Firearms Open Letters

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of your responsibilities under the permanent provisions of the Brady law. 

Published/Revised: July 29, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of your responsibilities under the permanent provisions of the Brady law. 

Published/Revised: July 29, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of your responsibilities under the permanent provisions of the Brady law. 

Published/Revised: July 29, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of your responsibilities under the permanent provisions of the Brady law. 

Published/Revised: July 29, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of your responsibilities under the permanent provisions of the Brady law. 

Published/Revised: July 29, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of your responsibilities under the permanent provisions of the Brady law. 

Published/Revised: July 29, 2025

ATF is committed to helping federal firearms licensees (FFLs) understand their legal obligations under federal law. This open letter advises Wisconsin FFLs that, effective immediately, the Wisconsin concealed carry license does not qualify as an alternative permit/license for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), which allows FFLs to accept certain state-issued licenses in lieu of running a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) when transferring a firearm to a nonlicensee. 

Published/Revised: July 25, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this open letter is to advise you that the Louisiana Lifetime Concealed Handgun Permit meets the requirements as an alternative to the NICS check only during the five-year period beginning on the date of issuance of the Lifetime Permit.

Published/Revised: July 9, 2025

This open letter has been rescinded. The purpose of this open letter is to advise you of an important change to the procedure you may follow to comply with the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Act), 18 U.S.C. § 922(t), when transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person. 

Published/Revised: July 9, 2025

The purpose of this open letter is to advise all federal firearms licensees (FFLs) of updated guidance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that reminds you of your obligations under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Act), 18 U.S.C. § 922(t), when transferring a firearm to a person who is not an FFL.

Published/Revised: May 23, 2025

This letter alerts Vermont FFLs to the enactment of Vermont statute 13 V.S.A. § 4019a, effective July 1, 2023, and reminds FFLs of their obligation to remain in compliance with state and federal law.

Published/Revised: November 29, 2024

The purpose of this open letter is to remind affected persons of the Gun Control Act (GCA), National Firearms Act (NFA), and Arms Export Control Act (AECA), and associated federal regulations as they apply to firearms brought into Customs Bonded Warehouses (CBWs) and Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs).

Published/Revised: November 7, 2024

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is committed to helping federal firearms licensees (FFLs) successfully comply with their legal obligations. This letter alerts you to a new firearms law enacted in the State of New Mexico, to aid you in complying with state and federal law.

Published/Revised: September 9, 2024

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recently examined devices commonly marketed as “solvent traps” and has determined that some of them are “firearm silencers” as defined in the Gun Control Act (GCA) and as defined in the National Firearms Act (NFA).

Published/Revised: August 16, 2024

The purpose of this letter is to advise Wyoming federal firearm licensees that a person convicted in a federal court (of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year) remains subject to the federal prohibition on shipment, transportation, receipt, and possession of firearms and ammunition, despite the issuance of a Restoration of Rights Certificate (under state law) by the State of Wyoming.

Published/Revised: July 10, 2024

The purpose of this Open Letter is to notify you of an important change to the procedure you may follow to comply with the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act (Brady Act), codified at 18 U.S.C. § 922(t), when transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person. Specifically, the North Carolina pistol purchase permit may no longer be used as an alternative to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check requirement.

Published/Revised: August 24, 2023

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) is issuing this open letter to assist Federal Firearms Licensees (“FFLs”) in understanding their obligations when they choose to provide firearm storage services to their customers and the public. 

Published/Revised: July 27, 2023

Changes to Vermont Law, 13 Vermont Statutes Annotated (V.S.A.) § 4019, effective July 1, 2022, have generated questions from Vermont FFLs. This letter alerts Vermont FFLs to the recent changes in Vermont law and provides guidance to ensure Vermont FFLs remain in compliance.

Published/Revised: March 16, 2023

Open letter to the federal firearms licensee (FFL) community to advise on the restrictions and parameters of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), which generally prohibits the possession or transfer of machineguns imported or manufactured after May 19, 1986, with limited exceptions.

Published/Revised: January 12, 2023

ATF is issuing this open letter to assist the firearms industry and the public in understanding whether a “partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional” frame of a Polymer80, Lone Wolf, or similar semiautomatic, striker-fired pistol (sometimes generally referred to as “Glock-type” pistols) has reached a stage of manufacture such that it “may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted” to a functional frame, and is therefore classified as a “frame” or “firearm” in accordance with the final rule titled Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms (Final Rule 2021R-05F), which became effective Aug. 24, 2022. 

Published/Revised: December 27, 2022

ATF is issuing this open letter to further assist the firearms industry and the public in understanding whether a “partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional” receiver of an AR-15/M-16 variant weapon has reached a stage of manufacture such that it “may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted” to a functional receiver, and is therefore classified as a “frame or receiver” or “firearm” in accordance with the final rule titled “Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms (Final Rule 2021R-05F), which became effective Aug. 24, 2022.

Published/Revised: September 27, 2022

The passage of Texas House Bill 957 (HB957), with an effective date of September 1, 2021, has generated questions from industry members as to how this state law may affect them while engaged in a firearms business activity. HB957 claims to exempt silencers (also known as suppressors) that are manufactured in Texas, and which remain in Texas, from Federal firearms laws and regulations, including the federal registration requirements. However, because HB957 directly conflicts with federal firearms laws and regulations, federal law supersedes HB957. In summary, all provisions of the Gun Control Act (GCA) and the National Firearms Act (NFA), including their corresponding regulations, continue to apply to FFLs and other persons in Texas.

Published/Revised: July 26, 2021

Colorado House Bill 1298 (HB1298) establishes a state requirement for an FFL in Colorado to obtain approval, in the form of a “proceed” response, from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) prior to any firearm transfers. HB1298 prohibits the CBI from approving a firearm transfer until the CBI determines that its background investigation is complete and that the transfer would not violate federal prohibitions on firearms possession or result in a violation of state law. 

Published/Revised: July 26, 2021

Missouri House Bill Number 85, Second Amendment Preservation Act (“the Act” or “SAPA”), signed into law by Governor Parson on June 12, 2021, has generated questions from industry members and firearm owners as to how this Missouri state law may affect them while engaged in a firearms business activity or seeking to acquire a firearm. Section 1.420 of the Act states that “federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, rules, and regulations” falling into five categories of regulations relating to firearms “shall be considered infringements on the people’s right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by Amendment II of the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 23 of the Constitution of Missouri.” 

Published/Revised: July 26, 2021

Published/Revised: June 4, 2021