Firearms Questions and Answers

Yes. A licensee may make an occasional importation of a firearm for a nonlicensee or for the licensee’s personal use (not for resale). The licensee must first submit an ATF Form 6, Part I to ATF for approval. The licensee may then present the approved ATF Form 6 and completed ATF Form 6A to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

[27 CFR 478.113]

U.S. residents who seek to import an importable firearm must engage the services of a federal firearms licensee to import the firearm on their behalf. Please see our most recent list of federal firearms licensees.

[18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3), 923(a), 925(d); 27 CFR § 478.111, 478.112]

No. The February 17, 2017 correspondence simply recognizes that ATF does not issue different classes or categories of 01 licenses to persons based upon which or how many of the options for conducting business an applicant intends to exercise at the time the application is filed.

Once issued, a dealer’s license allows the licensee to sell firearms by any means or from any location otherwise permitted by law regardless of their intent at the time of application.

An application for a federal firearms license will be approved if the applicant:

• Is 21 years of age or over;
• Is not prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition, nor in the case of a corporation, partnership, or association, is any individual possessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the corporation, partnership, or association prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition;
• Has not willfully violated the Gun Control Act (GCA) or its regulations;
• Has not willfully failed to disclose material information or has not made false statements concerning material facts in connection with their application;
• Has premises for conducting business or collecting; and
• The applicant certifies that:
  1. The business to be conducted under the license is not prohibited by state or local law in the place where the licensed premises is located;
  2. Within 30 days after the application is approved the business will comply with the requirements of state and local law applicable to the conduct of the business;
  3. The business will not be conducted under the license until the requirements of state and local law applicable to the business have been met;
  4. The applicant has sent or delivered a form to the chief law enforcement officer where the premises is located notifying the officer that the applicant intends to apply for a license; and
  5. If the applicant is to be a licensed dealer, the applicant certifies that secure gun storage or safety devices will be available at any place in which firearms are sold under the license to persons who are not licensees (“secure gun storage or safety device” is defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(34)).

[18 U.S.C. 923(d)(1); 27 CFR 478.47(b)]

Yes. If the business is being discontinued completely, the licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer is required to submit all records to ATF within 30 days. Records may be delivered to a local ATF office or shipped to the following address:

Bureau of ATF
ATF Out-of-Business Records Center
244 Needy Road
Martinsburg, WV 25405

A licensee discontinuing business must also notify the Federal Firearms Licensing Center within 30 days by calling (866) 662-2750 (toll free) or emailing FFLC@atf.gov.

If someone is taking over the business, the original licensee should underline the final entry in each acquisition and disposition (A&D) record, note the date of transfer, and forward all records and forms to the successor (who must apply for and receive their own license before lawfully engaging in business) or forward the records and forms to the ATF Out-of-Business Records Center. If the successor licensee receives records and forms from the original licensee, the successor licensee may choose to forward those records and forms to the ATF Out-of-Business Record Center.

[18 U.S.C. 923(g)(4); 27 CFR 478.57(a) and 478.127]

Firearms licensees who are going out of business need to forward the following records to ATF:

• Acquisition and disposition (A&D) records
• ATF Forms 4473
• ATF Forms 3310.4 (Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Pistols and Revolvers)
• ATF Forms 3310.11 (Federal Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss Report)
• Records of importation (ATF Forms 6 and 6A)
• Law enforcement certification letters

[18 U.S.C. 923(g)(4); 27 CFR 478.127]

Yes. To change a business location, a licensee must file an application for an amended license (ATF Form 5300.38) not less than 30 days prior to the move. An amended license must be obtained before commencing business at the new location. Once the new license is obtained, the licensee may no longer conduct business at the former business premises.

Yes, licensees must file an Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report (AFMER) form even if the licensee had no manufacturing activity for that reporting period.

[18 U.S.C. 923(g)(5)]

A multiple sale occurs when a licensed Type 01 dealer, Type 02 pawnbroker, Type 07 manufacturer, or Type 08 importer located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas sells or otherwise disposes of, at one time or during any five consecutive business days, more than one semiautomatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine and with a caliber greater than.22 (including .223/5.56 caliber) to an unlicensed person.

