Questions and Answers

• Type 10 Federal firearms licensees (FFLs) inquired about marking variances for destructive device munitions manufactured as part of a valid United States Government (USG) contract. The FFLs note that applying for and awaiting approval of variances, and timely coordinating them with the required export license from the Department of State, creates difficulties in fulfilling contracts in a timely manner.

• The Gun Control Act (GCA) regulations at title 27, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), section 478.92 require a licensed manufacturer to identify firearms by engraving, casting, stamping (impressing), or otherwise conspicuously placing or causing to be engraved, cast, stamped (impressed) or placed on the frame or receiver thereof an individual serial number and other identifying information. The same requirements appear in the regulations implementing the National Firearms Act (NFA) at 27 CFR 479.102.

• However, “in the case of a destructive device, the Director may authorize other means of identifying that weapon upon receipt of a letter application…showing that engraving, casting or stamping (impressing) such a weapon would be dangerous or impracticable.” 27 CFR 478.92 and 479.102. In each case, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) may permit an alternate means of marking the destructive device munitions.

• ATF Ruling 2016-5 authorizes an alternate method or procedure to the firearms marking requirements contained in 27 CFR 478.92 and 479.102.

• ATF authorizes licensed manufacturers of certain destructive device munitions that are manufactured for the USG to mark these destructive device munitions with sequential lot numbers, provided conditions set forth in this ruling are met.

• This ruling applies to only those destructive device munitions that are explosive, incendiary, or poison gas, bombs, grenades, rockets having a propellant charge of more than 4 ounces, missiles having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, or mines. It does not apply to large bore weapons (e.g. rocket launchers, mortars), or homemade devices.

• These destructive device munitions must be manufactured to fulfill a current USG contract and the licensed manufacturer must currently be a party to that existing USG contract.

Generally speaking, there are two types of auctions: estate-type auctions and consignment auctions.

In estate-type auctions, the articles to be auctioned (including firearms) are being sold by the executor of the estate of an individual. The firearms belong to and are possessed by the executor. The firearms are controlled by the estate, and the sales of firearms are being made by the estate. The auctioneer is acting as an agent of the executor and assisting the executor in finding buyers for the firearms. In these cases, the auctioneer does not meet the definition of engaging in business as a dealer in firearms and would not need a license. An auctioneer who does have a license may perform this function away from their licensed premises.

In consignment-type auctions, an auctioneer often takes possession of firearms in advance of the auction. These firearms are generally inventoried, evaluated, and tagged for identification. The firearms belong to individuals who have entered into a consignment agreement with the auctioneer giving that auctioneer authority to sell the firearms. The auctioneer therefore has possession and control of the firearms. Under these circumstances, an auctioneer would generally need a license. If you are not sure if a license is needed in a particular consignment auction situation, contact your local ATF office.

[ATF Ruling 96–2]

In a consignment auction, firearms may be displayed at an auction site away from the auctioneer’s licensed premises and sales of the firearms can be agreed upon at that location, but the firearms must be returned to the auctioneer’s licensed premises prior to transfer. The simultaneous sale and delivery of the auctioned firearms away from the licensed premises would violate the law, for example, engaging in business at an unlicensed location.

However, if the auctioneer is assisting an estate in disposing of firearms, the estate is the seller of the firearms and the estate is in control and possession of the firearms. In this situation, the firearms may be sold by the estate at the auction site.

[18 U.S.C. 923(a); 27 CFR 478.50]

Generally no, because most auctions do not qualify as a gun show or qualifying event and therefore a licensee would not be permitted to conduct business away from the licensed premises.

[18 U.S.C. 923(j); 27 CFR 478.100]

Authorized Users receive a User ID and Password from the USBDC for secured access using any work computer (police or fire) and the Internet. The web address is www.BATS.gov.

Note: All wireless use of BATS must be in accordance with the user’s agreement.

Yes. As part of our commitment to supporting firefighting authorities, the USBDC is able to establish new user roles in BATS, including one for non-law enforcement (non-LE) public safety fire investigators.

Non-LE BATS users will have limited access to BATS to document incidents and activities, and be able to query all of their own data, as well as other non-LE user incident data. The non-LE users will also have access to the non-LE sensitive posted advisories and investigative resources. This will allow agencies to use BATS for case management, data collection and analysis, incident reporting and activity tracking. Non-LE users will also have access to the non-LE sensitive posted advisories and investigative resources.

Non-LE public safety agencies still have the option of partnering with a law enforcement agency for full access to BATS. Non-LE public safety agencies also have the option of contacting their state Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) point of contact to apply for an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI). By obtaining an ORI from CJIS, an agency will maintain their own account and gain full access to the national database.

The USBDC can provide information on applying for an ORI number from your state CJIS point of contact. Please note that ATF and the USBDC are not involved in the actual ORI application.

Requests for an ORI number must be sent to your state’s respective CJIS Systems Officer (CSO), along with supporting documentation to include the department’s statutory authority, the budget of the subunit (e.g., fire investigation unit, arson squad, bomb squad, etc.), the duties and functions of the subunit, as well as any training and certifications relative to the mission of the subunit.

Upon approval by the CSO, the request will be forwarded to the FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division to determine if the agency meets the criteria for ORI assignment as contained in the DOJ Regulations on Criminal Justice Information Systems (Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations [CFR], Part 20, Subpart A).

Please note that ATF and the USBDC are not involved in the ORI application process.

