Transferee Using Military PCS Orders

4473 Instructions

The instructions on the August 2023 revision of ATF Form 4473 (5300.9) say:

If the transferee/buyer is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty, his/her State of residence is the State in which his/her permanent duty station is located. If the service member is acquiring a firearm in a State where his/ her permanent duty station is located, but resides in a different State, the transferee/ buyer must list both his/her permanent duty station address and residence address. In these instances, the Armed Forces member must answer “Reside in city limits?” only for their residence address.

ATF Q&A

Question:

What documentation does a member of the military on active duty need to present to acquire a firearm?

Answer:

An active duty military member may establish residency by presenting permanent change of station (PCS) orders and a valid military photo identification card (see ATF Ruling 2001-5). The PCS orders may be either paper or electronic, as stated in the Form 4473 instructions for item 26c, “Licensees may accept electronic PCS orders to establish residency.”

Spouses and other dependents of an active duty military member may not claim residency using PCS orders, as 18 U.S.C. 921(b) applies only to members of the Armed Forces.

A military member claiming residency in a state in which he or she is present with the intention of making a home must demonstrate that residency to the federal firearms licensee (FFL) by presenting a valid identification document, or a combination of valid, government issued documents, to satisfy the identification document requirement.

Required Documentation

For active duty military sales where the buyer is using PCS Orders to establish their residency, the following documents MUST be provided by the buyer and verified by the seller:

Valid Military ID.

Valid PCS orders (not travel orders or temporary orders).

The PCS Base information listed on the PCS order MUST be recorded in Q26.c of Section C of the 4473.

A copy of the ID and PCS orders aren’t required – although it can be considered a best practice to make a copy of the documents and maintain them separate from the 4473.

Scenarios

The ATF has provided three scenarios to help explain how the “Current State and Residence and Address” question MUST be answered by the buyer.

Scenario 1: Buyer stationed in state A, lives on base in state A

If the transferee is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and is acquiring a firearm in the same state as his/her permanent duty station, and he/she resides on base, the transferee will record his/her permanent duty station residence address in item 10.

In this example the transferee/buyer would answer the current state of residency and address question as follows.

Are you active duty military using PCS orders to establish residency? Yes
Do you reside in the same state as the FFL? Yes
Do you reside on base? Yes

The transferee/buyer must provide their Permanent Duty Station residence address. (This is the address where they live ON base)

Scenario 2: Buyer stationed in state A, lives off base in state A

If the transferee is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and is acquiring a firearm in the same state as both his/her permanent duty station and his/her residence, the transferee should record his/her residence address in item 10. The transferee’s permanent duty station address in addition to the transferee’s current residence address is not required.

In this example the transferee/buyer would answer the current state of residency and address question as follows.

Are you active duty military using PCS orders to establish residency? Yes
Do you reside in the same state as the FFL? Yes
Do you reside on base? No

The transferee/buyer must provide their current state and residence address. (This is the address where they live OFF base)

Scenario 3: Buyer stationed in state A, lives off base in state B

If the transferee is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and is acquiring a firearm in a state where his/her permanent duty station is located, but resides in a different state, the transferee must list both his/her permanent duty station address and his/her residence address.

In this example the transferee/buyer would answer the current state of residency and address question as follows.

Are you active duty military using PCS orders to establish residency? Yes
Do you reside in the same state as the FFL? No
Do you reside on base? This question cannot be answered