Newbie Guide to Handgun Transfer-MSP Style

sprad85 said:

Hey everyone, so my step-father bought me a ar-15, specifically a Smith and Wesson M&P 15 Sport. I have already had it shipped to a gun store, The Armory in Annapolis, through a FFL dealer in WV. I have already picked up the firearm and paid the transfer fee, and filled out background paperwork. My question is do I have to register it in MD, or did the gun store do that when I did paperwork and paid the transfer fee? Please let me know if any of you have knowledge on this. Thanks

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Current Rifles and Shotguns that are cash and carry (legal for sale in Maryland) are not required to be "registered."

So, with that said, what question do you have about doing a transfer at a local MSP barracks?

However depending on who you ask, M&P Sport is not Maryland legal.

Did a deal today with yet another standup MDShooters member at the Glen Burnie barracks. Looking back at this thread, I think it's time for a Cliff Notes version:

1) Buyer and Seller agree to meet at one of the 22 Maryland State Police Barracks.

2) Buyer inspects unloaded handgun out of view of any 3rd person, and firearm is returned to its case and LEFT IN THE SELLER'S CAR.

3) Buyer and Seller ask the Duty Desk Trooper for Handgun Transfer paperwork and follow the EXACT instructions from the Trooper about how the firearm is to be seen, inspected and logged.

4) Buyer (the "Transferee") will present a Handgun Qualification License (or be eligible for an Exemption category), along with a Driver's License and a $10 check or USPS Money Order made out to the Maryland State Police.

5) Seller (the "Transferor") will present a Driver's License.

6) Buyer and Seller both have sections to complete. (The paperwork is multi-layer carbon-copy so press hard).

7) The Trooper will hand you a copy of the agreement and the Seller goes home with the firearm to wait for the MSP approval letter ("Not Disapproved"), and to wait for at least SEVEN DAYS to pass.

8) Buyer and Seller meet again for the Buyer to hand over payment and to sign the transfer receipt at the bottom of the Not Disapproved page. Seller hands over cased firearm out of view of any 3rd party...and you are done.

Rack&Roll said:

Did a deal today with yet another standup MDShooters member at the Glen Burnie barracks. Looking back at this thread, I think it's time for a Cliff Notes version:

1) Buyer and Seller agree to meet at one of the 22 Maryland State Police Barracks.

2) Buyer inspects unloaded handgun out of view of any 3rd person, and firearm is returned to its case and LEFT IN THE SELLER'S CAR.

3) Buyer and Seller ask the Duty Desk Trooper for Handgun Transfer paperwork and follow the EXACT instructions from the Trooper about how the firearm is to be seen, inspected and logged.

4) Buyer (the "Transferee") will present a Handgun Qualification License, a Driver's License and a $10 check or USPS Money Order made out to the Maryland State Police.

5) Seller (the "Transferor") will present a Driver's License.

6) Buyer and Seller both have sections to complete. (The paperwork is multi-layer carbon-copy so press hard).

7) The Trooper will hand you a copy of the agreement and the Seller goes home with the firearm to wait for the MSP approval letter ("Not Disapproved"), and to wait for at least SEVEN DAYS to pass.

8) Buyer and Seller meet again for the Buyer to hand over payment and to sign the transfer receipt at the bottom of the Not Disapproved page. Seller hands over cased firearm out of view of any 3rd party...and you are done.

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I almost hate to mention this, but it should be stated somewhere/somehow that there are exemptions to the HQL requirement. Item 4, above, should read: Buyer (the "Transferee") will present a Handgun Qualification License (or check one of the exemption blocks), a Driver's License and a $10 check or USPS Money Order made out to the Maryland State Police.

Some situations can arise where the buyer can check more than one block. Example would be a retired military member buying a C&R handgun. Either block will suffice.

This is a great summation. I'm going to get it printed on a 3x5 card and have a copy available for my buyer/seller counterpart.

Thanks for the suggestion and I edited my Cliff Notes version to reflect this above your post.

You're welcome! I like your language better than what I suggested. (More succinct.)

Thanks for all the helpful info as I am selling a handgun and had wondered about the msp transfers. Now after waiting for the not disapproved to come back, can you meet outside of the state of MD to do the transfer of the firearm to the buyer? Reason being it came with standard, now high cap. mags which would have to be transferred out of the state of MD.

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I'm not aware of any legal language against it, but I would urge extreme caution: you are engaging in a federally regulated transaction that is NOT being legally completed within the boundaries of your home state. So I would say no to this.

Your mag transfer has to be done out of state, yes.

Of course, this is all on the assumption that the buyer is also a legal resident of Maryland. No can do if this person is not a resident of the "Free State" also.

So best bet to do the transfer of the firearm within the state of MD and then cross state lines to do the magazine transfer? Have never sold a regulated firearm before and want to be sure I do everything correctly in accordance with the law

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Elynchjr23 said:

So best bet to do the transfer of the firearm within the state of MD and then cross state lines to do the magazine transfer? Have never sold a regulated firearm before and want to be sure I do everything correctly in accordance with the law

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I'd say Yes. But my degree says Engineering, not Law.

