eFORM 1 MANUFACUTRING A NFA ITEM

20200613_203142

UPDATE: Click HERE to read the ATF’s final ruling regarding stabilizing braces.

Registering an NFA item

With recent talks about potential pistol brace bans, the question of should I register my firearm as a Short Barreled Rifle has been asked with increasing frequency recently. The dilemma most people face is how do I do this myself, and what are the pros and cons of registering a firearm on a national registry. The latter has been debated back and forth many times, and we’d encourage you to do so in the comments section, but the former is relatively easy to accomplish. Short Barreled Rifles are considered regulated firearms under the NFA, or National Firearms Act. Unlike most firearms, any NFA item requires the item to be registered to you, those items include silencers, SBRs, machine guns, AOWs, and destructive devices. For most people, there are two ways to obtain these items. The first of which is via a form 4 where you buy an already registered NFA item from a gun store, pay your $200 tax stamp and wait the six to nine months to take it home. The other way, and the whole reason you clicked on this post, is a form 1 where you are the manufacturer of an NFA item. The unique thing about a form 1 is that it typically only takes 30 days to be approved and you can remove your item from the NFA registry to more easily sell as a pistol if you so choose to do so.

Let’s say that John Doe just bought a Daniel Defense MK18 pistol with an SB Tactical pistol brace, and John wants to register his new pistol as an SBR. His first step is to register an account with eFroms.ATF HERE. The ATF registers users using your email, it’s highly suggested that you use a secure personal email not a company email. He will need to create a secure password and PIN number for your account as well.

Once the account has been created, John will get a confirmation email with his user name and he will be able to log into his eForm account. Once in the account, John will see the all the different eForms available to him. To register his Daniel Defense, he’ll need to click on ATF Form 1.

The first thing prompted will be the way in which the application will be made, individual or trust. The simplest way to register is as an individual. It does not require any additional steps, and the item will be registered to you and you alone. If John would like to set up a trust, he can do so a couple of different ways, but we’re not going to cover that in this post. We’re going to say that john is applying as a Individual to make things easy.

The next page will go over the intended use of this form. John would should carefully read this page. John is certifying on a federal document that he is filling out this information to the best of his knowledge, John is responsible for this form whether he fully understands it or not.  It also details instructions for individuals and for trusts. Individuals will need to mail in finger print cards and attach a passport style photo later in the application. Next, John will move on to the applicant page which will populate his information from when he registered. He will then need to answer some questions that are similar to the questions for buying a firearm at a store.

 

Continuing through the application John is now at the CLEO section which stands for Chief Law Enforcement Officer. We recommend using the highest level of Law Enforcement in the state. Since John is a resident of Florida where the item is being registered that would look like:

 

Agency or Department: Office of Statewide Prosecution

Name and Title: Nicholas B. Cox, Statewide Prosecutor

Address: The Capitol, PL 01, Tallahasee, FL 32399, United States

The next page will go over the intended use of this form. John would should carefully read this page. John is certifying on a federal document that he is filling out this information to the best of his knowledge, John is responsible for this form whether he fully understands it or not.  It also details instructions for individuals and for trusts. Individuals will need to mail in finger print cards and attach a passport style photo later in the application. Next, John will move on to the applicant page which will populate his information from when he registered. He will then need to answer some questions that are similar to the questions for buying aa firearm at a store.

 

Continuing through the application John is now at the CLEO section which stands for Chief Law Enforcement Officer. We recommend using the highest level of Law Enforcement in the state. Since John is a resident of Florida where the item is being registered that would look like:

 

Agency or Department: Office of Statewide Prosecution

Name and Title: Nicholas B. Cox, Statewide Prosecutor

Address: The Capitol, PL 01, Tallahasee, FL 32399, United States

Next step John needs to complete is the line-item page. This is the where firearm information will be input. The first prompt will be for the manufacturer of the firearm and country of the firearm. The ATF has made this very easy by proving a complete list of firearm manufacturers and their respective countries. It gets a little tricky when a manufacturer makes guns in different countries like Heckler and Kock, but luckily for John, Daniel Defense is made in the US of A!

Step 2 under the line item page will be very important and specify the items information.

Product Type: Type of firearm being registered. In John’s case this is going to be a Short Barreled Rifle.

Model: Must match what is engraved on the serial number or frame of the item.

Caliber: if in doubt look on the barrel

Unit of Measurement: Again the barrel will tell best

Length of Barrel: Google will be your friend if you don’t know it.

Overall Length: This is length in its longest configuration. I.E if it has a collapsible stock or folding stock in its longest form.

Serial Number: must match what’s been engraved on the firearm

Description: This will need to be engraved on to the firearm before configuring it into an SBR. This is the Maker’s name and place where the item was registered to the NFA.

State Why You Intend To Make Firearm: For John, investment and Lawful Purposes

 

 

After John’s entered in all the information on himself and the firearm he intends to register his next steps will be to verify everything is correct and certify the form electronically. REMEMBER John is responsible for everything on this form whether he fully understands it or not. So he’d be wise to take his time verifying and understanding it.

 

Once he’s submitted the  form 1 he will be emailed a cover letter and a copy of the submission.  The cover letter need to be printed and mailed into the ATF with two fingerprint cards. Most Law Enforcement Agencies can do this, but good idea to call around and get hours they offer it first. lastly John needs have the item engraved with the information from the description tab.  There are many engravers out there, but check to see if they are familiar with firearm engraving standards.

The ATF will notify John about his application via email. he’ll get an approved Form 1 from the ATF and he can finally put a stock on the end of the receiver extension. John is required to keep a copy of that form with the item at all times. That can be a physical copy or a digital one, like a photo. We recommend keeping a few copies in range bags, cases, etc…

 

 

Please note that this is meant to be a general guide and is by no means to be considered legal advise. We suggest arming yourself with as much information as possible before embarking on registering a NFA item, but it’s not as intimidating as you might think.

 

Leave us a comment below!

Leave a comment