How to Sell a Gun in Connecticut

Options for Sellers

Option 1: Cash for Arms

As an FFL or licensed dealer, we can handle all of the legalities for you. This allows you to sell your gun without work or worry, as long as you don’t mind shipping it (but we pay for that).

Benefits:

• High offers for your gun, with a best price guarantee.
• Fast offers that we often send within hours.
• Multiple payment methods to choose from.
• Option to sell your gun from home.
• The security of selling to an FFL.
• An easy three-step sale process. 
• Top-rated service.

How to Sell Your Gun to Cash for Arms

1. Send us its details on this website.
2. Accept our offer and let us arrange shipping.
3. Get paid in your preferred method.

Note: If you have a lot of guns to sell, you can also use our gun liquidation service in Connecticut.

Option 2: Connecticut Gun Stores

If you don’t mind offers as low as 35% of your gun’s value, you can also sell to local gun shops. You also need to drive the gun to multiple shops for a chance of getting the best offer. 

Benefits:

• Up-front payment, often in cash.
• The security of selling to an FFL.
• In-person transactions.

How to Sell to a Connecticut Gun Store

1. Call local shops to ask if they want to see your gun.
2. Bring it to the interested shops so they can assess it.
3. Collect multiple shops’ offers and negotiate.
4. Sell the gun for the best offer.

Option 3: Connecticut Pawn Shops

These generally pay the least for used guns, even making lower offers than local gun stores. Only sell guns to pawn shops if you have no other choice. 

Benefits:

• The same benefits as gun stores.

How to Sell to a Connecticut Pawn Shop

Follow the same steps as for gun stores.

Option 4: Private Parties (Non-FFLs)

Private parties are people who aren’t FFLs. They require the most work because you need to find them, screen them, and then still pay an FFL to legally process the transaction. 

If you decide to take this route, review the Connecticut firearm laws we cover in the next section.

Benefits:

• Usually better offers than local gun stores or pawn shops
• More control over the sale terms

How to Sell to a Connecticut Private Individual

1. Create a listing of your gun with details and photos.
2. Publish the listing where locals can see it.
3. Wait until you get enough serious offers for comparison.
4. Check that your options are local and of age by asking for a state-issued ID.
5. Exclude anyone on the list of people who can’t own guns in Connecticut (see our section on the laws below).
6. Choose the person with the best offer and settle the terms of the sale.
7. Meet the person at a local FFL (gun shop) and pay for the FFL to process the sale.
8. Turn over the gun to the FFL to hold until the person's background check clears.
9. Collect your payment when the background check is done and the person collects the gun from the FFL.

Note: If a person's background check doesn’t clear or he fails to provide a document required for gun ownership in Connecticut, the sale will be cancelled by the FFL. You will then have to undergo a background check yourself to recover your gun from the FFL who was holding it for safekeeping.

Connecticut Gun Laws

When selling to FFLs like Cash for Arms, you don’t have to think about these. We handle all of the legal parts of the sale for you. 

They become a concern in private gun sales, when you have to ensure compliance with these laws yourself. You can check the ATF list of Connecticut gun laws for details, but here's the gist:

• Private gun sales - Legal if processed by an FFL.
• Background checks - Required for private gun sales, often cost $20.
• Minimum age - 18 to get long guns, 21 to get handguns‍.‍
• Purchase permits - Required as eligibility certificates and sale authorization. More on this below.
• Gun sale reporting - Required and handled by the FFL processing the sale. More on this below.
• Gun registration - Not required since all gun sales are recorded in the state.
• Transaction limits - Each person is capped to a maximum of 3 handgun purchases per month. No caps for long guns.
• Gun possession eligibility - Found in the GCA (Gun Control Act) and different CT laws. More on this below.
• Waiting periods - None.

