New ID requirements for gun buys

[Grandpa Shooter]

I have been told that a Driver's License with PO Box as an address is no longer valid ID for buying a firearm. Was also told I had to have the new DL a minimum of 60 days before using it to buy. I live in a small town where we all have PO Box on our DL because there is no home delivery of mail. This is in AZ. Any FFL's out there with an answer?

 

[cohoskip]

In AZ you can get an I.D. card from the driver license bureau that looks just like a driver's license with your picture on it. Just put your home address on it.
If you are over 65 it is free and just takes a few minutes. Under 65 it costs $12. There is no expiration date.

I have one and use it for firearms purchases...

As far as having to wait 60 days for a purchase, I have found that it depends on the dealer.
One here says yes, and another doesn't care as long as you can prove residence for that period of time, as with utility bills, or ?

 

[Grandpa Shooter]

Never thought of getting an AZ ID just for buying guns. Learn something new every time I come on the gun forums. And they say you can't teach old dogs new tricks!

 

[Wild Horse]

Geez, I thought I was the only one with the ID problem. My DL has a PO Box 'cause there ain't no home delivery in the whole County. So I asked about getting my street addy put on the DL as well as the PO Box. No can do, one or the other. Problem #2 is the street addy shows up as another City in another County with the wrong ZIP code. I don't want a phony ID for many reasons and wrong City, County and ZIP would be phony.

 

[Sgt.Fathead]

I thought we had it bad here in New Jersey! Oh, wait, we do.....

 

[Manedwolf]

Sounds like Arizona is becoming California. Sad.

The Frontier's dead.

 

[Mach II Sailor]

I have been told that a Driver's License with PO Box as an address is no longer valid ID for buying a firearm.

what authoritive figure told you that ? being as you are on the internet, do a search of Az. gun laws, i too am a "Zonie", and never heard or read of such a thing.

 

[Croc]

That has been the case since 2002. Check the ATF website, its in the Dec newsletter. You can still use a DL with a P.O. Box, but you also have to have a supporting document with your street address on it; like a tax bill or water bill. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of dealers aren't up on it.

 

[Seiko]

This has been the law since.... 2000 I think. You can still use your PO Box DL but have to have a water bill, rent receipt or whatever.

But I just have a state ID with my real address on it.

Opps croc beat me to it

 

[dakotashooter2]

On the same general subject has your CCW ever been rejected as a form of ID?

I was using my credit card once and the teller asked for an ID. I threw my concealed weapons permit on the counter thinking it was my drivers license (they are both plastic and have similar coloring and layout). After the wide eyed look she said she could not accept it. I told her it was actually a more valid/reliable form of ID than the DL because of the stricter requirements to get it but she wasn't buying it. In my case it required approval form the City, County and State law enforcement agencies along with a background check through the state and feds and fingerprinting. all my DL required for ID was a birth certificate.

 

[springfieldbob]

To Dakotashooter2

I wanted to cash a check at the local bank here (springfield,ma )and I presented my LTC only to be told it was not acceptable. So, I presented my Police ID card and was again told that IT was not acceptable. I did not have my DL with me and was not able to cash my check.

Funny thing is,I've cashed other checks at the same bank (different teller-different day) with no ID asked for. Go figure.

 

[geezer in NH]

Fed Law says Address of where you reside. You do NOT live in a PO box. The physical address is required on the .Gov picture ID. Get your street, rd, hwy address the same one the fire dept will respond to when your house is on fire.

This is not a new rule it has been enforced for a few years now. Any FFL not having this takes a chance of having his license pulled. I will not sell to you without the address as the money I make on your sale is not worth my Livelihood.

Blame the politicians you and your neighbors send to Washington for this not us dealers.

 

[AK103K]

I've always had a PO Box for my address. Back when it didnt matter, it was fine for your license, but these days it wont fly. I'm really surprised your state still accepts it for the DL itself.

What you do is this, and I got it right from my Postmaster when I asked the question for my license a number of years ago, and this is what I've been doing since.

Your address looks like this:

Jimmy Gunbuyer
RR4 Box 320
PO Box 3006
Winchester, VA

The first line is the physical address, the second, where the mail will be delivered. According to the feds and state, its a legal address.

