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Federal Firearm Licensed Dealers Page

Requirements & Processing

After the potential firearm purchaser completes the applicable portions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms' (ATF) form 4473, the Federal Firearm Licensed dealer (FFL) is required to verify the identity of the potential purchaser by comparing the information they provide on the ATF form 4473 to a valid government-issued identification document containing a photograph and the person's name, address, and date of birth. A valid driver's license or identification card meets the needs of an identification document.

    In order to fund the Point of Contact Firearms Program, a $25.00 fee is assessed for each background check performed. It is highly recommended that prior to contacting the Point of Contact Firearms Program for a background check that the FFL collects from the potential purchaser the $25.00 fee. This fee will be assessed whether a ‘proceed’, ‘unresolved’ or a ‘deny’ is granted for the transfer of a firearm. Additionally, once the licensee has made the background check request to the Point of Contact Firearms Program the fee is non-refundable even if the potential purchaser or FFL decides to cancel the firearm transaction.

      Upon receipt of a completed form and verification of identity, the FFL must contact the Nevada Point of Contact Firearms Program. 

      Hours Of Operation:  

       

      The State of Nevada Point of Contact Firearms Program is open 7 days a week (excluding July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day). Phones are open from 8am-4:00pm and anyone in queue before 4:00pm will remain in queue until staff are able to answer all remaining calls in the queue.

      Callers are capped at 10 background checks per call to allow other callers on hold to get through during business hours. The phone queue is capped to allow staff time to process everyone in queue by the end of the business day. 

      Contact Information:

       

      Contact Information
      Location Phone
      Reno, Sparks, Incline Village, Carson City, Minden, and Gardnerville             (775) 684-6200
      Las Vegas and Southern NV  (702) 486-8730
      All other areas 1-800-4PISTOL (474-7865)
      4473 Fax (775) 687-3289
       

       

      Faxed 4473’s

      Faxes are being accepted as an additional means of having background checks conducted. Faxed requests are being entered into the system as quickly as possible based on the volume of faxes received that day. Currently, the entry time may take up to three days for processing. The three-business day response time begins after the background check has been entered into the system and not upon transmission of the faxed 4473.
      The faxed 4473 must include the following information for processing:  

       

      1. Fax cover sheet that has the following information on it:

      • Employee Name
      • FFL #
      • Phone #
      • Fax #
      • Email address as another means of communication
      • # of backgrounds being sent
      • # of pages included in the fax

      2. Pages 1, 2 and 3 of the ATF 4473 form, completed and legible.
      3. A copy of the person’s driver’s license is helpful, but not mandatory.

      *To avoid duplicate billing, do not duplicate by faxing multiple times or faxing and calling in the same background checks.

      **The POC Firearms Program staff cannot confirm individual receipt of faxes sent – please set your fax machine program to indicate if your fax has gone through and transmission has been completed. If you are faxing your 4473’s, it is paramount that they are completed in full, with accurate and legible information. If there is information missing or incorrect, an examiner will contact you via phone to re-fax the form. If this happens, the form will be placed in the order in which it was received, not at the front of the line. We are unable to alter the forms for you. 

        In order to conduct a background check, Point of Contact Firearms Program staff will require the information listed below:

        1. The last 5 digits of the Federal Firearm License number and name of the business.
        2. The caller’s name.
        3. The full name of the potential purchaser (last name, first name, middle name, suffix).
        4. Potential purchaser’s state of residency.
        5. Potential purchaser’s date of birth.
        6. Potential purchaser’s gender (male or female).
        7. Type of gun transaction (handgun or long gun or other).
        8. Potential purchaser’s driver’s license number or identification card number.
        9. State of issuance for driver’s license or identification card.
        10. Potential purchaser’s country of citizenship.
        11. Potential purchaser’s place of birth.
        12. If the potential purchaser is not a U.S. citizen, the alien registration number or I94 number.

          If the Point of Contact Firearms Program staff needs more information to further identify the potential purchaser, they may ask for the potential purchaser’s social security number, race, height, weight, as well as other identifying information provided on the ATF form 4473.

            Based upon the information provided, the Point of Contact Firearms Program staff member will execute the background check against federal (NICS) and state databases that will result in one of the following determinations:

            Proceed: The firearms transaction may proceed, as no disqualifying information was located within the data bases available to the Point of Contact Firearms Program that would prohibit the transfer of a firearm to the potential purchaser.

            Delayed: The firearms licensee will be advised that further research is necessary, and the transfer of the firearm is delayed. This delay will take the three business days allowed by 28 C.F.R. § 25.6(c)(1)(iv)(B) to determine eligibility of the transferee. (Weekends and legal holidays are not counted in the total three-day hold.)

              If a transaction has been delayed, the Point of Contact Firearms Program will call the FFL back on the third business day with one of the following determinations:

              Proceed: The firearms transaction may proceed, as no disqualifying information was located in databases available to the Point of Contact Firearms Program that would prohibit the transfer of a firearm to the potential purchaser.

              Unresolved/Open: The Point of Contact Firearms Program is unable to reach a Deny or Proceed status, further research will be conducted for up to 90 days. An Unresolved/Open response does not prohibit an FFL from transferring a firearm after the three-business day timeframe has elapsed since the FFL initiated the background check with the Point of Contact Firearms Program.

                Deny: The FFL will be advised that the transfer of a firearm would violate federal or state law. Upon the denial of a transaction the Point of Contact Firearms Program will request that the 4473 corresponding to the background check be faxed to 775-687-3419.

                Per 28 C.F.R. § 25.8 and 28 C.F.R. 25.9 FFLs are not permitted to receive criminal history information pertaining to the potential purchaser.

                The results of each background check (regardless of the result) may not be disclosed to anyone other than those who need to know for the purposes directly associated with the firearms transfer.

                  To apply for a Point of Contact Firearms (Brady) account, or to update an existing Point of Contact Firearms (Brady) account, Click here: 

                  If the denied or unresolved subject would like more information on the determination made by the Point of Contact Firearms Program, the FFL may provide them with this form: Request for Information Regarding Your Deny or Unresolved Status and follow the instructions as indicated on the form.   

                  For more information on ATF guidelines specific to Federal Firearms Licensees click here to go to the ATF’s official web site https://www.atf.gov/firearms