Antique lovers often collect different types of weapons. This activity brings a lot of fun and helps to improve knowledge of the history of weapons. When it comes to firearms exhibits, it is important to get all the paperwork right. Chief among them is the C&R license (curio and relic). To obtain it, you need to go through several stages, each of which has its own difficulties and unpleasant moments. However, knowing all the secrets of this process, the work can be completed as soon as possible.
What a curio and relic license is?
Before understanding the design features of C&R, you need to understand what it is. This license is a variation of the federal gun license. It provides a collector or a simple lover of beautiful antiques with access to the unhindered acquisition and storage of firearms, which are a museum exhibit. Such a license is issued solely for the achievement of the listed purposes. However, it is useless paper for owners of modern weapons that are kept in the house and used legally.
A curio and relic license is a must for every antique gun collector. It will give you the opportunity to order your favorite products via the Internet and freely deliver them to any locality. In this case, it will be possible to avoid unnecessary costs of time and money, as well as save a lot of nerves.
What “C&R guns” are?
Not every firearm can be categorized as a curio and relic. For it to become such, several criteria must be met. The main one is age. C&R guns can only be called models made 50 or more years ago. In most cases, such products are a real rarity and are quite rare. Thanks to this, they can become a valuable exhibit for a museum or private collection.
C&R weapons, as well as the process of buying, selling, delivering, storing them, are regulated by a special law that was adopted back in 1968. According to him, all of the listed operations should be carried out only with the appropriate license. However, it is important to remember that very old weapons that were produced no later than 1898 are not subject to this law. Any transactions with it are also not regulated by federal law. This feature is due to the fact that overly old models are not classified as weapons, but are considered on a par with museum exhibits.
Which firearms are “C&R eligible”?
There are many types of old firearms that qualify for C&R guns. To get it, certain models must meet one of the three main parameters prescribed in the law.
Compliance parameters for weapons of the C&R category:
- Corresponding release date. A weapon that requires a Curio and relic license to own may be a model manufactured 50+ years from the date of purchase and documentation. In this case, the weapon should not be a copy made much later, but the original. For example, if purchased in 2022, a 1965 handgun would fall under the C&R category, while replicas made in 1980 would not.
- Recognition as a relic or curiosity. For a weapon to fall under the C&R license, it must be documented as a relic or curiosity. This certification is carried out by representatives of the federal or state museum. It attaches to the weapon the status of a product that is of interest to historians or local historians.
- Uniqueness. A weapon will be categorized as a C&R if it is unique and unparalleled. In addition, this criterion includes models of non-standard shape or size, as well as products associated with any historical event or belonging to one of the world famous people. To determine the uniqueness, most often they compare the cost of the model in question with similar weapons. If it is much higher, then, therefore, the product under study stands out among its “brothers” in some way.
How to get a C&R license?
In order to easily buy and collect antique weapons, you must first obtain a special C&R license. This process is a standard procedure similar to obtaining any other federal firearm possession document. Despite this, it should not be called simple. To cope with the task and acquire the required paper, you need to adhere to the standard plan and correctly perform all the provided actions.
The correct sequence of actions:
- Select the type of license you are seeking. Under the law, individuals can obtain any of 9 options for federal licenses that allow any manipulation of weapons. Among them, people who have expressed a desire to buy, sell and collect vintage models must choose a C&R license (type 03).
- Justification of the purpose of obtaining a license. To get the desired document, you need to prove the legitimacy of the goals that you are pursuing. In the case of C&R, you need to indicate the collection of antique weapons or their purchase / sale. In the second case, you will have to prove your business intentions and create your own business. The best option would be to register you as an individual entrepreneur.
- Applying. Having chosen the desired type of license and proving the legitimacy of your intentions, you can proceed to the very process of obtaining a document. To do this, you should draw up an application in accordance with the standard sample, which is the same for each case of issuing a federal license of any type. After that, a package of documents required by law should be attached to the application. In some cases, additional paperwork may also be required, but you will be notified in advance of the need to provide them. It is very important at this stage not to make mistakes. Otherwise, the whole process can drag on for several weeks, or even months. It is also worth remembering that all documents must be authentic. Any fakes will definitely be identified and you will have problems not only with obtaining a license, but also with the law.
- Paying federal tax. To obtain a license of any type, you need to pay a certain amount. In the case of C&R, it is $30 for the first 3 years of the document. In the future, this amount may change upwards, but its amount will need to be found out only after 3 years of the current license.
- Verification. If all the previous stages were completed successfully, then in 1.5-2 months you will be checked. It is carried out by an authorized person and you are notified in advance of the time of its holding. Verification consists in reviewing the submitted application for compliance with various requirements, as well as studying the purposes of obtaining a license. To avoid any problems at this stage, you need to carefully study the current rules and laws governing firearms control options.
- Obtaining a license. After the check is completed, you need to wait for its results. If they are positive, then after about 2 weeks you will receive a license. The document is formed in paper form and transferred to the collector of ancient weapons by an authorized person.
The process of obtaining a C&R license can be difficult if mistakes are made in the process. The most common of these is specifying the wrong document type. Also, there is often an inaccurate indication of the region where the license will be valid (for example, a document is obtained in one state, but weapons are bought and stored in another) and some data are unreliable.
C&R is your ticket to the world of antique firearms. This license gives permission to purchase and keep various models that can be considered museum pieces. Obtaining such paper requires a certain amount of time from a lover of antiques, as well as attentiveness, accuracy and scrupulousness. If you put together all these qualities and apply to them a thorough knowledge of the features of obtaining a license, then even a beginner will not have problems in this process.
