01

The scope of federal firearms law and who must be licensed

Before you fill out a single form, you need to know which rules apply to you, which license category you fall into, and what the regulation’s key words actually mean. This chapter lays that foundation.

In this chapter

• +Which activities fall under Part 478’s jurisdiction and how it relates to the companion National Firearms Act rules in Part 479
• +The four federal license categories — dealer, manufacturer, importer, collector — and the test that decides whether you’re “engaged in the business”
• +The core vocabulary (firearm, ammunition, frame or receiver, privately made firearm) and how federal licensing rules interact with state and local law