Rack&Roll, thanks for the awesome thread! I have always done my transfers at an FFL, but going to give the MSP a try.

After the 77R went digital, has the process changed at all? Or are they still using paper at the barracks?

all electronic. no more paper.

swinokur said:

all electronic. no more paper.

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So the buyer will fill out the online app as a private (secondary) sale, and both parties meet at the barracks?

I feel like I'm making this more complicated than it is.

here are the 2 sets of instructions for the submission.
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Handgun Transfers

Thanks R&R for the clarity of this thread. I'm assuming the safest bet is to transfer the weapon in state and then the standard magazines separately, outside the state, as Elynchjr23 suggested. This is just-in-time information for me - thanks.

Must say that reading all this reminds me of how the People's Democratic Republic has everybody doing the Lambada figuring out how to comply with laws written to regulate the behavior of criminals who can't read them and will certainly ignore them anyway. But you all know that.

Elynchjr23 said:

So best bet to do the transfer of the firearm within the state of MD and then cross state lines to do the magazine transfer? Have never sold a regulated firearm before and want to be sure I do everything correctly in accordance with the law

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swinokur said:

here are the 2 sets of instructions for the submission.
.

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Thanks for the info swinokur! MDSP website isn't the easiest to navigate on mobile.

Sometimes it's not even easy on a PC either.

In response to questions about the new digital process for the MSP transfer, here is a summary:

All the MSP Transfer paperwork is now done online for both parties, and you will need to have a credit card to present at the barracks for the $10 transfer fee. They DO NOT accept checks or Money Orders as they used to.

The Buyer of the pistol needs to go online (on their home laptop or internet connected phone) to the Maryland State Police website and click on the Regulated Transfers. Follow the instructions to create a user name and password that will be connected to the documents you have to deal with online. (Keep in mind the password will expire in a month or two and you will not be able to use your favorite User Name and Password combo in any future deals)

The Buyer completes the transfer and eligibility docs by filling in the blanks and clicking on yes/no buttons. When you get to the Seller's section, you will need to fill in that person's info--so they will have to give it to you. Or, you can give that person your User Name and Password so they can access the docs and fill in their part on their own.

Once completed you will get an email confirmation that your app is complete, along with a code number. The code number is what the Trooper at the barracks needs to access your online app so he can fill in the firearm info on a barracks computer.

When you arrive at the barracks you make your first contact with the Desk Trooper and the firearm STAYS IN THE SELLER'S TRUNK. (Important: If the Buyer is inspecting the Seller's firearm for the first time in the parking lot at a barracks meet-up, do so in the passenger compartment and keep the firearm BELOW the windshield so as not to alarm anyone. If the firearm is inspected in the trunk, do NOT lift it out of the trunk into public view but use the trunk as a screen while is is inspected)

The Buyer will need to have his or her HQL and Driver's License available to hand over to the Trooper at this stage, as will the Seller. Remember, DO NOT BRING THE FIREARM INTO THE BARRACKS YOURSELF WITHOUT PERMISSION. WAIT FOR TROOPER INSTRUCTIONS ON THAT. Please know that when Buyer and Seller hand over their Driver's Licenses in the first step, the Trooper is going to run your names for warrants.

After that, the usual course is the Trooper walks out to the Seller's vehicle ONLY with the Seller to retrieve the firearm to bring it into the barracks to do the firearm portion of your app on their computer. (The Buyer STAYS PUT in the barracks because the Trooper can get nervous about being jumped by a second person in that walk to the parking lot.) Sometimes they tell the Seller it is OK to retrieve a CASED firearm from the Seller's vehicle and bring the CASED FIREARM in and hand it over but that is the exception. And for God's sake, make sure the Seller checks it to confirm that the firearm is not loaded and that there is NO ammo in the case.

As noted earlier, the Seller will have to hand over his or her Driver's License to the Trooper, and sometimes they demand to see the Seller's HQL, which is dumb because only the Buyer needs an HQL for this transaction. Don't sweat it...the Seller will just hand over his or her HQL if they have one.

After the Trooper has done his part he will say he has completed the app paperwork online and the Seller will take the firearm home to await the Not Disapproved email notifications that will go to both the Buyer and Seller on the 8th day. It will give the all-clear for the firearm to be handed over at a location of the your choosing--it does not have to be the barracks. The Seller will receive an email asking for a reply confirming that the transfer has occurred.

As for how to handle the Buyer's payment to the Seller, the most prevalent arrangement is for the Buyer to hand over cash to the Seller when they meet up for the firearm handoff after 7 days. Demands for any other arrangement could be a red flag for a Buyer.

You are all done.

Some additional information about the email from MSP.

In addition to stating you can complete the transfer, there will be a link follow to mark the transfer date. Filling this out can be a little tricky because it's not 100% clear where you have to click on that page to starting filling in the blanks.

Thanks for the update on the electronic process! Excellent thread. Glad to see the MSP has entered the electronic age.