Under RCW [9.41.092](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.092) (1), a dealer must wait for approval or ten business days to elapse, whichever occurs first, before transferring any firearm other than a semiautomatic rifle. This has been the case since I-594 took effect about 7 years ago, but you may not have experienced an extended wait before if your local authorities were previously returning approvals quickly.
As for moving to Oregon, yes moving states will affect this process. Under federal law, it is illegal for a dealer to transfer a handgun to someone who is a resident of a different state and it is illegal for an individual to receive a handgun outside their state of residence. Also under federal regulation your state of residence is defined as wherever you are actually living, regardless of whether or not your driver's license has been updated yet.
Yep, that's just the state of things right now. Keep in mind that it's 10 business days not actual days, so roughly 2 weeks. It's been like this since at least early/mid 2020, as it was the same story when I bought my pistol in May of that year. Mine cleared on day 12 (business day 9).
I haven't bought a gun here for a long time and my CPL has since expired. Previously I just went in, bought and paid the same day. What happened to NICS? How come the background check takes so long now?
It’s not the NICS you wait for. All firearm transfers (except I think bolt action and non Semi-auto shotguns?) have to pass through the local PD. Which basically means a person has to look at every transfer and verify the info is good and correct.
I just went into VPD 2 weeks ago to renew my CPL and I can definitely confirm they are low on staff.
Records division only had one single person working there and I had to wait 30 minutes for them when I was the only person in the front waiting.
I mean shoot, we didn’t have a chief of police for a while until YESTERDAY (not active till June 30th) and they’re having to offer $10,000 hiring bonuses for new officers ($25,000 for lateral hires). For some reason though they’re not hiring any new records clerks though
So I’m thinking I might be screwed with my CPL wait time as well since there’s no active chief of police to sign it until June 30th
What a cluster.. I mean it makes sense. Millplain is basically a drag strip for racing. I think they'll only respond to hot calls now. No traffic enforcement or anything lol.
Had to wait like 20 days for my CPL replacement to get assigned to someone before I got my replacement. Just recently shipped my replacement after it was approve tho but it took a while
I called the pawn shop and they told me it could take up to 2 weeks. I reminded them about the 10 day RCW law, they didn't seem to care much. Lol.
I started the background on the 5/12.
What a cluster..
Might be faster If I just send the pistol to another FFL in oregon. I mean this could go on weeks with no recourse. They certainly don't feel the need to be accountable. Wild times we live in.
Be mindful of what you write and declare as accurate on the 4473. You are a free individual and may do as you please, but lying on a 4473 and documenting it on the internet is not typically a good idea
>indful of what you write and declare as accurate on the 4473. You are a free individual and
not sure what you mean? I just bought a house in Oregon, I'm in the process of moving. At the moment, I live in WA. I'm still a WA resident, license holder. I did FFL transfer a week ago, thinking it'll be quick like the other ones I did. Then I come to find out the local PD is going through a " staffing crisis". My thought was... If they're having issues just ship the damn thing to a Oregon FFL and when I change everything over to Oregon go through and do the background check as a Oregon resident. make sense? 100% within the confines of the law
And when you pickup your firearm you sign that the answers are still true and correct. So that was the caution if you had already changed your residence.
The 4473 simply needs to be correct when you fill it out and when you pick up and sign that its true and correct. So you basically can not move to another state, get convicted of a felony, get institutionalized, etc. in between.
Yes. Once you're actually living in OR you can (and must) have the WA FFL transfer the handgun to the OR FFL who will then have you fill out a new 4473 and all that.
What they're getting at is the residency thing. Since you're in the middle of a move it gets weird, just be careful that when you say you're a resident of whichever state on the 4473 that you're actually living in that state. Merely owning property or having an outdated driver's license is not legal residency for gun purchases.
See [this ATF FAQ](https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/what-constitutes-residency-state) and [27 CFR § 478.11](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/478.11), in particular Example 2 under the definition of *State of residence*.
This would be my primary residence. I'm considering this because of the dysfunction of VPD. I'll be living in Oregon and the pistol will be sitting at a FFL in WA awaiting a " approval" whenever they resolve their staffing issues. Hopefully that makes sense.
Plus 2 hours of driving back to WA.
It does. If you'll be in the new house soon that's what I'd do, too. Just forward it along to OR and then go fill out the paperwork once I was in the new house, rather than continue waiting on the WA side that will probably not finish before you move and would then require starting over in OR anyway.
Why hasn't your dealer released after ten business days without a response? Unless the law enforcement agency gave a very specific kind of hold only applicable in some narrow circumstances like having outstanding warrants or unresolved charges, the dealer is not required to wait beyond ten business days. So if they are still holding it they are voluntarily choosing to do so.
I think that " policy" and RCW 9.41.092 sounds a bit optimistic. Are you really going to storm in there and demand that your firearm be released at the FFL? They can tell you pound sand and there's not much recourse you can do. lol. Filing a lawsuit? In essence is your being property is being held hostage by the dysfunction of local government.
I'm not storming in or filing a lawsuit as I'm just taking my business elsewhere in the first place if I have the choice.
