Personnel
| Special Agents | 2,572 |
|---|---|
| Industry Operations Investigators | 857 |
| Administrative/professional/technical | 1,893 |
| Total full-time employees | 5,322 |
Cases and Defendants
Case and defendant data presents a snapshot in time of matters proceeding through the various phases of the judicial process. The typical ATF case recommended for prosecution remains open over a period of approximately 4 years.
Cases and defendants indicted, convicted, and sentenced are not subsets of cases and defendants recommended for prosecution in FY 2024. The snapshot presents actual judicial activity in the fiscal year regardless of the year the matter was recommended for prosecution. For example, “percentage indicted” should not be calculated based upon the presented data, as the case indicted may have been presented in a previous fiscal year.
Cases
| Firearms cases initiated | 24,208 |
|---|---|
| Arson cases initiated | 1,796 |
| Explosives cases initiated | 961 |
| Firearms cases recommended for prosecution | 7,432 |
| Indicted cases | 4,774 |
| Convicted cases | 4,126 |
Defendants
| Recommended for prosecution | 11,189 |
|---|---|
| Defendants indicted | 6,920 |
| Defendants convicted | 5,911 |
The data show an average of 6.48 prior arrests and 1.73 prior felony convictions per defendant recommended for prosecution.
Firearms Licensees
As of FY 2024, there were 128,690 active federal firearms licensees (FFLs) and 43,956 firearms licenses issued (to include renewals).
| Type 01: Dealer | 47,776 |
|---|---|
| Type 02: Pawnbroker | 6,149 |
| Type 03: Collector | 49,689 |
| Type 06: Manufacturer of Ammunition | 1,858 |
| Type 07: Manufacturer of Firearms | 20,578 |
| Type 08: Importer | 1,698 |
| Type 09: Dealer of Destructive Devices | 145 |
| Type 10: Manufacturer of Destructive Devices | 496 |
| Type 11: Importer of Destructive Devices | 301 |
Inspections
ATF conducted 9,696 firearm compliance inspections in FY 2024.
Firearms compliance inspections resulted in the following recommendations:
| No violations | 5,207 |
|---|---|
| Report of violations | 1,689 |
| Warning letter | 721 |
| Warning conference | 214 |
| License surrendered/out of business | 1,488 |
| Revocation | 195 |
| Other dispositions | 182 |
Most Frequently Cited Violations
| 27 CFR 478.125(e) | Failure to maintain an accurate/complete/timely acquisition and disposition record of firearms | 37,654 |
|---|---|---|
| 27 CFR 478.21(a) | Failure to complete forms as prescribed | 32,068 |
| 27 CFR 478.124(c)(1) | Failure to obtain a completed ATF F 4473 | 20,767 |
| 27 CFR 478.123(b) | Failure to maintain an accurate/complete/timely licensee disposition record | 11,026 |
| 27 CFR 478.124(c)(3)(iv) | Failure to record NICS contact information on an ATF F 4473 | 15,296 |
| 27 CFR 478.124(c)(5) | Failure by transferor to sign and/or date an ATF F 4473 | 10,962 |
| 27 CFR 478.123(a) | Failure to maintain an accurate/complete/timely manufacture or acquisition record | 9,323 |
| 27 CFR 478.124(c)(3)(i) | Failure to verify or record Identification document on ATF F 4473 | 6,797 |
| 27 CFR 478.124(c)(4) | Failure to record firearm information on an ATF F 4473 | 6,752 |
| 27 CFR 478.126a | Failure to report multiple sales or other dispositions of pistols and revolvers | 4,772 |
Firearms Application Inspections
ATF conducted 8,815 firearms application inspections. Of those inspections, 6,395 were approved and 37 were denied. The remaining 2,383 application inspections were abandoned or withdrawn.
