Building an AR 15 input please

[Gatorade]

Originally Posted by BlackKnight

That's not how I understood it. It's a federal thing not state.
I got it directly from an ATF agent I worked with for a number of years. According to him if you make and serialize it you in essence became a firearms manufacturer, thus need a federal license as well as to sell it.
Like I said I'd love to do one, though. I just don't want to take that chance. Even if I die and left it to my family I don't want to leave them with that headache.

If you intend to make the. For sale then yes he is correct. However if you only intend to make them for yourself but later down the road need to transfer it then you can serialized it. It is the difference between it being a for profit business and a once or twice in a lifetime transfer. I will see if I can get the specific info just for research sake.

[Gatorade]

Just got off the phone with ATF DC Branch. Under Federal guidelines you can MAKE a firearm from an 80% lower and transfer it without any markings to any person legally able to own a firearm as long as they are a resident of the same state or if it is left in a will to someone out of state. It does not need a serial number. Florida law allows private transfer between individuals without any paperwork as long as both individuals are legally able to possess that particular firearm. I asked specifically if I completed an 80% (unfinished, is the ATF term) lower receiver and I were to pass away would my family be able to sell it if they wanted to. Yes. So long as it is a legal sale as noted above.

When you complete a lower into a firearm you become a MAKER. You can make as many as you want. There is no limit that you hit and become a MANUFACTURER. A manufacturer manufacturers firearms as a business and is required to serialize product. You or I would be considered MAKERS, not MANUFACTURERS.

Now what your ATF agent may have meant was that under NJ law the transfer of a firearm may have different legalities. If you need to do a background check on private or family sales then you may also need a serial number. You can engrave any serial number you would like as long as it is not already used.

So if you were in FL and wanted to serialize your finished 80% lower as SN#BlackKnight then so be it. If you sell your finished lower to an individual you would probably want to serialize it and transfer it like a regular firearm. However in my case I want to make one to pass down. Yes they can still sell it but I hope it would mean enough to my family to keep it in the family.