January 29th, 2022

Shipping Guns via FedEx Now Limited to FFLs & Gov’t Agencies

Fedex firearms pistol rifle shipping policy ban FFL Federal Firearms license

IMPORTANT: FedEx policies now prohibit regular persons from shipping ANY firearms through FedEx. The shipping company now limits firearms shipping privileges to FFL-holders and certain government agencies. NOTE: This is not a new change for 2022. The restrictions went into effect in Q3 2021. However, the great majority of gun owners may not be aware of this restrictive policy, because it does represent a major change from the past. SEE FedEx Firearms Shipping Rules.

This represents a significant FedEx rule change that severely restricts the gun shipping options available to normal Americans who do not have Federal Firearms Licenses. FedEx policies state: “Nonlicensee shippers — Nonlicensees are prohibited from shipping firearms with FedEx.”

In years past, a regular gun owner (without an FFL) could ship both long guns and handguns from primary FedEx locations, provided you disclosed the contents. That was important for returning guns to manufacturers for warranty work, or shipping guns to a gunsmith. Now the options are limited. Long guns (rifles, shotguns) can still be shipped via the U.S. Postal Service and via UPS. However, the USPS prohibits shipping handguns. So the only viable alternative for private individuals to ship handguns (pistols and revolvers), is through UPS. And even with UPS, some affiliate locations will not handle firearms.

Here is the official FedEx Policy found at Fedex.com/en-us/shipping/how-to-ship-firearms.html:

Fedex firearms pistol rifle shipping policy ban FFL Federal Firearms license