"Registration" Copy/Mass

[JonJ]

I have a handgun that I purchased in the early '90s. It's not on the list. I see that if I want to transfer it to a Mass dealer, I need the registration from when I bought it. I can't find the reg anywhere. Would the Dept of Public Safety be able to get me a certified copy? I figured I'd ask here before I got caught up on some goofy phone system.
Thanks,
Jon

 

[FPrice]

You can get a copy of the FA-10 or the previous version from the Criminal History Systems Board. MASS GOAL had a form letter several years back which you could use to request copies of all your forms from the CHSB. I don't have the address immediately available but you can search the Commonwealth websites to fins their address and telephone number. Your dealer should also be able to help you.

 

[FPrice]

Try this:

http://www.mass.gov/chsb/

 

[JonJ]

Thanks Frosty, gives me a good start.
Jon

 

[Len-2A Training]

Jon, if you sell it privately you don't need this documentation at all.

The documentation is ONLY important if you want a dealer to sell it for you, or if some buyer ever wants a dealer to sell it for him/her.

CHSB got inundated with requests for info so they implemented a fee (it was $20 last I looked, but Romney may have jacked it to $100 . . . as many other fees were increased to that magic number) for this sort of info.

Can you get away with doing a query on the gun from your PD without getting into any trouble? If so, will it show acquisition date? That should suffice if you can do it and the info is part of the record transmitted.

 

[KMaurer]

You should also realize that prior to the FA-10 (i.e., 1999) the blue cards were just "filed" in boxes. Like some of the crap you and I have "filed" in our basements, they were frequently mildewed, water-logged, covered with rat shit and just plain misplaced. There was some minor effort to enter them into the database, but there's a very good chance than anything you purchased prior to 1999 isn't in the database.

That being said, I'm not aware of any law or regulation that requires that you provide a copy of the transfer registration in order to sell it to a dealer. I'll bet that this is just one dealer's way of atempting to ensure that he'll be able to sell the gun to an in-state customer. You can always sell to a licensed individual in-state or the dealer can always sell to an out-of-state customer (through an out-of-state FFL, of course). Some dealers may also be willing to accept your written statement that you legally possessed the firearm in-state prior to the required date. If you purchased the firearm from a dealer that's still in business, they'll still have the 4473 in their files which would document the purchase.

Ken

 

[Len-2A Training]

Ken, most dealers don't want to run afoul of the anti-dealer handgun sales law, which carries a jail term in addition to the fines.

Therefore most MA dealers will not touch a handgun without doc that it was "in state" on 10/21/98. Can't blame them!

Also documented guns are worth a fortune these days in MA, whereas they sell for nominal prices outside MA. For instance (MA recent prices): Beretta .25 (Minx or some-such pocket gun) for $299 IIRC (I sold the .22SH version a few years ago for $125, originally paid ~$95 new for it) something that I've seen at NH gun shows for ~$150. Not certain but the original HS Victor at $925 sounds steep to me but that seems to be the going rate if you can find one here.

If they buy to sell strictly out-of-state, they can't get the money that they can here plus I think that very few MA FFLs deal with Internet sales.

 

[KMaurer]

That's pretty much what I said. There isn't any law requiring it; the dealer is just trying to cover his ass. Of course, any dealer who insists on an FA-10 for a gun purchased in the early 90's is pretty clueless. The sort of documentation they'll require will depend on their level of paranoia (and paranoia is a good thing when they really are out to get you). If I were the sort to sell guns, I'd be pissed that I couldn't sell any of the guns I purchased when I lived in California and have legally possessed here for the past 20 years. (I suppose I could contact the original dealers and ask for copies of the 4473's, but the AG might want to claim that I only brought the guns to Massachusetts last week, having left them sitting on a park bench in Los Angeles up until then.)

Ken

 

[JonJ]

The reason that I wanted the reg is that I was considering putting it on consignment at a shop. That is one of their requirements.
As it turns out, I found the tissue style registration all balled up in one of my old wallets, lucky.
Len, I don't see any problem with doing a check on my own gun at work. I'll look into it. If they let me do the check, I'll report the results. Just so we know what kind of info is contained in the query return.
I'll have to do it via one of the dispatch terminals. I'd do it on my MDT but we're limited in what we can run in the cruisers.
Jon

 

[Paulm]

Now for the next question..whatcha selling?

Bugie the Curious

 

[JonJ]

Now for the next question..whatcha selling?

Bugie the Curious

A Grendel P10 .380
Jon