You get a tax stamp on a form that must be carried with the device at all times. Certainly sounds like a permit to me. BTW, I have two of them. I went the Revocable Living Trust route and it was dirt simple. Used Quicken Willmaker, got it notarized, and had no hassle getting both a .22 can and a 30 caliber can. You buy the device from your dealer, fill out the form he gives you, add a copy of your certificate of trust, send it in to the BATFE with $200 and you get back the approved form with the cancelled stamp which you take to your dealer who duly records it and hands you your can. I scanned it and created a pdf, put the original in the safe and printed copies of the pdf to put in my gun bags.