If you have never bought a firearm online, the process sounds complicated. It is not. A gun bought online does not arrive at your doorstep in a plain brown box — it goes to a licensed dealer near you, and you complete the same background check you would complete buying in person at any gun store. That is the entire concept. Everything below is just the detail.
Here is exactly how an FFL transfer works at Kazu Arms, what it costs, how long it takes, and what to do if something goes sideways.
In Chandler or the East Valley? Kazu Arms is a licensed dealer here in Chandler, Arizona, and Arizona residents can use us as their receiving dealer directly — skip to the local section.
The short version
- You order the firearm from us online.
- You choose a licensed dealer (an FFL) near you to receive it.
- We ship the firearm to that dealer — never directly to you.
- You go to the dealer in person, fill out ATF Form 4473, and pass a background check.
- You take your firearm home.
Ammunition, optics, holsters, and most accessories skip this entirely and ship straight to your door where the law allows. Only serialized firearms have to route through a dealer.
Step 1 — Order online
Browse the firearms catalog, add what you want to your cart, and check out. You pay us for the firearm at this stage, the same as any other online order.
If your cart mixes a firearm with non-serialized items — a case of ammunition, a red dot, a holster — that is fine. The firearm routes to your dealer and the rest ships to your address.
Step 2 — Choose the dealer who will receive it
At checkout you pick your transfer dealer. Any federally licensed dealer in your state can receive a firearm for you, and most gun stores, ranges, and plenty of pawn shops offer transfers as a routine service.
One thing worth doing before you order: call the dealer you plan to use and confirm they will accept an incoming transfer, and ask what they charge. Dealers are not obligated to accept a transfer, and a two-minute phone call prevents the single most common headache in this whole process — a firearm arriving somewhere that was not expecting it. Your dealer will usually send us a copy of their license directly.
Step 3 — We ship to your FFL
Once the paperwork is squared away on the dealer’s end, your firearm ships to their address. The dealer logs it into their bound book when it arrives — a federally required record of every firearm entering and leaving their inventory — and contacts you for pickup.
Step 4 — Pick it up and complete Form 4473
You have to show up in person. This part cannot be delegated, mailed, or handled by a friend.
At the counter you fill out ATF Form 4473, the Firearms Transaction Record. It asks for your identifying information and a series of yes/no eligibility questions. The dealer then runs your information through NICS, the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which returns one of three answers: proceed, delayed, or denied.
On a proceed, you pay the dealer their transfer fee, sign, and walk out with your firearm. Most transfers take about fifteen minutes at the counter.
What to bring
- A valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID with your current address
- Any permit or license your state requires for the purchase
- A payment method for the dealer’s transfer fee
- Your order details, in case the dealer needs to match it up
If the address on your ID is out of date, bring supporting documentation — dealers have to verify your current address, and a stale driver’s license is a common reason people get sent home empty-handed.
What a transfer costs
The transfer fee goes to the receiving dealer, not to us. It covers their time, their paperwork, and their liability. Fees vary by shop and by region, but most dealers charge somewhere in the range of twenty-five to seventy-five dollars per firearm. Some charge less for additional firearms on the same transfer.
Ask when you call. A dealer who quotes you a flat number over the phone is a dealer worth using.
How long the whole thing takes
Shipping time plus your dealer’s intake process. In practice most customers are picking up within roughly a week of ordering, though that depends on the shipping method, the dealer’s hours, and how quickly the license paperwork gets exchanged.
If your check is delayed or denied
A delay is not a denial and it is not rare. It usually means NICS needs to look at something manually — commonly a name similar to someone else’s in the system. Federal law permits a dealer to complete the transfer after three business days if no final answer has come back, but that is the dealer’s decision to make, and a number of states require dealers to wait for a definitive result. Your dealer will tell you how they handle it.
A denial means NICS found something that disqualifies you under federal or state law. If you believe it is an error — mistaken identity is the usual culprit — the FBI runs an appeal process through its Voluntary Appeal File. The dealer cannot override a denial and cannot tell you why it happened, because they are not told why either.
State and local rules still apply
This is the part people miss. An FFL transfer follows the law where you are, not where the seller is. Depending on your state or city, that can mean waiting periods, a permit or firearms ID card you have to obtain first, magazine capacity limits, restrictions on specific features or models, or an approved-handgun roster.