Since each agency administers their BATS account, reports are branded with your department’s header and logo. (Click here to view a sample BATS report.)

BATS helps investigators easily manage and track their investigations. As there are multiple facets and each case is different, BATS aids investigators in organizing the case by easily documenting facts and evidence. It also helps investigators with planning their investigation.

BATS provides an agency with an easy means of retrieving information on old cases. Investigators are able to cross-reference their case details for possible “links” to other investigations. BATS gives investigators access to various pre-formatted reports contained within the BATS application. These reports provide investigators with a detailed representation of their incident data. Since the information has already been entered once, an investigator does not have to re-enter case details to generate different reports.

Today’s legal climate for arson and fire investigations has required that fire investigators use proven scientific methodologies for their expert testimony to be admissible in court. A quality fire investigation report is essential to a successful arson prosecution. BATS provides users with a firm foundation for documenting “origin & cause” and other investigative activity.

BATS now includes a "incident review tool" feature, allowing supervisors to review and approve BATS reports. This feature allows supervisors to review the BATS entry, and send messages to members of their unit regarding the incident entry prior to the incident being uploaded to the database. As the default setting, the supervisor or other person designated by your agency as the BATS account manager, has been assigned this compliance verification ability. If your agency wishes to assign the incident review duty to another member of the unit, please contact the USBDC. Many agencies use the incident review tool as part of the overall "peer review" process for expert testimony. View additional information on "peer review" and the "scientific method."

“Incidents” are for documenting suspicious packages, fires, bombings, explosives-related recoveries, explosions, hoax devices, and bomb threats.

The “Activity” section is for documenting non-incidents such as training, destructs, operational stand-by, magazine inventories/inspections, equipment maintenance, courtroom testimony, re-certs, briefings, peer review, etc. The “activity” section is not for documenting “incidents.”

Reporting “incidents” in BATS ensures that your squad is accurately represented in the national database as well as Congressional and other reporting. This is not only important to the successful conclusion of an investigation but can also “connect the dots” to other cases or identity a particular type of device that may be associated with a known bomb maker (i.e., signature). When Incident information is entered into the Activities section, this information is not available to your fellow bomb technicians and investigators when they conduct their queries of the system.

The latest version of BATS features significant “user-driven” improvements adding to the system’s overall user-friendliness. In addition to the Advisories and the Investigative Resource Library, you have access to details on hundreds of thousands of incident records. As always, your agency is in control of the level of access that other agencies have to your own incident records.

Note: Use of BATS requires that if an Activity entry is part of an Incident, that related Incident MUST also be entered into BATS. For example: An explosives Disposal (Activity) of Recovered Explosives (Incident) or a Fire Scene Examination (Activity) of a Fire (Incident). The USBDC reserves the right to remove access to BATS due to not reporting Incidents.

Each agency is responsible for administering their BATS account. When two or more agencies report the same incident in BATS, the system will perform a de-confliction check based on the date, time, and location of the incident. If the system determines the incident has already been reported by another agency, the BATS user may request access to the original agency's BATS incident and contribute to it or create their own incident record.

In either event, each agency will receive credit for the incident and be able to claim it as a measurement of workload for administrative and operational purposes. Pointer (or contact) information will be displayed for all involved agencies in the event another agency receives a hit based on similar incident details. However, for the actual national and state BATS incident counts, duplicate incidents will only be counted once.

BATS account managers and supervisors may now contact the USBDC to coordinate the automated delivery of BATS-entry reports. These reports can be set up in any manner, but as an example, an account manager can arrange with the USBDC to have a daily automated report delivered by email each day, listing every BATS incident entered by the squad/unit/task force or custom group within the past 24 hours. This can be set up for incidents, activities or both, and can be delivered on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

These automated reports make for an ideal management tool, saving supervisors from having to sign into BATS to run an administrative report for the same information. They can also be used to maintain and promote situational awareness of reported incidents in your area of responsibility.

To obtain additional information, please contact the U.S. Bomb Data Center via any one of three ways: calling 1-800-461-8841, sending an e-mail to USBDC@atf.gov.

The USBDC is committed to making BATS more user-friendly and encourages feedback from users. Users should send an e-mail to the USBDC at: USBDC@atf.gov.

As part of our commitment to supporting bomb squads & fire investigation units, the U.S. Bomb Data Center (USBDC) has provided training & direction to ATF special agents on protocols for coordinating BATS training for their state & local partners. The main requirement is obtaining use of a computer lab with computers for each attendee (e.g., police academy, fire academy, community college, etc.).

Each session covers real-world scenarios (e.g., bombings, juvenile fire setters, explosive recoveries, car fires, training/administrative activities, etc.) and typically last approximately 2 ½ to 3 hours. The USBDC recommends a minimum of 15 attendees for each session. Please submit your BATS training request to your local ATF office.

Interested agencies may also contact other local, state, or federal BATS users and request that they put on a hands-on training course for them.

Upon logging in to BATS, users can view any of the "how to" videos contained in the video library on the main menu. These videos cover entering explosives-related incidents, fire/arson incidents, as well as "account manager" functions (e.g., uploading report seals, reviewing reports, general unit maintenance features, etc.). Users may also contact the USBDC by calling 1-800-461-8841 or sending an e-mail to USBDC@atf.gov.

BATS is also part of the national curriculum at the Hazardous Devices School (bomb technicians) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama and the National Fire Academy's Fire/Arson Origin-and-Cause Investigations course in Emmitsburg, MD.