Questions and Answers

Time in grade is a requirement for a specified amount of time that an employee must spend in a grade before they are eligible for promotion. Essentially a federal employee must spend 52 weeks at their grade before being promoted to the next highest grade. For detailed information reference 5 CFR 300.604. If an applicant applies under Direct Hire or Delegated Examining procedures (i.e., jobs open to the public), they can use prior or non-government experience to qualify even if that applicant does not meet Time in Grade requirements. Additionally, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. However, experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager or human resources director, SF-52, or other documentation). When applying you need to submit this documentation with your application package to be given credit.

You may direct inquiries regarding tort claims involving ATF to SF95@atf.gov. If you are contacting ATF about an existing claim, please include the name of the person who filed the claim and the ATF claim number (CCT ##.####), if known.

If you receive a written denial from ATF, you may either file a request for reconsideration with the ATF Office of Chief Counsel Litigation Division or you may file suit in an appropriate U.S. District Court. Either option must be exercised no later than six months after the date of mailing of the written denial. A request for reconsideration should include a written explanation as to why the matter should be reconsidered, such as new or additional evidence. A request for reconsideration gives ATF another six months to adjudicate your claim. If a request for reconsideration is subsequently denied, you may file suit in an appropriate U.S. District Court no later than six months after the date of mailing of the subsequent denial. If ATF has not adjudicated your request for reconsideration within six months, you may elect to treat the request as having been denied and file suit in an appropriate U.S. District Court.

ATF thoroughly reviews all submitted claims and seeks to fully adjudicate all claims within six months after receipt. If ATF has not adjudicated your claim within six months, you may elect to treat the claim as having been denied and file suit in an appropriate U.S. District Court. 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a).

Whether or not you use Standard Form 95, for a claim to be validly presented, you must:

• Include sufficient information to allow ATF to investigate your claim, including, at minimum, the date and location of the alleged negligent or wrongful acts or omissions by ATF employees as well as the names of any ATF employees known to you to have been allegedly involved.
• Include a specific monetary demand amount (a sum certain) for personal injuries and/or property damage as appropriate as well as a total amount sought.
• Sign the claim or have your authorized agent or legal representative sign the claim and submit proof of their authority to present the claim on your behalf.

So that ATF can adjudicate your claim, you should also submit all available documentation and evidence that you have relating to the incident. 28 C.F.R. § 14.4 provides detailed information about the types of evidence and information that should be submitted with your claim. You should include any police reports, witness statements, photographs, and other evidence or information relating to the alleged actions taken by any ATF employee(s) and the alleged damages. You should also provide support for your claimed monetary damages.

Your claim must be presented in writing to ATF within two years of the date the claim accrued. 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b). Your claim is not deemed to be presented until it is received by ATF. 28 C.F.R. § 14.2. It is the claimant’s responsibility to ensure a claim reaches ATF in a timely fashion.

A claim may be filed using Standard Form 95. Use of the form is not mandatory, but it is strongly preferred. Instructions for completing the form are on its second page.

The completed and signed claim should be filed with the ATF Office of Chief Counsel Litigation Division, through one of the following methods. Please do not send multiple copies of your claim to ATF.

• Electronic submission is strongly preferred. You may submit your claim by email to SF95@atf.gov. You will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt when filing electronically. Please utilize an email address that you will check regularly, as ATF may contact you by email if additional information is required to adjudicate your claim.
• If you prefer to send a hard copy of the claim, it should be sent to the following address:

ATF Office of the Chief Counsel (Litigation)
99 New York Ave. NE
Room 5.E-310
Washington, DC 20226

Individuals, businesses, or governmental entities that have a claim for money damages resulting from personal injury or property loss or damage caused by ATF employees acting within the scope of their employment may file a claim with ATF. Please note the exceptions to the FTCA, which can be found at 28 U.S.C. § 2680. A claim may be submitted by the injured party or by a duly authorized agent or legal representative.

Claims alleging personal injury or property loss, or damage caused by another federal agency, and not alleged to be caused by ATF, should be sent directly to that agency and should not be sent to ATF.

No. The National Tracing Center (NTC) will only record one incident of a lost or stolen firearm in the NTC lost/stolen gun database, even if multiple reports are filed.

Yes. The report must be filed by the transferor/sender federal firearms licensee (FFL) regardless of whether a transferee/receiver FFL and/or the carrier indicate that they have filed a theft/loss report with ATF.

This requirement applies because only the transferor/sender specifically knows how and when the particular firearms were shipped. The transferee/receiver or the carrier most often does not have all of the information necessary to file a complete theft/loss report. The reporting requirement also applies because the disposition records of the transferor/sender FFL must be corrected to reflect the theft or loss.

