How to check registration/ownership of a handgun?

[LeverActionAl]

My dad has several pistols, mostly 38's and 1 357. He has had them since the mid 70's when he was a constable. He had a stroke a couple years ago, and lost a lot of his memory. I have asked him about the pistols, and stated I wanted to buy them from him. Here's where I'm not sure what to do...he cannot remember where the papers for them are....or if there are any for that matter. I checked all of them, and they all have clear, legible serial numbers on them. Is it possible to go the my local pd/so with the numbers written down and ask them to run them to see if they are registered?
Should I tell them they are my dads?
What happens if they are not registered or at least not in the "system"?
Will I have to turn them over?
Should I just get my purchase permit, fill it all out, turn it in and not worry about it?
Thanks in advance. Al

[Roger Roney]

......Should I just get my purchase permits, (one for each handgun,) fill it all out, turn it in and not worry about it?
Thanks in advance. Al

Yes.

You're welcome.

[cousin15]

Yes.

You're welcome.

This...

I ran into a similar situation a while back and did the same thing. I dont think the local PD does anything with the info unless something bad happens and they need to track down the owner... but I could be wrong as I often am.

[sithanas]

The state police has copies of all pistol permits / safety inspection slips. You can call their firearms people and they'll help you out.

REMEMBER THAT UNREGISTERED PISTOLS ARE ILLEGAL! They may want to destroy them so be sure to present it to them as if they're from out of state or something like that just in case.

[jackg]

The state police has copies of all pistol permits / safety inspection slips. You can call their firearms people and they'll help you out.

REMEMBER THAT UNREGISTERED PISTOLS ARE ILLEGAL! They may want to destroy them so be sure to present it to them as if they're from out of state or something like that just in case.

+1, this is exactly what I did only I went to the Sheriff's Dept. No problem at all and BTW it IS illegal to possess an unregistered in Michigan.

[burle1812]

first thing first, (I do this on a daily basis, so this is how we do it in Washtenaw Co.) If you Dad is still alive, he will need to go to the local police department with his ID and do what is called a public query on the firearms he registered (i've personally seem them go back to the mid to late 60's dunno exactly how far they go back). Then you need to make sure the pistols you want are on the list. If not all you need to do is get a purchase permit for each one you will get from your dad. In place of the sellers name and signature, just write (some departments have a stamp) that says either re-registered or never registered, and you are done (well you need to turn the agency and msp copies in...) . Its really not that complicated, you'll only get popped with possesion of unregistered pistol if you got stopped with one going to a range or something like that and obviously know it isn't registered. You don't need to bring in the firearms anymore for saftey inspections or the like so there really is no proof of possession on you or your dad's part. Its really not that uncommon for people to have the green card for firearms that for one reason or another aren't in the system, cruddy paperwork, age, tons of reasons. Don't sweat it man, if you are really scared just have your dad get a purchase permit and re register them. Good luck!

[ironduke]

What if the owner is not alive? My dad died a few years ago and I have a .38 that he owned.

[RPMO6]

be sure to present it to them as if they're from out of state or something like that just in case.

:wtf:

Hi Trooper So and So,

Listen, I just crossed state lines and brought this un-registered pistol that doesn't belong to me......wait, wait, I didn't know, but...!!!

[RPMO6]

What if the owner is not alive? My dad died a few years ago and I have a .38 that he owned.

From MSP´s website (see #13):
http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,1607,7...se____Transfer

¨MCL 28.422 Unless you have a valid Concealed Pistol License issued after July 1, 2001, you must obtain a License to Purchase first. When the owner of a pistol is deceased, the statutes provide that the next of kin or personal representative of the estate has the authority to sign as seller. If you are the next of kin or personal representative, you may sign as seller indicating "Estate of …" and also as purchaser.¨

http://www.migunowners.org/forum/sho...ght=registered

[kevins_garage]

first thing first, (I do this on a daily basis, so this is how we do it in Washtenaw Co.) If you Dad is still alive, he will need to go to the local police department with his ID and do what is called a public query on the firearms he registered (i've personally seem them go back to the mid to late 60's dunno exactly how far they go back). Then you need to make sure the pistols you want are on the list. If not all you need to do is get a purchase permit for each one you will get from your dad. In place of the sellers name and signature, just write (some departments have a stamp) that says either re-registered or never registered, and you are done (well you need to turn the agency and msp copies in...) . Its really not that complicated, you'll only get popped with possesion of unregistered pistol if you got stopped with one going to a range or something like that and obviously know it isn't registered. You don't need to bring in the firearms anymore for saftey inspections or the like so there really is no proof of possession on you or your dad's part. Its really not that uncommon for people to have the green card for firearms that for one reason or another aren't in the system, cruddy paperwork, age, tons of reasons. Don't sweat it man, if you are really scared just have your dad get a purchase permit and re register them. Good luck!

The public query is supposed to be for a registered owner to verify a specific serial number has been registered to them and to get a printout of said proof - supposed to cost ~$1. To get a list of all registered pistols by name is supposed to be done via a FOIA request to MSPFU at a cost of ~$10. Data from either method should yield results from the inception of MI's pistol registration scheme as all pistols are supposed to be in the states database...

Are your running these public queries regularly by name? Are they being run out of the MSP database or does Howell/Washtenaw County maintain their own database?