Your receiving dealer is your best resource here — they process transfers under those rules every day and they will not run a transfer that their state does not allow. If you are unsure whether a particular firearm can legally be transferred to you, ask them before you order, not after.
Federal law also sets minimum ages for purchases from a licensed dealer, and a number of states set their own requirements on top of that. Check your state’s rules before ordering.
The firearm has to be for you
Form 4473 asks whether you are the actual buyer. Buying a firearm on behalf of someone else who cannot legally purchase it themselves is a straw purchase, and it is a federal felony — for the buyer, not the dealer.
Gifts are a separate matter and are generally legal, but the rules around them vary by state. If you are buying a firearm as a gift, talk to your dealer first.
FFL transfers in Chandler and the East Valley
Kazu Arms is a federally licensed dealer in Chandler, Arizona. If you are anywhere in the East Valley — Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek, Ahwatukee or Sun Lakes — you can use us as your receiving dealer and skip the outbound shipping entirely. Order online, choose local pickup at checkout, and collect it here.
That saves you a step and a shipping leg. Instead of your firearm travelling to a third dealer who then charges you their own transfer fee, it stays with us from order to pickup.
What we charge
- $20 per handgun or rifle
- $50 for an NFA transfer
For context, the twenty-five to seventy-five dollar range quoted earlier in this article is what dealers charge nationally. Ours sits below the bottom of it, and it is a flat number — you will not be quoted one price on the phone and handed another at the counter.
NFA transfers — suppressors, short-barrelled rifles and the rest — are handled in house. We hold an SOT alongside the dealer licence, which is what allows that; plenty of shops that sell firearms cannot take an NFA item at all.
Two things to know before you order. You must be an Arizona resident for us to transfer to you, and pickup is by appointment — please get in touch to arrange a time rather than dropping in. We do not take walk-ins, which is deliberate: it means when you arrive someone is expecting you, your firearm is out of the safe, and the paperwork is ready to sign rather than you waiting behind a counter queue.
Bring the same things you would bring anywhere else — a current government-issued photo ID with your address on it, and anything else noted in the what to bring list above. The Form 4473 and the NICS check work exactly as described earlier; being local changes the logistics, not the law.
Common questions
Can a firearm be shipped to my house?
Not from us. Serialized firearms go to a licensed dealer for the background check. Ammunition and accessories ship to your door where local law allows.
Do I need my own FFL?
No. You need a dealer who is willing to receive the firearm for you. That is an ordinary service that gun shops provide.
Can someone else pick it up for me?
No. The person completing Form 4473 and passing the background check has to be the person taking the firearm home.
What happens if I fail the background check?
The transfer does not happen and the firearm stays with the dealer. Contact us about return options — see our returns policy. You will still owe the dealer for their time in most cases.
Can I transfer to a dealer in another state?
Handguns generally have to transfer through a dealer in your state of residence. Long guns have more flexibility, but the rules of the state where you take possession apply. Ask your dealer.
Do you do FFL transfers in Chandler?
Yes. We are a licensed dealer in Chandler and Arizona residents can pick up here by appointment. See FFL transfers in Chandler and the East Valley above.
How much is an FFL transfer at Kazu Arms?
$20 for a handgun or rifle, $50 for an NFA transfer. Flat, and below the national range most dealers charge.
Which areas do you serve for local pickup?
We are in Chandler and regularly see customers from across the East Valley and greater Phoenix — Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek, Ahwatukee and Sun Lakes are all a short drive. Arizona residency is what matters legally, not which city you are in.
Why is pickup by appointment?
So that someone is there for you. A transfer needs a person, a safe, and fifteen uninterrupted minutes at the counter. Booking a time means you get all three instead of a locked door or a queue.
Ready when you are
That is the whole process. One background check, one dealer, one trip. Browse the firearms catalog or the full store, and if anything about a transfer is unclear, get in touch — we would rather answer the question up front than have you guess.
This article is general information about how firearm transfers work, not legal advice. Firearms law varies by state and locality and changes over time. Your receiving dealer is your authority on what is permitted where you live.