Here is some basic information about the FFL requirements for a Federal Firearms License, or Firearm License, (FFL). This is a license that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture of firearms and ammunition or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms. Holding an FFL license to engage in certain such activities has been a legal requirement within the United States of America since the enactment of the Gun Control Act in 1968.
Thats quite a mouth full, but for most people the main use of the FFL is to be able to buy and sell rifles and guns, the manufacturing of fire arms and ammunication is highly specialized and outside the scope of most people. The state gun laws and hand gun laws are very detailed and vary from state to state, so if you want a gun license you really must do your home work before you apply for any sort of federal or state firearms license. Note, the FFL license is not the same as a guns license or a concealed carry license
There are a number of federal firearm license types, 11 in all. These cover a wide range of possible business applications in the firearms industry. They range from simply being a firearms dealer or gunsmith, a gun and rifle pawn broker, a licensed collector of curio and relic firearms to much more dangerous and complex activities such as the import of firearms from overseas and the manufacture of weapons and ammunition.
Clearly the intent of the government is to allow the average gun collector the right to buy and sell firearms but to monitor more carefully the more dangerous acticities related to firearms.
Because of the huge range of firearms that have been made over the last 200 years, and over the last 60 in particular special conditions and terms have been created. For example how to deal with semi automatic weapons from WW2, still very lethal but should they be classified as a relic?.
There are also terms and conditions relating to:
The conversion of relic and curio firearms
Antique Guns
Record keeping for FFL holders