The physical address and the mailing address on an FFL's license are listed for very specific reasons - both are legitimate shipping addresses, and in some cases exist because of state or local laws. It is up to the receiving FFL to specify which should be used. Correct procedure is to blank out the address you do NOT want used when sending to another FFL. There are MANY FFL dealers who refuse to ship to the mailing address when requested. This usually requires a scolding by the IOI before they change their ways.Salty1 wrote:I spoke to that ATF about this exact same scenerio as we wanted to have items dropped at a place where my wife worked. I was informed that the shipper must ship to the FFL location on the license and was told it was not negotiable to be in compliance. The wholesalers we work with would also not ship to any alternative address. What changes we made with the delivery company was another story as we just used the carriers drop points.... If others are able to do it more power to them, in these times I would not give the ATF any reason to revoke our license...
Shipping addresses are strange things. UPS and FedEx, for instance, don't usually ship to a PO Box, only to a physical address, but not every dealer's physical address is where their shipping & receiving center is.
Yes, it's complicated, but any FFL that insists on ONLY shipping to a physical address can potentially do a huge disservice to their customer.
FYI: As a matter of our policy, we always ship to physical address, even if the mailing address is different, UNLESS the FFL asks us otherwise.