The funny part is, the last three "physical" address's on my license, were not in the same town as my PO Box, but that doesnt seem to matter, you just have to have a physical address. In reality it doesnt, as you have to have all the ID to get a box these days anyway.

The whole thing is a joke anyway. Around here, we dont have 911, so the address's are still a RR number. If you put that in a search like Map Quest, you get the center of the zip code for the location. The fire companys address is a little plaque on your house with a zone and number for their use, so that isnt even an "address".

They are getting things tightened up, but its still pretty much in flux out in the boonies.

 

[alan]

Perhaps the bureaucratic mind will, in the end triumph over all else, common sense especially. It does seem however as if the bull**** never ends.

 

[rem870hunter]

sgt.


you are right we do have it bad here. although some of what we go through others do as well i guess. i don't know if this is state or federal laws/ regulations. or both but i was informed that here in NJ...

your d/l info and your firearms id card info. MUST match. otherwise they can't sell you a firearm. you can look but not buy. not even a BB GUN.
you can order from a catalog or online

a muzzleloader be it a rifle , pistol or shotgun but it must be sent to a FFL dealer.

a BB gun/pellet gun must also be sent to a FFL dealer.

and even having said that they still have to make a phone call. that has closing hours. and you have to fill out a few sheets of paperwork. so if i want to buy a firearm at kmart or walmart after 8.00 pm i can't. and they are not taking calls on weekend too as well i think.

the paperwork is definetly something i recall when i made my first and only (firearm) purchase at age 20. a crosman 760 air rifle. when i was in south carolina in nov. of 2006 i went into walmart and the BB guns weren't locked up. they were right out on the shelf. i had thoughts of buying. but they passed quickly.

 

[radom]

As long as I can recall Oregon has required a physical address on drivers licences. So I have both the PO Box # and the road address on mine. Now that I think of it I am shocked that any state DMV would issue a DL with a PO Box, hard to put a PO Box # on a arrest warrent.

 

[UniversalFrost]

I live in arizona as well and have had zero problems. I bought a rifle the same day I got my new drivers license. Of course my license has my street address and not my po box and I am not in the same age bracket as you are most likely based upon your callsign here on TFL.

Only thing they care about around here is if your liscense shows your actual address you live in. Also, get your CCW permit and when purchasing a gun they just have you fill out the paperwork and you go on your way, they don't even call it in. I am working on gettting another 01 FFL (had one while I lived in SD before I joined the service). As long as you can provide me with id that shows your actual address i would have no problems dealing with you. If no CCW or C&R FFL then i would have to do the normal call in for each purchase.

The local guys you deal with are probably worried you are one of the snow birds that come down here each winter and then go back north in the summer. So you would be a non-resident in their eyes and therefore that is why they are requiring you to have actual rescidence on the id and older than 60 days. I have ran into way too many retirees donw here that get a new license each time they come down here. This is also one of the main reasons that AZ has a 6 month residency requirment before you can qualify as a resident for a hunting or fishing license. Most states it is 30-90 days.

 

[Jbar4Ranch]

Yep, says right on the 4473 now in bold letters that a PO box cannot be used in the address box. And you can't use your street address there w/o something "government issued" to confirm it such as a driver's license, vehicle registration, conservation license, voter's registration card, tax statement, marriage license, county burn permit, etc. Some of these, such as a conservation license, can't be used as the confirmation ID on the day they are issued either. A concealed carry permit can't be used as both the primary photo ID on page 2, and confirmation of a physical address either, go figure. (At least here it can't) If you move and don't have your driver's license updated within ten days, your license in no longer valid either. PO boxes are common addresses here too, and I go through this every day at the gun counter. Unless you live in a cardboard box under the overpass, you definitely have a physical address. The county tax assessor's office and/or the fire department can tell you what it is.

 

[armoredman]

Been that way since I sold guns for a living over 6 years ago. Nothing new.

 

[Samurai]

I use my carry permit to purchase. It's a photo ID, and it's got my home address on it, and dealers tend to accept it with less reserve than with standard driver's licenses.

Just a thought.