Can You Ship a Handgun? Carriers, FFL Rules, and Penalties

You can ship a handgun, but not on your own through the mail or a private carrier. Federal law and every major carrier’s policy funnel handgun shipments through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), so the practical answer to whether you can ship a handgun is that a licensed dealer has to handle the physical shipment at one or both ends, even when you’re sending your own gun to yourself.

Why an FFL Has to Be Involved

The Gun Control Act of 1968 makes it illegal for anyone other than a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector to transfer a firearm to a person they know or have reason to believe lives in another state. It’s equally illegal on the receiving end for an unlicensed person to take delivery of a firearm they acquired outside their home state.¹

Licensed dealers, on the other hand, can ship firearms to each other across state lines. That’s the backbone of the whole system: your gun goes from a local FFL to an FFL near the recipient, who runs the background check and hands it over.²

Federal law also requires anyone shipping a firearm through a common carrier to give the carrier written notice that the package contains a firearm. The carrier cannot put any external label on the box indicating what’s inside.¹ That disclosure happens at the counter or through the carrier’s account system, not on the packaging.

What the Carriers Actually Accept

Federal law sets the floor. Carrier policies sit on top of it, and they’re stricter than the statute alone.

USPS

The Postal Service flatly bars individuals from mailing handguns. Under federal law, pistols, revolvers, and other concealable firearms are “nonmailable.”³ The exceptions are narrow: licensed manufacturers and dealers can mail handguns to each other for trade or repair, and certain government officers can mail them for official duties. If you’re an unlicensed private owner, USPS will not accept your handgun.

Rifles and shotguns follow different USPS rules and can be mailed by unlicensed individuals in some circumstances, but that leniency does not extend to handguns.⁴

UPS

UPS accepts firearms only from licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, or collectors who have a contractual UPS agreement for firearm shipments. An unlicensed individual cannot hand a handgun package to UPS regardless of the destination.⁵ Handguns must ship Next Day Air; ground service isn’t an option. UPS also requires an adult signature on direct delivery, no external markings identifying the contents, and separate packaging for any ammunition.

FedEx

FedEx restricts firearm shipments to FFL holders who have signed a FedEx Firearms Shipping Compliance Agreement. Individuals cannot ship firearms through FedEx. All firearm shipments require signature service at delivery, and the gun must be unloaded, packed in a sturdy box or hard case with cushioning, and shipped without any external label identifying what’s inside.

One detail worth knowing before you choose FedEx: firearms are excluded from FedEx’s declared value coverage. If your handgun is lost or damaged in transit, FedEx will not reimburse you no matter what value you declared.⁶

Sending a Handgun to Another Person

Because the carriers won’t take a handgun from an unlicensed shipper, an FFL-to-FFL transfer is the only realistic path. The process:

Bring your unloaded handgun to a licensed dealer near you. The dealer charges a transfer or shipping fee, commonly somewhere in the $20 to $75 range, though fees vary.
The recipient locates a licensed dealer near them who will accept the incoming transfer. That dealer also charges a fee.
Your local FFL ships the handgun to the recipient’s FFL using a carrier that accepts firearm shipments from licensees.
The recipient visits the receiving FFL, fills out ATF Form 4473, and undergoes a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Only after passing can they take possession.

The receiving FFL is responsible for verifying eligibility and running the background check.² Budget for two dealer fees plus shipping.

Some states allow direct person-to-person handgun sales within the same state without an FFL, but the moment shipping enters the picture the carrier restrictions kick in. USPS, UPS, and FedEx all require a licensed shipper, so even an intrastate shipment generally has to run through an FFL.

Sending a Handgun to Yourself

Shipping a handgun to yourself is a different legal question than sending one to another person, and the answer changes depending on why you’re shipping it.

If You’re Moving to a New State

If you’re permanently relocating, sending your own handgun to your new address is not an interstate “transfer” to another person under the Gun Control Act. You already own the firearm, so federal law does not require an FFL simply because you moved. The problem is physical: USPS won’t accept a handgun from you, and UPS and FedEx require a licensed shipper.³⁵ The practical route is to bring the gun to a local FFL who ships it to an FFL in the new state, which returns it to you. Because you’re the same owner throughout, the process is typically straightforward, though some dealers still run a background check as a matter of policy.

Your new state’s laws govern what you can possess once you arrive. If your handgun has features or a magazine capacity that’s restricted there, shipping it in can create trouble on the state side even when the federal shipping process is clean.

If You’re Traveling Temporarily

Shipping a handgun ahead to a hotel or short-term address in another state is harder. The USPS provision that lets an unlicensed person mail a firearm to themselves at a temporary out-of-state location covers only rifles and shotguns.⁴ With the private carriers restricted to FFL shippers, your realistic option is an FFL-to-FFL shipment where you pick the gun up near your destination. For most short trips, transporting the handgun personally in checked luggage under TSA and airline rules is simpler.

Sending a Handgun for Repair

Federal law carves out a clear repair exception. An individual can send a handgun to a licensed manufacturer or gunsmith, and the repair facility can return it directly to the owner without ATF Form 4473 or a NICS background check, as long as the gun goes back to the person who sent it.¹⁷ If the facility ships it to anyone else, a background check applies.

The legal exception is clean; the logistics are not. USPS only allows handgun shipments between licensed entities, and UPS and FedEx require an FFL shipper.³ Many manufacturers and gunsmiths therefore ask you to bring the gun to a local FFL for the outbound shipment; others provide a prepaid label with specific drop-off instructions. Confirm the process with the repair facility before packing anything, and verify the gunsmith has a current FFL. The return shipment goes straight to your address.

Insurance and the Risk of Loss

Handguns are expensive, and the carriers offer thin protection. FedEx will not reimburse a lost or damaged firearm regardless of declared value.⁶ That risk mostly falls on whoever handed the package to the carrier, which usually means the FFL. Some dealers carry their own coverage or use specialty firearm shipping services with better terms. If you’re sending a high-value handgun, ask the FFL what happens if the package disappears before you hand the gun over. Third-party firearm shipping insurance exists and is worth looking into for anything above a few hundred dollars.

Penalties for Shipping a Handgun Illegally

Shortcuts here are not paperwork mistakes. Federal penalties scale with the offense.

Mailing a handgun through USPS in violation of the law: up to two years in prison and a fine.³
Willfully violating other Gun Control Act provisions, such as shipping to someone in another state without going through an FFL or failing to give the carrier written notice: up to five years in prison and a fine.⁸
Shipping a firearm to someone you know or should know is a felon: up to fifteen years in prison under the federal firearms trafficking statute, which applies even if you didn’t realize you were breaking shipping rules.⁹
Shipping, transporting, or receiving a firearm in interstate commerce knowing it will be used in a serious crime: up to ten years in prison.⁸

State law adds another layer. Some states treat receipt of an improperly shipped firearm as a separate offense, and several require additional registration or waiting periods that apply even when the federal transfer process was followed correctly. A clean federal transfer can still produce state charges if the state’s own rules were missed.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1715 – Firearms as Nonmailable; Regulations
4
Postal Explorer. Publication 52 – Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail
5
UPS. How To Ship Firearms
6
FedEx. FedEx Declared Value and Limits of Liability for Shipments
7
ATF. Firearms Questions and Answers
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 933 – Trafficking in Firearms