Explosives Licensees
As of FY 2024, there were 9,185 active federal explosives licenses and permits (FEL/FEPs).
| Manufacturers | 2,036 |
|---|---|
| Importers | 579 |
| Dealers licenses (includes black powder) | 794 |
| Limited permits | 28 |
| User permits | 5,748 |
Explosives Inspections
ATF conducted 874 explosives application inspections. Of those inspections, 688 were approved and 2 were denied. The remaining 184 applications were abandoned or withdrawn.
ATF conducted 3,614 explosive compliance inspections resulting in the following recommendations:
| No violations | 2,867 |
|---|---|
| Report of violations | 74 |
| Warning letter | 176 |
| Warning conference | 38 |
| License surrendered/out of business | 437 |
| Revocation sought | 6 |
| Other dispositions | 16 |
Top 10 Violations
| 27 CFR 555.127 | Failure to timely/accurately enter all required explosive inventory identification and quantity information in a daily summary of magazine transaction | 1,264 |
|---|---|---|
| 27 CFR 555.124(c)(6) | Failure to record the distributee's license/permit number in the permanent record | 163 |
| 27 CFR 555.124(c)(2) | Failure to record the (brand) name of manufacturer or name of importer of explosive material(s) in the permanent record | 160 |
| 27 CFR 555.124(c)(3) | Failure to record the manufacturer's marks of identification of explosive material(s) in the permanent record | 123 |
| 27 CFR 555.125(b)(3)(ii) | Failure to record the (brand) name of manufacturer of explosive material(s) in the permanent record | 94 |
| 27 CFR 555.208(b)(1) | Failure to meet general requirements of an indoor type II magazine | 67 |
| 27 CFR 555.124(b)(6) | Failure to record the name, address and license/permit number of the person from whom explosive material(s) are received in the permanent record | 49 |
| 27 CFR 555.210(a)(2) | Failure to meet minimum construction requirements of an outdoor type IV magazine | 49 |
| 27 CFR 555.123(c) | Failure to timely record the distribution of explosive material(s) in a permanent record | 46 |
| 27 CFR 555.123(b) | Failure to timely record the acquisition/manufacture of explosive material(s) in a permanent record | 43 |
National Firearms Act (NFA)
| NFA registration applications (and transfer applications) received | 1,170,028 |
|---|---|
| NFA registrations processed count of forms | 1,373,305 |
| NFA registrations processed (total weapons)/count of weapons | 4,731,918 |
| NFA making and transfer tax collected | $145,072,242 |
| NFA special occupation tax collected | $10,438,289 |
Note: All taxes collected for NFA go to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Tracing
ATF’s National Tracing Center (NTC) is the only organization authorized to trace U.S. and foreign manufactured firearms for local, state, federal and international law enforcement agencies. NTC provides critical information that helps domestic and international law enforcement agencies solve firearms crimes, detect firearms trafficking, and track the intrastate, interstate, and international movement of crime guns.
NTC processed more than 639,295 trace requests in FY 2024.
National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN)
NIBIN provides local, state and federal law enforcement, forensic science, and prosecutors with an automated ballistic imaging system that will aid their investigations by using digital images of shell casings to link violent crimes involving firearms and subsequently identify firearm users in violent crimes.
| NIBIN acquisitions | 658,731 |
|---|---|
| NIBIN leads | 217,474 |
| NIBIN hits | 3,984 |
| NIBIN locations | 376 |
Laboratories
In FY 2024, ATF’s laboratories accomplished the following:
| ATF laboratory requests for analysis and testing | 1,435 |
|---|---|
| ATF laboratory completed analysis requests | 1,239 |
| DNA submissions from fired cartridge cases | 103 |
| Fire Research Laboratory engineering cases | 161 |
| Fire Research Laboratory research experiments | 234 |
| Fire Research Laboratory case test experiments | 193 |
| Fire Research Laboratory forensic cases analyzed | 144 |
| Fire Research Laboratory fire research activities | 46 |
Budget
The agency’s FY 2024 enacted budget was approximately $1.6 billion.