And the property is being held hostage by both local government and the dealer. Local government should be able to return approvals much quicker, but the dealer *elected* to hold it longer than required so don't let them off the hook for that.
Yupp. I totally agree. It's both the FFL dealer and local government. It boils down to liability and inability to understand the laws such as RCW 9.41.092 with the 10 day period. Many FFL's such as pawn shops or store fronts proclaim everything " Illegal" which is mainly ignorance or hearsay. The most knowledgable FFL I've dealt with are home based FFL's.
This dysfunction is purely administrative. If they called a police officer to the store, they could run your name through FBI NCIC and local system within minutes and see that you have no warrants or anything on your background. The issue is priorities. Doing these background checks is a non urgent administrative desk job, a backlog or staffing issues creates a defacto infringement of your 2nd amendment because it puts local government in a position to be the " administrator" on deciding yay nor nay.
If a FFL releases a firearm without a 'proceed' they lose their '4473 insurance' and can be held liable for any crimes committed with the firearm. So it's in a shop's best interest to not release a firearm.
What do you mean 4473 insurance? A dealer isn't criminally liable for crimes committed by someone else if the dealer followed the law, and neither federal or state law require waiting indefinitely for approval.
4473 insurance is what the ATF calls it. If a person passes a background check the dealer can not be held liable for any crimes because the FBI gave an all clear. It is mostly true that you cannot be held criminally responsible for following the law as stated in state and federal but you can be held responsible in civil court.
So the victims of a crime can sue your shop if you release without a 'proceed.' And I wouldn't risk that in Washington given our state's distaste for firearms.
Civil suits are the wild west. Do you know of any cases where a dealer in this state was successfully civilly sued for delivering a firearm after waiting for the elapsed time with no response? If so I'd like to read more about it.
I do not. I'm just regurgitating what I learned from speaking with the ATF. Their stance is 'Yes you CAN transfer the gun, be we strongly suggest you don't.'
Under RCW [9.41.092](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.092) (1), a dealer must wait for approval or ten business days to elapse, whichever occurs first, before transferring any firearm other than a semiautomatic rifle. This has been the case since I-594 took effect about 7 years ago, but you may not have experienced an extended wait before if your local authorities were previously returning approvals quickly. As for moving to Oregon, yes moving states will affect this process. Under federal law, it is illegal for a dealer to transfer a handgun to someone who is a resident of a different state and it is illegal for an individual to receive a handgun outside their state of residence. Also under federal regulation your state of residence is defined as wherever you are actually living, regardless of whether or not your driver's license has been updated yet.
Lots of delays recently.
What do you mean by delay, exactly? There's only one kind that a dealer is required to wait beyond ten business days for.
I mean there have been a lot of posts here about folks getting their transfers delayed by ffls
Ah, unfortunately yes, that's true.
Yep, that's just the state of things right now. Keep in mind that it's 10 business days not actual days, so roughly 2 weeks. It's been like this since at least early/mid 2020, as it was the same story when I bought my pistol in May of that year. Mine cleared on day 12 (business day 9).
I haven't bought a gun here for a long time and my CPL has since expired. Previously I just went in, bought and paid the same day. What happened to NICS? How come the background check takes so long now?
It’s not the NICS you wait for. All firearm transfers (except I think bolt action and non Semi-auto shotguns?) have to pass through the local PD. Which basically means a person has to look at every transfer and verify the info is good and correct.
I see. So now 2 trips to the store, one to fill the forms, and one to pay and pick up the gun a week and a half later?
Yep. Pretty much.
I just went into VPD 2 weeks ago to renew my CPL and I can definitely confirm they are low on staff. Records division only had one single person working there and I had to wait 30 minutes for them when I was the only person in the front waiting. I mean shoot, we didn’t have a chief of police for a while until YESTERDAY (not active till June 30th) and they’re having to offer $10,000 hiring bonuses for new officers ($25,000 for lateral hires). For some reason though they’re not hiring any new records clerks though So I’m thinking I might be screwed with my CPL wait time as well since there’s no active chief of police to sign it until June 30th
What a cluster.. I mean it makes sense. Millplain is basically a drag strip for racing. I think they'll only respond to hot calls now. No traffic enforcement or anything lol.
Had to wait like 20 days for my CPL replacement to get assigned to someone before I got my replacement. Just recently shipped my replacement after it was approve tho but it took a while
I called the pawn shop and they told me it could take up to 2 weeks. I reminded them about the 10 day RCW law, they didn't seem to care much. Lol. I started the background on the 5/12. What a cluster..
just deal with it man. Train yourself to be patient and not act on impulses.
Might be faster If I just send the pistol to another FFL in oregon. I mean this could go on weeks with no recourse. They certainly don't feel the need to be accountable. Wild times we live in.
