First, understand that any legal firearm
transfer must be pre-approved by the RCMP CFP prior to the firearm changing hands. The RCMP CFP will require the
names and
firearms license numbers of both
Seller and
Buyer, and the
date of birth and the
city of birth of the
Buyer. In the case of a
restricted or
prohibited firearm, the RCMP CFP will also require the expressed "
purpose" for which the (
restricted or
prohibited) firearm is being acquired.
If the
Buyer provides all this information to the
Seller, and the
Seller is a licensed firearms
business, the
Seller can
initiate the transfer and provide all of this information to the RCMP CFP. The
Buyer may not have to speak with the RCMP CFP at all, and in time the
Seller and/or
Buyer will receive notice (from the RCMP CFP) that the transfer has been
approved and that the
Seller can deliver the firearm into the physical control of the
Buyer. On the other hand, if the
Seller is
not a licensed firearms business, or if the
Buyer does
not share all of this information with the Seller, the
Buyer will necessarily have to
speak with the RCMP CFP also before the transfer can be
approved.
In a
private sale, in most cases, a
Buyer would
not share his/her birth information with the
Seller, and the
Buyer would also have to contact the RCMP CFP. In a purchase from a licensed firearms
business, in most cases, a
Buyer would provide his/her birth information and his/her
approved shooting club membership information with the
Seller, and the
Buyer would not have to contact the RCMP CFP.
In most cases, Canada Post (
ground, with signature required, in the case of a
private mailing, and
Expresspost, with "adult" signature required, in the case of a
business mailing, per the postal regulations) is the least expensive shipping option.
How to transfer a firearm
<http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/sell-vendre-eng.htm>
Fact Sheets concerning the Firearms Act
<http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/index-eng.htm>
