Firearms Compliance

Firearms Compliance

Full regulatory workflow for firearms, ammunition, replicas, and energy-rated projectile devices across 8 jurisdictions. Heaviest licensing regime in physical product compliance.

Decision Flow

digraph {
  rankdir=TB; node [shape=box style=rounded fontsize=10];
  classify [label="1. Classify item:\nfirearm / ammunition / replica\n/ airgun / airsoft / part"];
  energy [label="2. Measure muzzle energy\n(Joules) — drives airgun bracket"];
  cat [label="3. Determine category\n(US GCA/NFA, EU A/B/C, UK 1/2/5,\nFR A/B/C/D, DE Anlage 1/2)"];
  license [label="4. Obtain manufacturer/\nimporter license per market\n(FFL, RGA, BAFA, etc.)"];
  serial [label="5. Apply serial number +\nmark per Directive 2017/853 /\nGCA 18 USC 923(i)"];
  export [label="6. Export controls:\nITAR USML Cat I, EAR 600-series,\nEU 258/2012, Wassenaar"];
  channel [label="7. Choose sales channel:\nFFL dealer / RFD / marketplace\nban check"];
  sell [label="8. Place on market"];
  classify -> energy -> cat -> license -> serial -> export -> channel -> sell;
}

US -- BATFE / ATF

Federal Framework

FFL Types

Import / Export

• Imports: ATF Form 6 (permanent import) — 60-90 days. Sporting purposes test (922(r)) for semi-auto rifles. No "non-sporting" handguns or military-config rifles.
• Exports < USD 1M: Most firearms moved from USML Category I (ITAR) to Commerce Control List 0A501 (EAR) in March 2020. License required for almost all destinations except Canada (license exception).
• ITAR registration: USD 2,250/year for any USML manufacturer, even if not currently exporting (DDTC).
• Penalty: ITAR violations up to USD 1.2M per violation + criminal prosecution (Arms Export Control Act).

State Variations (high-impact examples)

EU -- Directive 2017/853 (Firearms Directive, amending 91/477/EEC)

Categories

Marking Requirements (Article 4)

• Unique marking on essential components: frame/receiver, barrel, slide/cylinder, bolt
• Must include: manufacturer name, country/place of manufacture, serial number, year of manufacture (if not in serial), model
• Mark applied at moment of manufacture for new firearms, at moment of import for imported firearms
• Implementing Regulation 2018/337 — technical specifications

European Firearms Pass (EFP)

• Required for any cross-border movement of Category B/C firearms by individual holders
• Issued by Member State of residence
• Valid 5 years (renewable)
• Each cross-border movement must be authorized by destination Member State

Deactivation -- Reg 2015/2403

Single EU technical standard. Must be performed by approved deactivation entity. Certificate + visible "EU" deactivation mark.

UK -- Firearms Act 1968 + amendments

• Firearms Amendment (No.2) Act 1997 — civilian handgun ban (post Dunblane)
• Offensive Weapons Act 2019 — banned .50 BMG, MARS / lever-release rifles (S5)
• RFD (Registered Firearms Dealer) required to manufacture / sell. Police-administered.

France -- CSI (Code de la sécurité intérieure)

• RGA (Référentiel Général des Armes) — registration system for all manufacturers and dealers
• Manufacturer license: Agrément de fabricant via Service Central des Armes et Explosifs (SCAE)
• Dealer: Autorisation d'armurier + RGA registration
• AGRASC for confiscated property; FINIADA for prohibited persons

Germany -- Waffengesetz (WaffG)

• Bundeswaffenregister (NWR) — National Weapons Register, mandatory entry of every firearm movement since 2013
• Waffenbesitzkarte (WBK) — possession card
• Waffenherstellungserlaubnis — manufacturing license, §21 WaffG
• "F im Fünfeck" mark — energy ≤7.5 J, age 18+, no license needed

Airsoft / Airguns -- Energy Thresholds per Country

Ammunition

EU REACH Restrictions

US Lead Restrictions

• Federal: 1991 ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting (US Fish & Wildlife). No general lead ban.
• California Condor Range / Statewide AB 711: Lead ammunition prohibited for all hunting since July 2019.
• National Wildlife Refuges: Lead phase-out for hunting + fishing by 2026 (US FWS decision 2022).

