Sage-Tips

Can I send a firearm via USPS?

The U.S. Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms. Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

What parts of a gun can you mail?

For most pistols, it’s the frame. For ARs, it’s the lower receiver. Other firearms may differ. So it’s perfectly legal to mail around barrels, slides, even complete AR upper receivers, but you can’t mail a complete gun (except to an FFL) and you can’t mail all the parts to make a complete gun.

Will USPS tell me if package is seized?

Once the postal inspector receives the suspected mail, they will attempt to contact the sender or recipient and, if unsuccessful, scan it as “seized by law enforcement.” The scan is visible in the Postal Service’s tracking system to the sender and recipient as well as postal personnel.

Can you have a gun kit shipped to your house?

Pistols can only be mailed by a licensed dealer or manufacturer. Long guns, such as the AR-15, can be shipped between non-licensed dealers, but only within the same state. If an unlicensed individual mails a firearm out of state, it must be sent to a licensed dealer, manufacturer, or gunsmith.

Will I get in trouble if my package is seized?

Most everybody connected with that package will likely have warrants out for their arrest. If the law enforcement agency that seized that package is the Postal Inspectors, the crime is federal. You don’t get to receive it.

Can I mail a firearm directly to myself?

Unless you are mailing it to yourself it has to ship to a FFL. Yes, you can mail a firearm directly to yourself in you destination state… You make to package to and from yourself. In the receiving address note “”in the care of” whoever if it will arrive before you do.

What is the best way to pack a gun for shipping?

Choose a large, strong box with plenty of room for packing material to cushion the firearm. UPS, for example, mandates new, corrugated packaging that meet its single-wall strength guidelines. Ensure that the exterior of the box gives no obvious indication of the firearm within. This is why firearms often arrive as boxes within another box.

Can I ship a gun to myself without an FFL?

As a nonlicensee under basic federal law, your ability to mail a firearm through the U.S. Postal Service—USPS—without the involvement of an FFL is limited: You can ship a firearm to yourself in a state where you plan “to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity.”

Can I ship a handgun through the post office?

While the post office will allow nonlicensees to mail long guns to other nonlicensees in the same state, it restricts its services for handguns and pistols to FFL holders. Nonlicensees who want to ship a handgun are limited to contract carriers, which—by the way—require that you ship the gun to or through an FFL holder.