Apply” the information to the contact, or
- Click on “Enter Manually” to manually enter the contact details.
In some cases, the provided information does not match and needs to be edited. If you manually enter the information, please be careful and ensure the information you enter is correct.
Additional Information
You may optionally track whether you have the FFL in your files. If you are unsure about why (or when) this is required, then you should consider learning more about ATF Compliance.
Step 3b – Adding an Individual
If you are acquiring a firearm from an Individual (not an FFL nor Government Entity), then continue on with this step.
Name
Enter the Individual’s name. Their first and last name alone are enough but their full name is preferred.
Address
Enter their current residential street address, including their City, State, and Zip Code, as it appears on their valid government photo identification.
There are some nuances here about what identification can be used and what should be done if it is not truly their current address.
Additional Information
This information is optional and should only be used if you have a reason to use it – otherwise, you may leave it blank.
ID on File
You may track whether you have their ID on file in this section. You should check out the RocketFFL ATF Compliance course for guidance on when this should be done (and how it should be done to avoid problems with the ATF).
Phone
You may record the individual’s phone number so that you may contact them later.
CCW
You may track whether the individual has a Concealed Carry Permit and the permit number in this section. This has legal significance in some States/transactions.
Birth Date
You may track the individual’s birth date here.
Step 3c – Adding a Government Entity
In the rare circumstance where you acquire a firearm from a Government Entity, continue along with this step.
Name
Enter the name of the Government Agency from which you are acquiring the firearm.
Address
Enter the address of the Government Agency.
Step 4 – Save Information
Once you have all of the required information, and any optional information you choose to use, entered, you must save the information to add the contact to the acquisition record.
1 – Click on “Add” at the bottom right corner of the window.
2 – Confirm that you’d like to make the changes on the pop-up window.
Step 5 – Confirm Contact Details
You should now see the firearm information added on the Acquisition screen.
This is a great time to confirm that the information is correct before Adding the Firearm and selecting the Date of the Acquisition and adding the firearm to your inventory and creating the Acquisition.
