Questions and Answers

Some examples of factors that could affect our timely processing of your application and the issuance of your license or permit could include the local ATF field office being unable to contact you for the purpose of the face-to-face interview; your need for additional time to satisfy the requirements of your local zoning boards or other state and local agencies in order to bring your proposed business premises into compliance with state or local law; your need for additional time to obtain or construct the correct storage facility for the explosives product you plan to maintain, the FBI being unable to adequately complete the required background checks because of incomplete or aged court records or fingerprint card imprints that could not be “read” and require re-submission, or insufficient fee payment.

If the field office’s recommendation is to deny your application, then a different process applies. That process requires the field office to notify you in writing of the reasons for denial and give you the chance to request and attend a hearing to review the evidence upon which the denial is based. The Safe Explosives Act also affords an applicant the right to appeal an adverse hearing decision to federal district court. The hearing process would obviously exceed 90 days.

If you submit a license or permit renewal application with the appropriate fee to ATF prior to the expiration date of your current license, you can contact the Federal Explosives Licensing Center (FELC) and request what is called a Letter of Authorization (LOA). An LOA will act as evidence of your licensed status until we act on your pending renewal application and can be provided by the license holder to suppliers to verify that you are a licensee in good standing awaiting final ATF action on your renewal application.

The Safe Explosives Act (SEA) requires ATF to act on a properly completed application within 90 days. ATF usually considers an application to have been properly completed when all required information has been provided to ATF in writing. This includes submission of the correct number of legible fingerprint cards, the correct fee, etc.

If material changes have to be made to an application (e.g., a change from one license type to another or the addition of or changes to the responsible persons, different business name, premises address, hours of operation, EIN, etc.) after its initial receipt by the Federal Explosives Licensing Center (FELC), then the 90-day processing period may re-start.

The FELC generates licenses and permits every day based on the receipt of field recommendations. Licenses and permits are sent first class mail to an applicant’s mailing address of record from the FELC in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

View current processing times

• Appeals Process — If upon receiving a denial letter from ATF you believe that you are not prohibited from possessing explosives (due to reasons such as identity theft, the dismissal of criminal charges, or other reasons), you may appeal your denial by supplying a written statement, new fingerprint cards, and any supporting documentation that you may have which demonstrates that you are not prohibited. ATF will consider all appeal documents submitted and send the fingerprint cards to the FBI for processing. A determination will be made as to whether the denial should be overturned and you will be notified of the outcome. You will remain in a denied status while your appeal is pending.
   
• Explosives Relief of Disabilities Process – If your denial is upheld, you may apply for relief from your federal explosives disability by sending ATF a Form 5400.29, Application for Restoration of Explosives Privileges along with the required additional information specified in the application. Your application will be coordinated by ATF personnel in the Explosives Relief of Disability (EROD) Program. An investigation will then be conducted, to include, but not limited to, interviews and review of court documents and other information. ATF will notify you in writing of its decision. You may contact the EROD Program by email at EROD@atf.gov or phone at (256) 261-7640.

A Federal explosives manufacturer license allows a person to acquire, manufacture for commercial use, distribute, ship and transport explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.

A Federal explosives importer license allows a person to import, distribute, ship and transport explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.

A Federal explosives dealer license allows a person to acquire, distribute, ship and transport explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.

A Federal explosives permit allows a person to receive, ship, and transport explosive materials. A federal explosives permit does not authorize a person to distribute explosives.

We would approve or, depending on the circumstances, deny an application within a 90-day period, which begins with the day a “properly executed application” is received at the Federal Explosives Licensing Center.

Current Processing Times for ATF Applications

[18 USC 843, 27 CFR 555.49(a)(3)]

1. Criminal forfeiture is an action brought as a part of the criminal prosecution of a defendant. It is an in personam (against the person) action and requires that the government indict (charge) the property used or derived from the crime along with the defendant. If the jury finds the property forfeitable, the court issues an order of forfeiture.
   • For forfeitures pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO), as well as money laundering and obscenity statutes, there is an ancillary hearing for third parties to assert their interest in the property. Once the interests of third parties are addressed, the court issues a final forfeiture order.
2. Civil judicial forfeiture is an in rem (against the property) action brought in court against the property. The property is the defendant and no criminal charge against the owner is necessary.
3. Administrative forfeiture is an in rem action that permits the federal seizing agency to forfeit the property without judicial involvement. The authority for a seizing agency to start an administrative forfeiture action is found in the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. § 1607. Property that can be administratively forfeited is: merchandise the importation of which is prohibited; a conveyance used to import, transport, or store a controlled substance; a monetary instrument; or other property that does not exceed $500,000 in value.

