How Can I Sell a Gun in Connecticut?
You can sell a gun in Connecticut by selling it directly to an FFL or federally licensed firearms dealer like Cash for Arms, or to a legally eligible private party by having an FFL process the sale.
Options for Selling Guns in Connecticut
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
- Send us its details on this website.
- Accept our offer and let us arrange shipping.
- 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.
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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
- Call local shops to ask if they want to see your gun.
- Bring it to the interested shops so they can assess it.
- Collect multiple shops’ offers and negotiate.
- 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 Buyer
- Create a listing of your gun with details and photos.
- Publish the listing where local buyers can see it.
- Wait until you get enough serious offers for comparison.
- Check that your buyers are local and of age by asking for a state-issued ID.
- Exclude anyone on the list of people who can’t buy guns in Connecticut (see our section on the laws below).
- Choose the buyer with the best offer and settle the terms of the sale.
- Meet the buyer at a local FFL (gun shop) and pay for the FFL to process the sale.
- Turn over the gun to the FFL to hold until the buyer’s background check clears.
- Collect your payment from your buyer when the background check is done and the buyer collects the gun from the FFL.
Note: If your buyer’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.
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Sell Guns in Connecticut the Easy Way
Why wear yourself out to sell your gun? We pay great prices and do all the work for you, from legalities to shipping!
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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 buy long guns, 21 to buy 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 buyer 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.
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Do the Easiest Gun Sale in CT
You can sell from the comfort of home. We arrange everything legally, from free shipping to same-day payment!
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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 buyer 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 buyer
- A DPS-3-C form that you’ve filled out as the seller
If the buyer is buying 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 buying 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, your buyer should email SLFU.OOS@ct.gov and request the application packet for the correct gun type.
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Need to Find a Legal Gun Buyer in CT?
Just sell your guns to us for a great price! We’re guaranteed legal buyers as FFLs and even do all of the work for you.
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Who Can't Buy Guns in Connecticut
The background check obviously verifies that your buyer 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 buyers even before the check. Here are the people prohibited from buying 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
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Selling Guns in CT Can Be Easy...
If you sell to Cash for Arms. We do all of the heavy lifting and pay top dollar with a best price guarantee. Get a quote now!
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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 buyer
- The identification number of whichever of these the buyer 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 buyer
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 buyer
- 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.
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Get a No-Obligation Offer for Your Gun
You won’t lose anything by finding out what we’d pay for it. Show it to us and we’ll say what we’ll give you!
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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.