LEARNING GUIDE
Understand FFL types
Get familiar with the license categories behind the directory.
Research draft · Legal review pendingResearch draft, not an individualized legal determination. Sources collected 2026-09-17; no legal review date has been assigned. Collection date does not establish when a law took effect or whether it remains in force.
Dealers, pawnbrokers and manufacturers
An FFL is a federal firearms license. Type 01 covers dealers in firearms other than destructive devices; Type 02 covers pawnbrokers. Type 07 covers manufacturers of firearms other than destructive devices. These are different licensing categories, not ratings of customer service.
ATF — Federal firearms licenses ↗Collectors and curios or relics
Type 03 is for collectors of qualifying curios and relics. It is not a license to operate a general firearms business. Our commercial directory excludes this category; a future collector guide can explain it separately.
ATF — Federal firearms licenses ↗Other commercial categories
Type 06 concerns ammunition manufacturing. Type 08 covers specified firearms and ammunition imports. Types 09, 10 and 11 cover destructive-device dealing, manufacturing and importing respectively, with the ammunition categories described by ATF. Consult the full ATF definitions rather than treating these abbreviated labels as permission for a particular transaction.
ATF — Federal firearms licenses ↗License category versus services
A license category does not tell you a business’s opening hours, transfer price or whether it accepts outside transfers. Ask the business directly. FFLVerified keeps official license facts separate from dealer-reported services.
Special Occupational Tax (SOT) status and NFA services need a separate evidence check. We do not infer them from a directory listing or award them through a paid subscription.