Example 1. A licensee sells two qualifying rifles (as described above) in a single transaction to an unlicensed person. This is a multiple sale and must be reported not later than the close of business on the date of the transaction.

Example 2. A licensee sells a qualifying rifle (as described above) on Monday and sells another qualifying rifle (as described above) on the following Friday to the same unlicensed person. This is a qualifying multiple sale and must be reported no later than the close of business on Friday. If the licensee sells another qualifying rifle (as described above) to the same unlicensed person on the following Monday, this will constitute an additional multiple sale and must also be reported not later than the close of business on Monday. In addition, the licensee would check ‘Yes’ in Item 2c and place Friday’s date in Item 2c on the ATF Form 3310.12.

Example 3. A licensee maintaining business hours Monday through Saturday sells a qualifying rifle (as describe above) to an unlicensed person on Monday and sells another qualifying rifle (as described above) to the same person on the following Saturday. This does not constitute a multiple sale and need not be reported because the sales did not occur during five consecutive business days.

NOTE: Some possible ways to detect qualifying multiple sales include, but are not limited to: (a) daily review of ATF Form 4473 spanning the past five days; (b) daily review of disposition records spanning the past five days; (c) maintaining a calendar of daily sales to unlicensed persons (ideally with each purchaser listed alphabetically); and (d) maintaining a record of daily sales to unlicensed persons (ideally with each purchaser listed alphabetically).

The reporting of multiple sales for rifles requirement is applicable to licensed Type 01 dealers, Type 02 pawnbrokers, Type 07 manufacturers, and Type 08 importers located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas.

However, all federal firearms licensees remain obligated to submit reports of multiple sales or other dispositions of handguns when the licensee sells or otherwise disposes of two or more pistols or revolvers or any combination of pistols or revolvers totaling two or more, to an unlicensed person at one time or during any five consecutive business days. The reporting of multiple sales for pistols and revolvers is a separate requirement from the reporting of multiple sales of certain rifles.

The reporting multiple firearms sales requirement is only applicable to licensed dealers and pawnbrokers in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. However, any suspicious sales of firearms can be reported at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) or to your local ATF office.

No, no federal firearms licensee is required to submit the ATF Form 3310.12 to their designated state or local law enforcement agencies.

However, note that all federal firearms licensees must submit Copy 2 of the ATF Form 3310.4, Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Pistols and Revolvers, to the Chief Local Law Enforcement Official (CLEO).

Licensed Type 01 dealers, Type 02 pawnbrokers, Type 07 manufacturers, and Type 08 importers located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas may download the ATF Form 3310.12 from the ATF website and print for qualifying transactions.

ATF encourages licensees to access the fillable form through our website: the fillable form allows licensees to enter the information, print the completed form and report the multiple sales via email to multiplelonggunsalesforms@atf.gov.

In addition, hard copies of the ATF Form 3310.12 may also be obtained through the ATF Distribution Center at (240) 828-5316. Type 07 manufacturers and Type 08 importers located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas are encouraged to order forms at their earliest convenience by contacting the ATF Distribution Center at (204) 828-5316 or submitting a fillable online Order Form at ATF’s public website.

No. A multiple sale report is not required for the return of firearms to the same individual such as a pawn redemption, consignment or repair.

[27 CFR 478.126a]

No. Multiple sales forms (ATF Forms 3310.4) are not required for sales of frames or receivers as they are not pistols or revolvers.

[18 U.S.C. 923(g)(3); 27 CFR 478.126a]

The disposition of two or more pistols or revolvers to any nonlicensee during a period of 5 consecutive business days must be reported on ATF Form 3310.4, Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Pistols and Revolvers, not later than the close of the business day on the day of disposition of the second pistol or revolver. The licensee must forward a copy of the Form 3310.4 to the ATF office specified thereon, and another copy must be forwarded to the state police or local law enforcement agency where the sale occurred. A copy of the Form 3310.4 must also be attached to the ATF Form 4473 executed upon delivery of the pistols or revolvers.

A business day for purposes of reporting multiple sales of pistols or revolvers is a day that a licensee conducts business pursuant to the license, regardless of whether state offices are open. The application of the term “business day” is, therefore, distinguishable from the term “business day” as used in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) context.

