NFA Industry CEO’s work with ATF to Streamline the Form 4 Application Process

Firearms industry representatives met with members of the ATF in Washington D.C. to confirm the adoption of an industry developed processing technology designed to streamline the current NFA transfer system. Several weeks ago, a working group of industry representatives including the CEO’s of Dead Air Silencers, Gemtech,Silencer Shop, plus several senior ATF representatives successfully pilot tested a new barcode system and form generator which grossly reduces data entry processing delays and provides virtual error free data exchange between dealers and the NFA processing center.

The new “barcode system” has been approved to take immediate effect. ATF has already acquired the systems hardware and the form generating system is accessible on the represented manufacturers’ websites at this time and can be made available at no cost to any other interested industry members. The system can be used by dealers to generate a barcoded Form 4 for the transfer of any NFA products.

Here is how it works, a dealer simply logs on to any participating industry member’s website, including the respective websites for Dead Air, Gemtech, or Silencer Shop to complete a customer’s Form 4 using the form generator. The form generator pulls data from several different data sources and auto-populates the correct FFL number, address, etc., without additional input from the dealer. The buyer’s information and product information are then entered by the dealer and the form is printed. The printed copies will feature a 2D barcode on the ATF’s copy of the generated form(s). All of the information contained in the Form 4 is encapsulated in the barcode itself. None of this information is transmitted, saved, or otherwise accessible to any of the supporting industry members.

Once the barcoded form is received by the NFA processing center, it is scanned into ATF’s system. This new process requires only seconds and has virtually no error rate. In adopting the new system, ATF will have cut significant resources typically required for data entry that can be focused on other parts of the NFA process. (Forms previously spent anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months waiting for data entry.) The new barcode system will benefit both ATF processing and consumer wait-times without requiring additional manpower or substantial hardware upgrades.

The adoption of this new system would not have been possible but for the assistance and cooperation of the ATF. Accordingly, the industry representatives involved would like to extend our special thanks to ATF for their hard work and effort in making this new system a reality