Same Day, No Entry. Overnight, It Gets Logged. Everything Else Follows From That.
Doing gunsmithing as a regular business without a Federal Firearms License is a felony carrying up to five years, so this plan opens with the Type 01 ($200, then $90 every three years) versus Type 07 license decision, the ATF's own purpose test for telling gunsmithing from manufacturing, and the zoning call to make in week one — the single most common reason FFL applications fail. It walks through the bound-book rule that governs your daily work: same-day return needs no entry, but anything held overnight must be logged as both an acquisition and a disposition.
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Built From Real Numbers
Realistic startup runs $8,000 to $30,000 depending on training route and machining equipment — and the plan is direct that you don't need a lathe on day one, since a large share of profitable work is assembly, sights, optics, triggers and finishing. There were about 128,690 active FFLs nationwide, which is the moat this license actually buys you.
It also covers the revenue line most new gunsmiths overlook: FFL transfers on online firearm purchases, which take about twenty minutes each and bring a customer into your shop who then asks about a trigger job — alongside the specific categories of work you must legally refuse, like anything producing an unlicensed NFA item or involving an altered serial number.
What's Inside
- Repair Intake and Custody Record built for A&D compliance from the first item in the door
- Bench Job Pricing Calculator for diagnostic fees, labor, parts and transfer charges
- Daily Compliance Closeout checklist for A&D entries, dispositions and secure storage
- Turnaround Tracker for days from drop-off to pickup, the trade's most common complaint
- Type 01 vs Type 07 decision guide using ATF's own purpose-based distinction
- Zoning-first sequencing and the ATF Form 7 application and interview walkthrough
- First 90-days plan from zoning call through your first FFL transfer
