How Do You Ship a Firearm Legally With USPS, UPS, or FedEx?

How do you ship a firearm legally with USPS, UPS, or FedEx? For an online gun store, the short answer is this: ship only to a licensed dealer (unless an exception like a return applies), use a carrier that will actually accept the package from you, and follow that carrier’s rules on service level, signatures, and packaging. The three carriers are very different. USPS takes long guns but limits handguns to licensee-to-licensee trade shipments. UPS and FedEx both require an approved agreement before you ship a single firearm. This post walks through each one.

This is the ninth post in our getting-started series on selling firearms and ammo online. The last post covered how FFL dealer selection works at checkout, which is how you learn where the gun is going. This one covers getting it there. It is general education, not legal advice. Carrier policies change, so check each carrier’s current terms and your own contract before you ship.

Start with where the gun can go

Federal law decides the destination before any carrier rule matters. A licensee may not ship a firearm in interstate commerce to anyone other than another licensee, with narrow exceptions such as returning a firearm to the person who sent it (18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)). For a typical online sale, that means the firearm ships to the buyer’s chosen FFL, not to the buyer’s home.

Before it ships, verify the receiving dealer with a certified copy of its license, as 27 CFR 478.94 requires (eCFR). ATF’s eZ Check is a useful status check, but it doesn’t replace the certified copy. Our FFL verification guide covers the details.

Federal law also limits package labels. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(e), a carrier can’t require a label on the outside of a package saying it contains a firearm. The same subsection requires written notice to the carrier when a firearm or ammunition is shipped to someone other than a licensee. All three carriers ask for plain, non-descriptive outer packaging.

USPS: long guns yes, handguns only between licensees

USPS rules for firearms are in Publication 52, section 432 (Pub 52).

• Rifles and shotguns. Unloaded rifles and shotguns are mailable. USPS may ask you to open the package or certify in writing that the firearm is unloaded. Short-barreled rifles and shotguns that can be concealed on the person are nonmailable.
• Handguns. Handguns and other firearms that can be concealed are nonmailable except between the parties Pub 52 lists. For a dealer, that means handguns may be mailed between licensed manufacturers, dealers, and importers in customary trade shipments, or for repair or replacement parts. The mailer files PS Form 1508, Statement by Shipper of Firearms, with the postmaster. The statement confirms you are a licensee and, to the best of your knowledge, the addressee is too. USPS recommends Registered Mail for these.
• Handgun parts. Parts are mailable, except for handgun frames, receivers, or components regulated under 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44.
• Markings and tracking. No markings of any kind on the outside that show what is inside. Pub 52 also requires a product or Extra Service with tracking and signature capture for regulated firearms, unless the shipment is between licensed dealers, manufacturers, or importers.

A common mistake in secondary sources is saying USPS bans all handgun shipments, even to FFLs. It doesn’t. Licensee-to-licensee trade shipments with PS Form 1508 are allowed today.

USPS has also proposed letting lawful handguns mail like long guns (FR 2026-06376). As of today it is still a proposed rule, not a final one. Our post on the USPS proposal explains what it would and wouldn’t change.

UPS: contract shippers only, handguns by Next Day Air

UPS accepts firearm products only as a contractual service, and only from licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers, or collectors shipping to authorized recipients under an approved UPS agreement (UPS firearms page). You open a dedicated account and provide your licenses and a signed agreement.

Key rules from the UPS page:

• Handguns ship only by Next Day Air services: UPS Next Day Air Early, Next Day Air, or Next Day Air Saver. Ground is not an option for handguns. UPS may also require Next Day Air for any firearm product.
• Signature and delivery. Every package with a firearm needs Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required and Direct Delivery Only.
• Ammo goes separately. Ammunition can’t be in the same package as a firearm.
• Packaging and labels. New corrugated boxes that meet UPS strength guidelines. Labels and outer markings must not identify the contents, and names on the label must be non-descriptive.
• How it gets to UPS. Through a scheduled pickup or an on-call pickup. Customer drop-off at a UPS Store applies to prelabeled returns under an approved agreement, not to your outbound sales.
• No reroutes. Firearm products aren’t eligible for delivery change requests or UPS My Choice, and shouldn’t be addressed to a third-party retailer or UPS Access Point.

UPS also treats firearm parts, such as barrels, stocks, grips, and magazines, as “firearm products” under the same contract. That is a UPS rule, not federal law, but it matters if your store sells parts.

FedEx: approval and a compliance agreement first

The FedEx Service Guide prohibits firearm shipments, but FFL holders can work with a FedEx account executive to get approval. That requires signing a FedEx Firearms Shipping Compliance Agreement. Shippers without an FFL aren’t eligible, and any shipper without approval is prohibited from shipping firearms with FedEx (FedEx firearms page).

For approved shippers, FedEx says:

• Remove all ammunition. Firearms can’t ship with ammo.
• Secure the firearm in a sturdy case or box with cushioning, then put it in an outer box with no identifying markers.
• Choose Adult Signature Required or Direct Signature Required.

A packing routine for each firearm order

1. Confirm the receiving FFL: certified copy on file, eZ Check shows active, and the dealer agreed to take the transfer.
2. Pick the carrier and service that fit the item. Handgun: USPS licensee-to-licensee with PS Form 1508, or UPS Next Day Air under your agreement, or FedEx under your approval. Long gun: USPS, or UPS or FedEx under your agreement.
3. Make sure it’s unloaded, and put any ammo in a separate package.
4. Use plain outer packaging with no brand names, logos, or words that point to firearms.
5. Add the signature service your carrier requires.
6. Address it to the dealer’s licensed premises and record the tracking number with the order.
7. Record the disposition in your acquisition and disposition records.

Where Automatic FFL fits

Automatic FFL handles the part before the label. The buyer picks a dealer at checkout, and the dealer’s license number, expiration date, eZ Check link, and certificate link (when available) are added to the order. Carrier accounts, agreements, and labels are your store’s setup. If you use Flxpoint or Spark Shipping, a store setting passes the same dealer fields to those tools.

One more item to watch: ATF has a proposed rule clarifying delivery to common or contract carriers when transporting firearms. It is still proposed. See our 922(e) carrier-delivery post. For questions about your own store’s shipping obligations, talk with a firearms attorney or your ATF Industry Operations Investigator.

Try it on your store

Look up a transfer dealer for free. Create a free Automatic FFL account to search FFL dealers by license number, name, city, state, or ZIP, open each dealer’s ATF eZ Check record, and see which dealers have certificate data on file. Start with the FFL database. The database is not legal advice and does not replace your own compliance review.

Try Automatic FFL free for 30 days. Add FFL dealer selection to your BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or Adobe Commerce / Magento checkout (Shopify: ammunition only). You’re not charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel before then. Plans start at $99 per site per month after the trial (pricing).

• Start your BigCommerce trial
• Start your WooCommerce trial
• Start your Adobe Commerce / Magento trial
• Start your Shopify ammo trial

Sources: 18 U.S.C. 922; eCFR 27 CFR 478.94; USPS Publication 52, section 432; UPS: How to Ship Firearms; FedEx: How to Ship Firearms; Federal Register 2026-06376 and 2026-08917; Automatic FFL documentation.