News: ATF Set To Launch eForms (Form 4) Within Weeks

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has announced that a newly updated version of eForms that will include Form 4 will go back live sometime in the next few weeks. It’s expected after December 15th but before December 28th.

As of now, eForms is live but only to Forms 1, 2, 3, 5 (Gov’t Only), 6, 9, and 10. Form 4 is the one that consumers have been waiting on though. It’s the form required to purchase an NFA item such as a short-barreled rifle or a suppressor. The form hasn’t been available electronically since briefly during a time in 2013. Without a modernized system to process the forms, the ATF has been forced to utilize an archaic paper-and-pen system to file NFA transfer forms. Additionally, the ATF requires that filers send in fingerprints and CLEO forms by USPS mail. All of this has led the wait times for NFA purchases to skyrocket to 8-12 months.

Fast forward to the digital age, the newly updated eForms system is designed to drastically reduce the wait times to as little as weeks to a couple months in comparison to the traditional paper forms.

It should be noted that if you have already submitted an NFA application, keep it in the queue. Withdrawing your Form 4 and re-submitting it electronically will cause as much as a one year delay to the approval process.

At this point, if a new NFA purchase is on your radar, it would definitely be recommended to await until the eForms system goes back live. Waiting a few weeks might save you months of waiting. The ATF will notify the industry 24-48 hours ahead of the transition so we will be sure to promptly notify you when we have reliable updates.