This is a proposed rule (not final) that would end the requirement for FFLs to keep firearm records forever and instead require retention for 20 or 30 years, depending on the final decision.
Impact: Significant—reduces long-term data retention burdens but also limits how far back firearm tracing can go.
Applies to: Primarily FFLs, with indirect impact on individuals (privacy and traceability).
What this rule means
Currently, most firearm records (like Form 4473s and A&D books) must be kept indefinitely and are turned over to ATF when an FFL goes out of business.
This rule proposes to:
- Replace permanent record retention with a fixed time limit (20 or 30 years)
- Apply that limit to most firearm transaction records
- Keep only certain manufacturing/import records permanently
ATF’s reasoning:
- Older records are rarely used in crime gun tracing
- Keeping records forever creates:
- Cost burdens for FFLs
- Massive storage issues for ATF (billions of records)
What the rule actually does
If finalized, this rule would:
- Set a time limit for most firearm records
- FFLs must retain:
- Form 4473s → 20 or 30 years
- A&D records → 20 or 30 years
- After that:
- Records can be destroyed
- Keep some records permanent
- Manufacturer/importer acquisition records remain permanent
- Reason:
- Needed for tracing origin, age, and interstate commerce
- Change ATF record storage (NTC)
- ATF currently keeps out-of-business records forever
- This rule would:
- Limit how long ATF keeps those records as well
Context from the data (important):
- ~89% of crime gun traces use records less than 20 years old
- Only a small percentage rely on older records
- Extending to 30 years increases trace success slightly (~89% → ~94%)
- Add new short-term record rules
For newer/edge use cases:
- Private party transfer checks (via FFL):
- Keep records for 90 days
- Voluntary employee background checks:
- Keep records for 90 days
- Denied transactions:
- Keep records for 5 years
- Clean up outdated rules
- Removes obsolete forms
- Clarifies record categories and structure
What will change (real-world impact)
For FFLs (Major Impact):
- No more permanent record storage requirement
- Reduced:
- Storage costs (physical or digital)
- Compliance burden over time
- Ability to:
- Destroy old records after 20–30 years
For Individuals (Indirect Impact):
- Increased privacy:
- Personal firearm transaction records won’t exist forever
- BUT:
- Slight reduction in long-term traceability of firearms
For Law Enforcement / ATF:
- Slight decrease in ability to trace very old firearms
- But:
- ATF believes impact is minimal based on data
- Major reduction in:
- Record storage volume (currently billions of records)
For the system overall:
- Shifts from “permanent recordkeeping” → “limited retention”
- Balances:
- Investigative utility
- Cost and privacy concerns
Key Takeaways
- Ends indefinite record retention for most firearm records
- Sets a 20 or 30-year retention period
- Keeps manufacturer/import origin records permanent
- Adds short retention periods for newer background check uses
- Reduces burden on FFLs and ATF
Proposed Rule to be Published:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
27 CFR part 478
[Docket No. ATF-2026-0003; ATF 2025R-08P]
RIN 1140-AA95
Firearm Records Retention Periods
AGENCY: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of
Justice.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”)
proposes to amend Department of Justice (“Department”) regulations establishing records
retention periods for federal firearms licensees’ (“FFLs” or “licensees”) acquisition and
disposition (“A&D”) records, and the retention period for records the National Tracing
Center (“NTC”) receives. Specifically, ATF is proposing these records be retained for a
specific period rather than indefinitely, and is considering either 20 or 30 years for the
specified period. ATF is also proposing a brief retention period for forms used to
facilitate private-party transfers or to conduct voluntary firearm handlers checks.
DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing, and must be submitted on or before
(or, if mailed, must be postmarked on or before) [INSERT DATE 90 DAYS AFTER
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. Commenters should be
aware that the federal e-rulemaking portal comment system will not accept comments
after midnight Eastern Time on the last day of the comment period.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number RIN 1140-
AA95, by either of the following methods —
• Federal e-rulemaking portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow theinstructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: ATF Rulemaking Comments; Mail Stop 6N-518, Office of Regulatory
Affairs; Enforcement Programs and Services; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives; 99 New York Ave, NE; Washington, DC 20226; ATTN: RIN 1140-AA95.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and number (RIN
1140-AA95) for this notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM” or “proposed rule”). ATF
may post all properly completed comments it receives from either of the methods
described above, without change, to the federal e-rulemaking portal,
https://www.regulations.gov. This includes any personally identifying information (“PII”)
or business proprietary information (“PROPIN”) submitted in the body of the comment
or as part of a related attachment they want posted. Commenters who submit through the
federal e-rulemaking portal and do not want any of their PII posted on the internet should
omit it from the body of their comment and any uploaded attachments that they want
posted. If online commenters wish to submit PII with their comment, they should place it
in a separate attachment and mark it at the top with the marking “CUI//PRVCY.”
