Every dealer to dealer shipment rests on one assumption: the license on the other end is real, current, and belongs to the person you think it does. The ATF gives you a free tool to test that assumption in about thirty seconds, and the regulations expect you to use something like it before a firearm leaves your control.
Here is how FFL eZ Check works, when verification is required, and what to do when a check comes back wrong.
What FFL eZ Check Actually Confirms
The tool checks the license number against the ATF's Federal Firearms Licensing Center database and, for a valid active license, returns the license name, business name if different, premises address and license type. It covers Types 01, 02, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10 and 11. Type 03 collector licenses are not in eZ Check and must be verified through the licensing center directly.
The FFL number itself carries structure worth knowing: fifteen characters where the first digit is the ATF region, the middle encodes state, county and license type, and the last five are the unique sequence. eZ Check needs only the first three and last five digits to find the record.
When You Must Verify
The regulations require a licensee shipping to another licensee to verify the recipient's license. The traditional method is a certified copy of the license, signed by the recipient. eZ Check exists to make that verification instant and to catch the cases paper cannot: licenses that have expired, been surrendered or been revoked since the copy was signed. Verify in these situations, every time:
- Before any dealer to dealer shipment, including returns to distributors and transfers to gunsmiths.
- When a new trading partner sends you a license copy. The copy proves what the license said; eZ Check proves it is still true.
- When the shipping address differs from the license address. Firearms go to the licensed premises, not a warehouse of convenience. A mismatch is a stop sign until explained.
- Periodically for regular partners. Licenses expire on a rolling schedule; a partner whose renewal lapsed does not always know to tell you.
Reading the Result
A clean result matches on all three points: active status, business name, premises address. Treat anything less as a problem to resolve before shipping:
- No record found. Re enter the digits first; transposition is the usual culprit. If it still fails, the number may be fake or a Type 03 outside the system.
- Name or address mismatch. Businesses change trade names and move premises. Ask the partner for their amended license or a licensing center letter before proceeding.
- Expired or terminated. Do not ship. A timely filed renewal keeps a license valid past its printed date, but that is documented by an ATF letter of authorization, which is what you should ask to see.
Print or save the eZ Check result with the transaction record. At your next compliance inspection, the disposition entry, the verification record and the shipment should tell one consistent story.
Make Verification Part of the Workflow, Not a Memory Test
Like every recurring obligation in this business, verification works when it is wired into the process: partner license numbers and expiration dates stored on the account, a check run when the license nears expiration, and the verification saved where the A&D entry lives. A firearms specific point of sale platform keeps dealer partner records attached to transactions, so the question "did we verify this FFL?" always has a documented answer.
The Bottom Line
eZ Check is free, takes seconds and closes the exact gap that certified copies leave open. Verify before every dealer shipment, save the result, and re verify when licenses roll over. It is the cheapest insurance in firearms retail.
See how Bravo keeps partner records and dispositions in one system.