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FFL Transfer Fees

FFL Transfer Fees by State

A typical FFL transfer fee in the United States is $35 for a handgun. Of the 8,131 dealers listed, 3,525 publish a handgun fee, and the cheapest is $5. Fees are listed for 19 states below.

Typical FFL transfer fees by state

One row per state with listed dealers. The typical fee is the median of the handgun fees those dealers publish, so one unusually expensive shop does not move it. Open a state to see its areas and every dealer.

Listed dealers and handgun transfer fees by state
StateDealers listedTypical handgun feeCheapest handgun fee
Alabama223$25$10
Arizona319$30$15
California463$82.50$35
Colorado196$45$10
Florida1,463$30$5
Georgia361$25$10
Indiana114$30$15
Kentucky158$25$10
Michigan349$40$15
Minnesota119$30$20
Missouri267$30$10
North Carolina493$25$10
Ohio431$30$10
Pennsylvania360$35$5
South Carolina235$25$15
Texas1,904$35$10
Virginia315$30$15
Washington136$40$15
Wisconsin225$40$20

What the fee covers

The dealer receives the gun, checks it against the shipping paperwork and logs it into their bound book. You fill out ATF Form 4473 at the counter, the dealer runs the NICS background check, and once it clears they log the gun out and hand it over. The fee pays for that time and record-keeping.

Some shops charge extra for each additional gun in the same shipment, and NFA items such as suppressors carry a higher fee because the paperwork can take weeks or months and the dealer stores the item until the tax stamp comes back.

Why fees differ so much

A small storefront that does a few transfers a week prices them as a service and often charges the least. A range or a big-box store treats a transfer as lost floor time and charges more, sometimes to steer you toward buying from them instead.

State paperwork adds to the bill in some places. California dealers collect the DROS fee and handle the waiting period, and a few other states require their own background check or a permit check, all of which take the dealer longer. A shop that does a high volume of transfers can also afford a lower fee than one that sees a transfer once a month.

How to pay less

  • Compare the dealers on your area page before you buy; the gap between the cheapest and the typical fee is often $20 or more.
  • Call ahead. A fee listed online is sometimes out of date, and some shops quote a lower price for a single transfer than their website shows.
  • Ask whether long guns cost less. Many dealers charge a smaller fee for a rifle or shotgun than for a handgun.
  • If you are still choosing where to buy, pick a shop that waives the fee when the gun is ordered through their own website or distributor, or compare its shelf price plus a transfer elsewhere.

Common questions

How much is an FFL transfer fee?

Across the dealers listed here, the typical handgun transfer fee is $35. The cheapest listed is $5. The table above shows the typical and cheapest fee in each state.

What is the average FFL transfer fee?

The median handgun fee across the listed dealers is $35. A median is a better guide than an average because a few expensive shops pull an average up without changing what most people pay.

Can I avoid the fee?

Not for a gun shipped to you by a dealer or a seller in another state, because federal law requires a licensed dealer in your state to receive it and run the background check. Some shops waive the fee when the gun is ordered through their own website or distributor, and a few charge nothing for long guns, so it pays to ask.

Does the fee include the background check?

Usually. The NICS check itself is free to the dealer in most states, so the fee covers the dealer's time and paperwork. A few states charge their own background check or registration fee on top, and dealers in those states pass it along as a separate line.

Where to go next

The FFL transfer guide walks through the whole process, from choosing a dealer to picking up the gun.

The states with the most listed dealers: