Questions and Answers

The following informational packet provides detailed information about the ATF special agent position to include major duties, basic qualifications, conditions of employment and specific requirements: Special Agent Informational Packet.

For this job announcement there probably were other applicants who by law must be considered before your application (e.g., certain veterans or displaced federal employees). The last time you applied for the position there may have been no other applicants who were required to be considered by law before other applicants may be considered. Veterans’ Preference is a federal law that essentially requires agencies to hire qualified veterans before qualified non-veterans. Therefore, we cannot consider non-veterans for employment, until those who are entitled to Veterans’ Preference are either hired or withdraw from consideration. You may have also not scored high enough on the assessment if category rating was used to evaluate applicants. Only applicants who are placed in the highest category can be considered for employment.

No. If you received a rating of eligible or tentatively eligible, but you were not referred, it means you did not score high enough on the assessment to be referred or there were other applicants, who by law, must be considered before you (e.g., displaced federal employees, certain veterans). However, this rating does not mean that we have found you qualified for the position. If additional positions become available, we may review your application materials further to determine your eligibility and referral status. USAJOBS Resource Center, and the USAJOBS Resume Writing Video Tutorial.

No. Although you were previously deemed qualified for a position at a certain grade, there is no guarantee that you will be found qualified for like positions. Each vacancy announcement or position has different experience and/or education requirements. Just because you were qualified for one position, does not mean you will be automatically qualified for all other similar positions. It is important to review each vacancy announcement in its entirety, and ensure your application meets all the requirements. Additionally, different Human Resources professionals will most likely review your application and may have different opinions about your qualifications or any prior determinations. Human Resources professionals at ATF help find the best candidates for certain managers and different managers have different needs.

No, real people, Human Resource (HR) specialists, do look at resumes to validate the information in the application package.

All scoring information, including passing scores, is considered secure test information and is not shared with applicants. Sharing scoring information with applicants, including raw scores that do not meet the passing criteria, could compromise the objectivity and/or integrity of the assessment process.

The NFA examiners are assigned specific application types. For example, certain examiners will be assigned to process individual applicants while others are assigned to process trust applicants. Further, applications that are put into problem status will be processed at the end of the week. Examples for when an application is placed into problem status include failure to submit fingerprint cards, failure to submit photographs, failure to submit a responsible person questionnaire, or to research whether the applicant may make, possess, or receive the firearm under State law.

Due to the high volume of NFA application submissions and ATF's limited resources, NFA Division submits background checks to FBI-NICS in batches to maximize efficiency. As the number of pending NFA applications decreases, the background checks will be submitted to FBI-NICS closer to when the NFA application was received by NFA Division. Currently, background checks for individual applicants are sent to FBI-NICS the same week the NFA application is received by NFA Division.

NFA Division will not approve a NFA application unless it receives a “proceed” from FBI-NICS. Some background checks may take longer to process because FBI-NICS must perform additional research on the applicant’s background. As a result, two individuals who submit NFA applications at the same time may have their NFA application processed at different times because the background checks are completed by FBI-NICS and transmitted to NFA Division at different times.

While it is not required, the simplest way to help ensure your background check is processed timely and accurately is to provide your social security number with the NFA application. Without the social security number, FBI-NICS may have to perform additional research to ensure the applicant is not prohibited, thereby delaying the background check response to NFA Division. For example, without a social security number, FBI-NICS will have to perform additional research to properly identify the applicant when the applicant has the same name as someone else with prohibiting information in the NICS database.

No. NFA Division must receive a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check.

No. NFA Division must receive a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check.

No. NFA Division must receive a “proceed” from FBI-NICS in response to the required background check.

Yes. Provided everything else is in order, NFA Division may approve the NFA application because FBI-NICS responded with a “proceed” to the required background check.

No. FBI-NICS must prioritize background checks submitted by FFLs for transfers of firearms regulated under the Gun Control Act (GCA). NFA background checks that require further research by FBI-NICS will be performed as resources allow.

Generally, yes, provided the applications are for an individual and the social security number was provided with the NFA application. NFA Division has implemented a bundling process which allows an examiner to review all pending applications of an individual. There is no need for an applicant to request bundling, this should be done automatically. Nor will NFA Division respond to requests to bundle applications beyond the bundling process that has been implemented.

Yes, provided the trust entity for each pending application has a single responsible person, who is the same person, and the social security number was submitted with each application.

Trust applications require the examiner to perform several additional steps of review than an individual application. For example, the examiner must read each trust document to ensure it is a legitimate trust. The examiner must also read each trust document to ensure every responsible person to the trust submitted the required responsible person questionnaire.

NFA Regulations at 27 CFR 479.85(c) provide:

If the applicant entity has had an application approved as a maker or transferee within the preceding 24 months, and there has been no change to the documentation previously provided, the entity may provide a certification that the information has not been changed since the prior approval and shall identify the application for which the documentation had been submitted by form number, serial number, and date approved.

Accordingly, an applicant who applies within 24 months of receiving an approval may submit a letter certifying that the information in the trust has not changed since the prior approval. The letter may be uploaded as a supporting document in the eForms system.

No. Even when a trust template is used and there is only a single responsible person, there are several additional steps the examiner must perform when reviewing an application to transfer a firearm to a trust. The review of a trust application will always take longer than the review for an individual application.

Yes. The most common reasons attributable to trust processing delays include:

• Failure to submit a responsible person questionnaire and fingerprint cards for each responsible person named on the trust;
• Failure to submit a valid trust, e.g., there is only one person named in the trust who is the settlor, trustee, and beneficiary;
• The settlor identifies a minor as a responsible person to the trust;
• The name of the trust on the NFA application is different than the name of the trust in the trust document; and
• The background check is delayed for one or more individuals identified as responsible persons. For example, if one of three identified responsible person’s background check is delayed by FBI-NICS, then NFA Division cannot process the application until the delayed background check is resolved.

Yes. Please note that changes may not be made once the announcement closes.

As stated on our vacancy announcements, in order to be able to properly evaluate you experience and qualifications for the position, we need:

1. Job title.
2. Name of employer.
3. Beginning and ending dates of employment (month/day/year format).
4. Hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. We will prorate part-time employment in crediting experience.
5. Detailed description of job duties, related skills and responsibilities; including any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable). This information is necessary to determine whether you meet minimum eligibility requirements for the position. Please review the qualifications section in the job announcement closely and directly address the education, skills and experience required in your resume.
6. Series and grade or equivalent (if a federal position)

A CV listing positions and dates does not allow a Human Resources office to properly evaluate your qualifications. Your resume or CV must provide details thoroughly describing how your skills and experiences align with the criteria defined in the qualifications section of the job announcement and support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Federal Human Resources professionals operate under various federal employment laws, rules, and regulations. We are prohibited from drawing conclusions or making assumptions regarding your experience or qualifications. It is up to you to describe your past work experience in detail by providing examples related to those listed in the requirements section of the job announcement.

It depends on the amount of information contained within your application materials and on whether you meet all the requirements specific to the vacancy announcement. See the Required Documents section of the vacancy announcement for information on resume writing and other application guidance.