To comply with OMB format standards, question 10 on Form 4473 was divided into 10a (Ethnicity) and 10b (Race); these questions are not new requirements. In addition, respondents may check multiple races (e.g., bi-racial, multi-racial) as opposed to just one in question 10b

Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C.), section 923(g)(1)(A) provides authority for ATF to require such records, and 27 CFR § 478.124 implements that authority, including a requirement that the Form 4473 include information about the purchaser’s race.

Additionally, regulations at 28 CFR § 25.7 prescribe the search criteria used by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and states: "The following search descriptors will be required in all queries of the system for purposes of a background check: (1) Name; (2) Sex; (3) Race; (4) Complete date of birth; and (5) State of residence." This information is needed to facilitate proper identification by providing additional information that helps match -- or rule out a match -- between an individual and a potentially prohibiting record.

Form 4473 has included a question on race since it was established in 1968. ATF amended Form 4473 in 2001 to add ethnicity to the race question. In April 2012 to meet the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the format in which government forms ask about race and ethnicity the two questions were separated. OMB’s standards for race and ethnicity questions require agencies to ask both race and ethnicity in a specific manner.

OMB published guidance to agencies regarding the adoption of these standards in 2000, but permitted ATF to continue using its existing form until 2012, when it required ATF to make changes to the format of the questions during the standard Paperwork Reduction Act approval process. To comply with OMB guidance, question 10 on Form 4473 was divided into 10a (Ethnicity) and 10b (Race); they are not a new requirement that prospective firearms purchasers provide additional information regarding race or ethnicity.

Part I used for over-the-counter sales must be completed, signed and dated by the buyer prior to delivery of the firearm. Part II (green form) used for intra-state non-over-the-counter sales must be completed, signed and dated in duplicate by the buyer at the time of sale. [27 CFR 478.124(c) and 478.124(f)]

No. A Social Security card, alien registration card, or military identification alone does not contain sufficient information to identify a firearms purchaser. However, a purchaser may be identified by any combination of government-issued documents which together establish all of the required information: Name, residence address, date of birth, and photograph of the holder. [27 CFR 478.11 and 478.124(c)]

No. However, the “bound book” must reflect the disposition of the firearm from business inventory to personal use. However, if the business is a corporation, and the firearm is being transferred to a corporate officer or director for other than business purposes, then a Form 4473 must be executed.   [27 CFR 478.124 and 478.125a]

No. ATF Form 4473 is required only for transfers by a licensee.   [27 CFR 478.124]

You must document both the name of the military base and the city and state where the base is located. For example, “Fort Knox, Fort Knox, Kentucky.”

[27 CFR 478.21]

No. Item 6 on Form 4473 states: “Total Number of Firearms to be Transferred (Please spell total number e.g., one, two, etc. Do not use numerals.)”

Item 6 should reflect the total number of firearms recorded in items 1-5 and, as necessary, on the Firearms Transaction Record Continuation Sheet (ATF Form 5300.9A), regardless of whether the firearms were actually transferred.

[27 CFR 478.21]

See ATF Form 4473 instructions for item 10 which state, “If the transferee/buyer is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty, his/her state of residence is the state in which his/her permanent duty station is located. If the service member is acquiring a firearm in a state where his/her permanent duty station is located, but resides in a different state, the transferee/buyer must list both his/her permanent duty station address and residence address.”

Example 1: PCS stationed to state A, lives on base in state A

If the transferee is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and is acquiring a firearm in the same state as his/her permanent duty station, and he/she resides on base, the transferee will record his/her permanent duty station residence address in item 10.

Example 2: PCS stationed to state A, lives off base in state A

If the transferee is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and is acquiring a firearm in the same state as both his/her permanent duty station and his/her residence, the transferee should record his/her residence address in item 10. The transferee’s permanent duty station address in addition to the transferee’s current residence address is not required.

Example 3: PCS stationed to state A, lives off base in state B

If the transferee is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and is acquiring a firearm in a state where his/her permanent duty station is located, but resides in a different state, the transferee must list both his/her permanent duty station address and his/her residence address.

[27 CFR 478.21]

An active-duty military member may establish residency by presenting permanent change of station (PCS) orders and a valid military photo identification card (see ATF Ruling 2001-5). The PCS orders may be either paper or electronic, as stated in the Form 4473 instructions for item 26c, “Licensees may accept electronic PCS orders to establish residency.”

Spouses and other dependents of an active-duty military member may not claim residency using PCS orders, as 18 U.S.C. 921(b) applies only to members of the Armed Forces.

A military member claiming residency in a state in which he or she is present with the intention of making a home must demonstrate that residency to the federal firearms licensee (FFL) by presenting a valid identification document, or a combination of valid, government issued documents, to satisfy the identification document requirement.

[18 U.S.C. 922(t)(1)(C), 27 CFR 478.102(a)(3), 27 478.124(c)(3)(i)]

No. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) information, regardless of method of entry, may only be entered after the transferee/buyer signs and certifies the eForm 4473 (items 22 and 23).

[27 CFR 478.124(c)(3)(iv)]