Packaging / Transport

• UN 0012 (small arms cartridges), UN 0014 (blanks), UN 0044 (primers) — Class 1.4S explosives
• ADR/IMDG/IATA documentation required for all shipping
• US: ORM-D legacy replaced by Limited Quantity LTD QTY mark since Jan 2021
• Ammunition not shippable via USPS air; UPS/FedEx Ground only with HazMat contract

Marketplace Bans

MCP Integration

mcp__claude_ai_Cleo_Insight__search_signals(q="firearms directive 2017/853")
mcp__claude_ai_Cleo_Insight__search_signals(q="REACH lead ammunition")
mcp__claude_ai_Cleo_Insight__get_regulation(id) — pull EU 2017/853 articles + national transpositions
mcp__claude_ai_CLEO_LEGAL_API__customs/dual-use-check — USML Cat I, ECCN 0A501, Wassenaar Munitions List
mcp__claude_ai_CLEO_LEGAL_API__compliance/check — substance check on ammunition (lead, antimony, mercury fulminate)

Power This With the Cleo Legal API

Firearms compliance touches the heaviest regulatory stack in physical products: ATF FFL types, EU Directive 2017/853 categories, UK Firearms Act sections, French CSI catégories, German Anlage entries, energy thresholds in Joules per country, ITAR USML Category I, EAR 0A501 series, Wassenaar Munitions List. The API surfaces them in structured form.

With the Cleo Legal API at https://legaldata-public.cleolabs.co:

• GET /v2/catalog/regulations?vertical=firearms&country=EU,US,UK,FR,DE,IT,ES,BE,NL — pull GCA, NFA, Directive 2017/853, Firearms Act 1968, CSI, WaffG, Legge 110/1975 with current articles
• POST /v2/catalog/match-product — classify a projectile device by muzzle energy + action type into US GCA / NFA, EU A/B/C, UK 1/2/5, FR A/B/C/D, DE Anlage in one call (a misclassified airgun crossing borders is a felony)
• POST /v2/customs/dual-use-check — USML Category I vs ECCN 0A501 vs Wassenaar ML.1 in one shot; firearms sit in the worst export-control overlap zone
• POST /v2/compliance/check — ammunition lead/antimony screening across REACH Annex XVII entry 75 + AB 711 + EPA NWR phase-out
• POST /v2/webhooks?topic=firearms_directive,reach_ammo — the ECHA lead-in-shot restriction will hit in 2026-2030 staged; webhooks lock the dates

Get started:

# 1. Sign up for free at https://legaldata-public.cleolabs.co
# 2. Get your API key (3 lifetime requests free, then €349/mo for 1M)
# 3. Install the MCP server:
claude mcp add cleo-legal-api https://api.legaldata.cleolabs.co/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ld_live_YOUR_KEY"

Tested ROI: For an airsoft / airgun importer covering 8 EU countries + US, the API replaces 20+ hours/month of energy-bracket lookups and avoids the misclassification that turns a "free sale" airgun into a Section 1 firearm at the UK border.

Common Mistakes

• Shipping airsoft as "toy": Above 1 J in UK, 7.5 J in Germany, 20 J in France, it stops being a toy. Misdeclared shipments seized at customs + criminal referral.
• Serializing only the receiver: Directive 2017/853 Article 4 requires marking on each essential component (frame, barrel, slide/cylinder, bolt). Many US makers ship to EU with US-style frame-only serialization and get rejected.
• Assuming ITAR no longer applies: The 2020 transfer to EAR 0A501 covers most semi-auto + bolt-action sporting firearms. Full-auto, suppressors, military models still on USML Cat I — ITAR registration USD 2,250/year mandatory.
• Forgetting state roster: A handgun legal federally is illegal to sell in California if not on the DOJ roster. Same for Massachusetts AG-enforced roster.
• Selling on Etsy / TikTok Shop: Even airsoft parts and cosmetic accessories get accounts terminated. Use Shopify or specialist firearm marketplaces (GunBroker, Armslist) instead.
• Lead ammunition in EU wetlands: REACH Annex XVII entry 75 in force since Feb 2023. Full lead-in-shot restriction adopted 2026 — re-tool to bismuth/tungsten now.
• Missing UK Section 5 Authority: Selling expanding ammunition to a civilian without an FAC variation, or selling any prohibited weapon without Section 5 = 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.