Example: A licensee conducts business only on Saturdays and Sundays, days on which state offices are not open. The licensee sells a pistol to an unlicensed person on a Saturday. If that same unlicensed person acquires another handgun the next day (Sunday), the following Saturday or Sunday, or the Saturday after that, the reporting requirement would be triggered, the subsequent acquisition of a pistol or revolver would have to be reported on a Form 3310.4 by the close of the day upon which the second or subsequent pistol or revolver was sold.

[18 U.S.C. 923(g)(3); 27 CFR 478.126a]

ATF Form 3310.4 must be completed in triplicate (3 copies). The original is sent to ATF’s National Tracing Center by fax at 1–877–283–0288, by email at MultipleHandgunSalesForms@atf.gov, or by mail to:

U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
National Tracing Center
P.O. Box 0279
Kearneysville, WV 25430–0279

A copy is to be sent to the designated state police or the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the sale took place. The remaining copy is to be attached to the corresponding ATF Form 4473 and retained in the licensee’s records for a period of not less than 5 years.

[27 CFR 478.126a and 478.129]

Yes. A separate special (occupational) tax payment must be made for each of these activities. However, Class 1 (importer) and Class 2 (manufacturer) special (occupational) taxpayers are qualified to deal in NFA firearms without also having to pay special (occupational) tax as a Class 3 dealer.

The person must be licensed under the Gun Control Act (GCA) and pay the required special (occupational) tax imposed by the National Firearms Act (NFA). After becoming licensed under the GCA, the licensee must submit an ATF Form 5630.7, Special Tax Registration and Return National Firearms Act (NFA) to ATF with the appropriate tax payment.

An importer of NFA firearms (except importers of sporting shotguns and shotgun ammunition) must also be registered with ATF under the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, by filing an ATF Form 4587, Application to Register as an Importer of U.S. Munitions Import List Articles.

[26 U.S.C. 5801; 18 U.S.C. 923; 27 CFR 447.31, 478.41 and 479.34]

These taxes must be paid in full on first engaging in business and thereafter on or before the first day of July. The current taxes are set out in the following table:

Special (Occupational) Tax Rates Under the NFA

* REDUCED = Rates which apply to certain taxpayers whose total gross receipts in the last taxable year are less than $500,000.

Registration

Federal firearms licensees (FFLs) engaging in this business should submit ATF Form 5630.7, Special Tax Registration and Return, prior to July 1 each tax year. As of October 1, 2025, the form can be completed and submitted with taxes paid entirely through the ATF eForms system. Payment of the special (occupational) tax (SOT) can also be made through Pay.gov (see instructions HERE) with the completed form submitted by email or mail.

Annual renewal notices are no longer sent to each FFL/SOT payer. The NFA Division has a customer service goal to process the returns within 30 days of receiving a properly completed return.

Exemptions

A licensed manufacturer under contract to make NFA firearms for the U.S. Government may be granted an exemption from payment of the special (occupational) tax as a manufacturer of NFA firearms and an exemption from all other NFA provisions (except importation) with respect to the weapons made to fulfill the contract.

Exemptions are obtained by writing the NFA Division at the address below, stating the contract number(s) and the anticipated date of termination. This exemption must be renewed each year prior to July 1.

National Firearms Act (NFA) Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
244 Needy Road
Martinsburg, WV 25405
Phone: (304) 616-4500

[26 U.S.C. 5801; 27 CFR 479.31, 479.32, 479.32a and 479.33]

No. In many states, licensees initiate NICS checks through the state point of contact (POC) serving as an intermediary between a licensee and the federal databases checked by the NICS.

[28 CFR 25.2 and 25.6]

That depends on the state. In some states, the POC conducts background checks for all firearms transactions. In other states, licensees must contact the POC for handgun transactions and the FBI for long gun transactions. In some POC states, NICS checks for pawn redemptions are handled by the FBI.

Please refer to our Permanent Brady State Lists page or the FBI’s NICS Participation Map for information on which states and territories act as full or partial POCs. Your local ATF office can also advise you on the appropriate point of contact for NICS checks.