Permits for CT Gun Sales

The requirements for private gun sales in Connecticut are mainly handled by the FFLs processing the sales. Here are the requirements:

• A background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
• An authorization number from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP)
• Explicit authorization of the transaction from DESPP
• Documentation of the transaction with DESPP
• An application to purchase the gun filled out by the person getting the gun
• A DPS-3-C form that you’ve filled out as the seller

If the person is getting a handgun, he also has to supply at least one of these:

• A permit to carry a handgun
• A permit to sell firearms at retail
• A valid handgun eligibility certificate 

If he’s getting a long gun, he has to provide at least one of these:

• One of the permits required for handgun purchase
• A valid long gun eligibility certificate

To get either a handgun or long gun eligibility certificate, the person you're selling to should email SLFU.OOS@ct.gov and request the application packet for the correct gun type. 

Who Can't Own Guns in Connecticut

The background check obviously verifies that the person you're selling to isn’t on the list of people who can't own guns in this state. However, it also costs money.

You can save that money by ruling out ineligible people even before the check. Here are the people prohibited from getting guns in Connecticut:

• Convicts of a felony (with limited exceptions)
• Delinquent convicts of serious juvenile offenses
• Convicts of certain violent or intimidating misdemeanors
• Convicts of a misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence
• People found not guilty of a crime due to mental illness and discharged from custody in the last 20 years
• People sent to confinement in a mental hospital by a court order in the last 60 months
• People committed to a mental hospital for mental illness by a doctor’s emergency certificate or voluntary admission in the last 6 months
• People who’ve failed to complete an approved course in gun safety and use
• People dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces
• People currently adjudged to be mentally incompetent
• People subject to a protective or restraining court order
• Unlawful users of or addicts to controlled substances
• People who’ve renounced US citizenship
• People subject to firearms seizure orders
• Fugitives from justice
• Illegal aliens

Gun Sale Documentation in Connecticut

Connecticut requires firearm sellers to document gun sales with receipts. Again, the FFL or gun store processing your private gun sale will handle this.

While the FFL will retain a copy of the documents, it’s best to keep a copy for yourself. Connecticut records can be slow to update, which may lead to disputes in private sales.

The exact steps for documentation depend on what kind of gun is sold. We’ve split them up into handgun (pistol and revolver) and long gun (rifle and shotgun) sections belwo.

Documentation for Handgun Sales in Connecticut

For handguns, the sales receipt should include these:

• The date of the sale
• The name and address of the person getting the gun
• The identification number of whichever of these the person has provided:
  
• • Handgun carry permit
  • Permit to sell firearms at retail
  • Eligibility certificate for a handgun
• The authorization number for the gun sale
• A description of the gun
• The caliber, model, make, and manufacturer’s number of the gun
• The signature of the person acquiring the gun

With this receipt, the seller is required to do three things:

• Submit a copy of it to the Commissioner of the DESPP in 48 hours of the sale
• Submit a copy of it to local law enforcement in 48 hours of the sale
• Keep a copy of it for at least 5 years

The FFL will handle these things but you can ask for a copy of the receipt for yourself.

Documentation for Long Gun Sales in Connecticut

For long guns, the sales receipt should include these:

• The name and address of the person you're selling to
• The date of the sale
• A description of the gun
• The caliber, model, make, and manufacturer’s number of the gun

With this receipt, the seller needs to do three things:

• Ensure the receipt is signed in triplicate in 24 hours of the sale
• Submit a copy of it to the Commissioner of the DESPP in 24 hours of the sale
• Submit a copy of it to local law enforcement
• Keep a copy of it as well as the original purchase application for at least 5 years

Again, the FFL will handle these things but you can ask for a copy of the receipt for yourself.

Sell a Gun in Connecticut Legally Now

That’s all you need to know to sell a gun in Connecticut. Follow our steps and you should manage it without getting in trouble.

If you want to make it even easier, though, try selling to us. Cash for Arms is nearly synonymous with easy gun sales all over the country. You can even check our Google Reviews rating – 4.9 at over 2,000 reviews – to confirm that!

To learn more, just contact us directly at (904) 977-5477.