New Jersey FFL Transfers: Fees and What the Dealer Does
Last checked 7 October 2026. The transfer dealer is the one cost in an online firearm purchase that the retailer cannot quote, and in New Jersey the dealer also does more work than in most states: the State Police check, the magazine inspection and the permit paperwork all happen at that counter. This page lays out what the receiving dealer must do, what it costs at the shops that publish their prices, and the two rules that decide when you can actually walk out with the firearm.
What the dealer must see
For a long gun the dealer needs your Firearms Purchaser Identification Card and a government photo ID. For a handgun the dealer needs the Permit to Purchase a Handgun issued for that purchase, plus photo ID. No New Jersey dealer can substitute an out-of-state license, a carry permit from another state or a hunting license for either document. If your FID card shows an old address you need a new card before the transfer; the card is tied to the address.
The State Police NICS check
New Jersey is a full point-of-contact state. Every dealer transfer, whether a long gun or a handgun and whether the firearm came from us or from the shop's own shelf, is submitted to the State Police NICS Unit, which runs the federal databases and New Jersey's own records and returns a decision to the dealer. The State Police publish no fee on their page; dealers quote about fifteen dollars for a long gun and sixteen for a handgun, with sales tax on top. In quiet weeks a check clears in minutes. Around holidays and after a large sale it can take days, and the dealer cannot release the firearm until the decision arrives.
Published transfer fees
Dealer fees are the dealer's own, but a few New Jersey shops publish them, which gives a fair picture of the market. Legend Firearms in Marlboro lists sixty-one dollars for a handgun and sixty for a long gun including the check, with fifteen dollars for each additional firearm in the same shipment. Cheyenne Mountain Outfitters lists sixty dollars plus the fifteen or sixteen dollar check, thirty dollars for an in-house private sale and twenty dollars per magazine to block one. Gun For Hire lists seventy-five dollars for an inbound transfer plus the sixteen dollar check. Each dealer sets its own fee, which is why published prices differ. Expect a similar range elsewhere in the state, and ask for the all-in number including tax and the check.
Magazines: the fee people do not expect
A magazine that holds more than ten rounds is a large-capacity magazine in New Jersey and possession is a fourth-degree crime, with narrow exceptions for .22 tubular magazines. A dealer receiving a firearm with a larger magazine must block or pin it permanently to ten rounds, or destroy it, before release, and dealers charge twenty to twenty-five dollars per magazine for the work. Where the manufacturer makes a ten-round version we swap it before shipping. Where it does not, the dealer modifies it and bills you, or you buy a compliant magazine from the dealer. The ten-round limit is enforced at New Jersey dealers, so expect them to insist on it.
Rifles: what the dealer checks
The dealer also checks that a semi-automatic rifle is not an assault firearm under the named list or the substantially identical test. Under the Attorney General's guideline a rifle that takes a detachable magazine is substantially identical to a banned rifle if it has two or more of a folding or telescoping stock, a conspicuous pistol grip, a bayonet mount, a flash suppressor or threaded barrel, and a grenade launcher. A compliant configuration therefore has at most one feature, and your dealer decides what is compliant. New Jersey's assault firearm and magazine laws are in active litigation after a July 2026 Third Circuit ruling against them, so confirm current enforcement with the New Jersey State Police or your dealer before ordering. We tag New Jersey compliant rifles in the catalogue and will not ship one that is not; a dealer who receives a non-compliant rifle must refuse it and we pay the return shipping.
The seven-day and thirty-day rules
Two timing rules apply to handguns. The dealer may not deliver a handgun until at least seven days have elapsed since the date you applied for the permit. And the dealer may not deliver more than one handgun to the same buyer within thirty days, unless the buyer holds a multiple-handgun exemption approved by the Superintendent on form S.P.015. Both are enforced by the dealer, who records the dates on the permit. Long guns have neither rule; you may transfer several long guns in one visit on one FID card, each with its own check and Certificate of Eligibility.
The Certificate of Eligibility
State Police form S.P.634 is still part of every long-gun transfer. You certify that you are not disqualified and write your FID card number; the transferor keeps the white copy and the receiver the yellow copy. It does not replace the dealer and the NICS check, which have been mandatory for private sales since the 2018 law, and it does not apply to handguns, which use the permit instead.
Private sales and family transfers
Every private sale of a firearm in New Jersey, long gun or handgun, goes through a licensed dealer with a State Police check, and dealers charge a lower in-house fee for it, commonly thirty dollars plus the check. The exceptions are transfers between immediate family members, to law-enforcement officers, to licensed collectors and temporary transfers at a range or on a hunt. A family transfer of a handgun still requires the recipient to hold a Permit to Purchase a Handgun.
Shipping in from another state
Unlike California, New Jersey has no state approval number for incoming shipments; the federal licensee-to-licensee rule applies and the shipping dealer confirms the receiving dealer's license. What the receiving dealer will refuse is a non-compliant rifle, a magazine over ten rounds that it is not willing to block, a suppressor, a short-barrelled rifle or shotgun, or an unserialized frame.
Timing the pickup
Allow a week for ground shipping and the dealer's intake, then one visit for the paperwork and check. If the State Police check is delayed you will be called back; dealers in New Jersey do not release on a lapsed check. Most dealers hold a transferred firearm free for two to four weeks and charge storage after that, so confirm the storage policy when you confirm the fee. Keep the receipt and the dealer's license number; if a dealer closes while holding a firearm, the State Police can tell you which licensee took its inventory.
Checklist for the visit
- FID card, or handgun permit for a handgun, with photo ID.
- Payment for the dealer fee, the check and any magazine work.
- For a handgun, a permit application date at least seven days earlier and no other handgun purchase in the last thirty days.
- For a long gun, a few minutes for the Certificate of Eligibility.
- A locked case for the drive home; New Jersey requires firearms to be unloaded and cased or locked in the trunk in transit.
Frequently asked questions
How much is an FFL transfer in New Jersey?
Dealers that publish prices charge about sixty to seventy-five dollars for an incoming transfer, usually including or plus the State Police NICS fee of about fifteen dollars for a long gun or sixteen for a handgun. Extra firearms in the same shipment are typically fifteen dollars each.
Is there a legal cap on the transfer fee?
We could not confirm a fixed statutory dollar cap on the dealer's fee. Dealers set their own prices, so ask for the all-in number before you order.
Can my rifle arrive with its factory fifteen-round magazine?
No. Magazines over ten rounds are large-capacity magazines in New Jersey. The receiving dealer must block or pin the magazine to ten rounds or destroy it before release, and dealers charge around twenty to twenty-five dollars per magazine for the work. We swap in a ten-round magazine before shipping where one exists.
Does New Jersey use the FBI NICS or its own check?
Every dealer transfer in New Jersey goes through the New Jersey State Police NICS Unit, which is the state point of contact. The dealer submits the check and waits for the State Police decision.
Can I sell a shotgun to a friend without a dealer?
No. Since 2018 every private sale must go through a licensed dealer with a NICS check, except transfers between immediate family, to law-enforcement officers, to licensed collectors and temporary loans at a range or hunt.
What is the Certificate of Eligibility for?
Form S.P.634 is completed for long-gun transfers in addition to the dealer's NICS check. You certify your eligibility and FID card number, the seller keeps the white copy and the receiver the yellow copy.
General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.