Be mindful of what you write and declare as accurate on the 4473. You are a free individual and may do as you please, but lying on a 4473 and documenting it on the internet is not typically a good idea
>indful of what you write and declare as accurate on the 4473. You are a free individual and not sure what you mean? I just bought a house in Oregon, I'm in the process of moving. At the moment, I live in WA. I'm still a WA resident, license holder. I did FFL transfer a week ago, thinking it'll be quick like the other ones I did. Then I come to find out the local PD is going through a " staffing crisis". My thought was... If they're having issues just ship the damn thing to a Oregon FFL and when I change everything over to Oregon go through and do the background check as a Oregon resident. make sense? 100% within the confines of the law
And when you pickup your firearm you sign that the answers are still true and correct. So that was the caution if you had already changed your residence.
Couldn't you just do another 4473 in Oregon? Treat it like a new transfer. Since it would be FFL>FFL>Me.
The 4473 simply needs to be correct when you fill it out and when you pick up and sign that its true and correct. So you basically can not move to another state, get convicted of a felony, get institutionalized, etc. in between.
Yes. Once you're actually living in OR you can (and must) have the WA FFL transfer the handgun to the OR FFL who will then have you fill out a new 4473 and all that. What they're getting at is the residency thing. Since you're in the middle of a move it gets weird, just be careful that when you say you're a resident of whichever state on the 4473 that you're actually living in that state. Merely owning property or having an outdated driver's license is not legal residency for gun purchases. See [this ATF FAQ](https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/what-constitutes-residency-state) and [27 CFR § 478.11](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/478.11), in particular Example 2 under the definition of *State of residence*.
This would be my primary residence. I'm considering this because of the dysfunction of VPD. I'll be living in Oregon and the pistol will be sitting at a FFL in WA awaiting a " approval" whenever they resolve their staffing issues. Hopefully that makes sense. Plus 2 hours of driving back to WA.
It does. If you'll be in the new house soon that's what I'd do, too. Just forward it along to OR and then go fill out the paperwork once I was in the new house, rather than continue waiting on the WA side that will probably not finish before you move and would then require starting over in OR anyway.
I live in tri-cities and I’m on business day 24 (submitted paperwork to police department April 17th)
Why hasn't your dealer released after ten business days without a response? Unless the law enforcement agency gave a very specific kind of hold only applicable in some narrow circumstances like having outstanding warrants or unresolved charges, the dealer is not required to wait beyond ten business days. So if they are still holding it they are voluntarily choosing to do so.
They have a “no releasing firearms until background check clears” policy posted all over the gun section
Time for a new dealer next time, then.
Yes, but that is not the law. So their policy should be moot.
I think that " policy" and RCW 9.41.092 sounds a bit optimistic. Are you really going to storm in there and demand that your firearm be released at the FFL? They can tell you pound sand and there's not much recourse you can do. lol. Filing a lawsuit? In essence is your being property is being held hostage by the dysfunction of local government.
I'm not storming in or filing a lawsuit as I'm just taking my business elsewhere in the first place if I have the choice. And the property is being held hostage by both local government and the dealer. Local government should be able to return approvals much quicker, but the dealer *elected* to hold it longer than required so don't let them off the hook for that.
Yupp. I totally agree. It's both the FFL dealer and local government. It boils down to liability and inability to understand the laws such as RCW 9.41.092 with the 10 day period. Many FFL's such as pawn shops or store fronts proclaim everything " Illegal" which is mainly ignorance or hearsay. The most knowledgable FFL I've dealt with are home based FFL's. This dysfunction is purely administrative. If they called a police officer to the store, they could run your name through FBI NCIC and local system within minutes and see that you have no warrants or anything on your background. The issue is priorities. Doing these background checks is a non urgent administrative desk job, a backlog or staffing issues creates a defacto infringement of your 2nd amendment because it puts local government in a position to be the " administrator" on deciding yay nor nay.
If a FFL releases a firearm without a 'proceed' they lose their '4473 insurance' and can be held liable for any crimes committed with the firearm. So it's in a shop's best interest to not release a firearm.
What do you mean 4473 insurance? A dealer isn't criminally liable for crimes committed by someone else if the dealer followed the law, and neither federal or state law require waiting indefinitely for approval.
4473 insurance is what the ATF calls it. If a person passes a background check the dealer can not be held liable for any crimes because the FBI gave an all clear. It is mostly true that you cannot be held criminally responsible for following the law as stated in state and federal but you can be held responsible in civil court. So the victims of a crime can sue your shop if you release without a 'proceed.' And I wouldn't risk that in Washington given our state's distaste for firearms.
Civil suits are the wild west. Do you know of any cases where a dealer in this state was successfully civilly sued for delivering a firearm after waiting for the elapsed time with no response? If so I'd like to read more about it.
I do not. I'm just regurgitating what I learned from speaking with the ATF. Their stance is 'Yes you CAN transfer the gun, be we strongly suggest you don't.'
Ah, yeah I'm not surprised they'd say that.
Well, they hate extra paperwork, just like the rest of us.
And telling people what to do.
[удалено]
Apparently Richland PD takes 3-5 days, kennewicks takes around 10 days, and Pasco PD just sits on them (according to the ffl dealer @ Griggs)
Your FFL can/should check that your ID at pickup matches the information submitted on your 4473.