This rule applies to all firearms shipments from federal firearms licensees (FFLs), including shipments through the USPS.

Licensees who report the theft or loss of a firearm and later discover its whereabouts shall advise ATF at 1-888-930-9275 (nationwide toll-free number) that the firearm has been located, and shall re-enter the firearm in the Record of Acquisition and Disposition as an acquisition or disposition entry as appropriate.

The transferor/sender federal firearms licensee (FFL) should draw a single line through the incorrect disposition information in their acquisition and disposition (A&D) record. If there is room in the disposition block, the FFL should record the date of the theft or loss, the ATF incident number, and the local authority incident number. The licensee should then initial and date the changes.

Alternatively, if there is no room in the disposition block to legibly record the required information, the FFL should line-out the disposition information and initial and date the change. The FFL should then make a new entry in the next available line in the current A&D record. In that case, the FFL must enter a reference to the new book, page, and line number in the disposition side of the updated record, and use the new entry to record the date of the theft or loss, the ATF incident number, and the local authority incident number. This entry must be recorded not later than 7 days following discovery of the theft or loss.

A licensee must complete and submit Form 3310.11 to the National Tracing Center (NTC) and the NTC will notify the NFA Branch. This will satisfy the licensee’s reporting requirements under 27 CFR 478.39a and 27 CFR 479.141; licensees will no longer have to submit additional notification to ATF.

The transferor/sender federal firearms licensee (FFL) will use the current ATF Form 3310.11 Firearms Inventory Theft/Loss Report.

The new rule does not require federal firearms licensees (FFLs) to implement any new business policies or take any additional actions related to tracking shipments or obtaining confirmation of receipt. The transferor/sender is only required to report a theft or loss upon receiving notification from either the transferee/receiver or another source, such as a shipper, that the shipment did not arrive.

The new rule does not place any additional recordkeeping requirements upon federal firearms licensees (FFLs). Shipping/sending FFLs need only update their existing records with firearm theft, loss, or recovery information.

The reporting requirement is not triggered until the transferor/sender federal firearms licensee (FFL) is aware that a firearm has been lost or stolen. The transferor/sender FFL may be placed on notice of a theft or loss by a communication from the transferee/receiver FFL that the firearm was not delivered, or through communication from other sources such as the common carrier that the firearm was not delivered due to theft or loss in transit.

If the location of the theft or loss is known, the local law enforcement agency at that location would be the appropriate local authority. Otherwise, the report would be made to the local law enforcement authorities at the licensee’s location or business premises.

The transferor/sender federal firearms licensee (FFL) of the stolen or missing firearm must report the theft or loss to ATF and to the appropriate local authorities within 48 hours after the transferor/sender FFL discovers the theft or loss of a firearm.

The transferor/sender FFL must also create a disposition entry reflecting the theft or loss of the firearm in the required bound book not later than 7 days following discovery of the theft or loss. If the firearm is later recovered, the transferor/sender must re-enter the recovered firearm as an acquisition or disposition as appropriate.

Because the theft or loss has precluded the intended transferee/receiver from taking actual possession of the firearm, the transferee/receiver (federal firearms licensee or unlicensed recipient) is far less likely to have information necessary to file the theft/loss report.

No federal statute requires common or contract carriers to report the theft or loss of a firearm in transit to ATF. Only Congress may enact a law imposing such a requirement, and it has chosen not to.

Nonetheless, ATF has long encouraged carriers to file theft and loss reports, and issued ATF Form 3310.6, Interstate Firearms Shipment Theft/Loss Report, to assist them in reporting thefts and losses.

The transferor/sender federal firearms licensee (FFL) must report the theft or loss of a firearm in transit because the transferor/sender FFL is more likely to know the circumstances of when and how a firearm was shipped.

In addition, due to the theft or loss, the transferor/sender FFL’s acquisition and disposition records indicating that a firearm was disposed of to a particular transferee/buyer are inaccurate, and must be amended to reflect the actual circumstances. It is important to note that the obligation to report is not required unless and until the shipper becomes aware that the firearm did not reach its intended destination.

The regulations have been amended to enhance the reporting of firearms lost and stolen in transit. ATF has identified numerous occasions during the crime gun tracing process where a federal firearms licensee's (FFL) records indicate the firearm being traced has been shipped to another FFL, but the transferee/receiving FFL advises the firearm was never received; yet no theft or loss report has been filed with ATF. The absence of a theft/loss report to ATF in these circumstances adversely impacts the ability of ATF and local law enforcement to trace and investigate crime guns.

You should contact ATEB at 202-648-7130 or your local ATF office.