§ 5.4 established that a rifle or shotgun may be sold to a resident of another State where the requirements of § 478.96(c) are fully met. This is what fully met involves. Four conditions apply together: the purchaser meets the licensee in person at the licensee’s premises to accomplish the transfer, sale and delivery; the licensee complies with § 478.102, so the background check regime applies exactly as it would to a local buyer; the purchaser furnishes the Form 4473 required by § 478.124; and the sale, delivery and receipt fully comply with the legal conditions of sale in BOTH States. Only the last of those is easy to fail without noticing.

The regulation then does something worth pausing on. For the purposes of paragraph (c), any licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer is PRESUMED, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have had actual knowledge of the State laws and published ordinances of both States. That is not a duty to make enquiries — it is a starting assumption that you already knew. A dealer who did not check the buyer’s home State does not begin from neutral ground; they begin having to displace a presumption. This is where the compilation from § 1.5 stops being a convenience and becomes the tool the regulation effectively assumes you are using.

A different route exists for a buyer who does not appear in person at all, and it is available only within the licensee’s own State. Where the firearm is not subject to § 478.102(a), a licensee may sell to a non-licensee who does not appear in person if that person is a resident of the same State as the licensee’s premises and furnishes the Form 4473. The buyer attaches a true copy of any permit or other information required by State statute and by the published ordinance applicable where they reside. Before shipment the licensee forwards a copy of the Form 4473 by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the chief law enforcement officer named on the record — then delays shipment for at least 7 days following receipt of the return receipt, or the return of the copy because that officer refused to accept it under Postal Service regulations. The original Form 4473 and the evidence of receipt or rejection are kept as part of the licensee’s records.