Commenters who submit through mail should likewise omit their PII or PROPIN from
the body of the comment and provide any such information on the cover sheet only,
marking it at the top as “CUI//PRVCY” for PII, or as “CUI//PROPIN” for PROPIN. For
detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the
rulemaking process, see the “Public Participation” heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(4), a
summary of this rule may be found at https://www.regulations.gov. Commenters must
submit comments by using one of the methods described above, not by emailing the
address set forth in the following paragraph.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Regulatory Affairs, by
email at ORA@atf.gov, by mail at Office of Regulatory Affairs; Enforcement Programsand Services; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; 99 New York Ave,
NE; Washington, DC 20226, or by telephone at 202-648-7070 (this is not a toll-free
number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Attorney General is responsible for enforcing the Gun Control Act of 1968
(“GCA”), as amended. This responsibility includes the authority to promulgate
regulations necessary to enforce the provisions of the GCA.1 See 18 U.S.C. 926(a).
Congress and the Attorney General have delegated the responsibility for administering
and enforcing the GCA to the Director of ATF (“Director”), subject to the direction of the
Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. See 28 U.S.C. 599A(b)(1), (c)(1); 28
CFR 0.130(a)(1)– (2); Treas. Order No. 221(2)(a), (d), 37 FR 11696–97 (June 10, 1972).2
Accordingly, the Department and ATF have promulgated regulations to implement the
GCA in 27 CFR part 478.
Since its enactment, the GCA has required FFLs to maintain, at their place of
business, importing, producing, shipping, receiving, selling, and other disposition records
for firearms (“A&D records”), in accordance with prescribed regulations. Section
923(g)(1)(A) of the GCA requires licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers to
maintain these records for “such period” and in such form as prescribed by regulation.
Licensed collectors, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(2), are required to maintain the records
in a bound volume, the nature of which may be prescribed by regulation. Section
1 Some GCA provisions still refer to the “Secretary of the Treasury.” However, the Homeland Security Act
of 2002, Pub. L. 107–296, 116 Stat. 2135, transferred the functions of ATF from the Department of the
Treasury to the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General. 26 U.S.C.
7801(a)(2); 28 U.S.C. 599A(c)(1). Thus, for ease of reference, this proposed rule refers to the Attorney
General where relevant.
2 In Attorney General Order Number 6353-2025, the Attorney General delegated authority to the Director
to issue regulations pertaining to matters within ATF’s jurisdiction, including under the GCA, National
Firearms Act, and Title XI of the Organized Crime Control Act. ATF’s jurisdiction also includes those
portions of sec. 38 of the Arms Export Control Act pertaining to permanently importing defense articles
and services and the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act.923(g)(4) of the GCA requires licensees, upon absolutely discontinuing a business,3 to
deliver required records to the Attorney General within 30 days after discontinuing
business. Regulations implementing the record-keeping requirements of sections
923(g)(1)(A), 923(g)(2), and 923(g)(4) are contained primarily in 27 CFR part 478,
subpart H. Requirements for retaining records and for handling a discontinued business’s
records are in 27 CFR 478.129 and 478.127, respectively.
With certain exceptions, an FFL may not sell or otherwise dispose of, temporarily
or permanently, any firearm to any unlicensed person unless the FFL records the
transaction on ATF Form 5300.9, Firearms Transaction Record (“Form 4473”). See 27
CFR 478.124. Forms 4473 are therefore one of the records licensees are required to retain
under 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(1). Specifically, § 478.129(b) currently requires licensees to
retain each Form 4473 until they discontinue the business or licensed activity.
Prior to July 29, 1985, the GCA’s implementing regulations required FFLs to
permanently retain records of firearms transactions and deliver those records, with
limited exception, to ATF when they discontinued a firearms business. See 26 CFR
178.121(a), 178.127 (1969). On June 28, 1985, ATF published a final rule,4 effective July
29, 1985, amending the record retention requirements codified at 27 CFR 478.129 to
eliminate the permanent retention requirement for licensed dealers and collectors and to
reduce the retention period to not more than 20 years, dating back to December 16, 1968.
The 1985 final rule also authorized licensed manufacturers and importers to destroy their
disposition records after retaining such records for 20 years beginning December 16,
1968. The final rule provided that “[b]ecause of the diminished frequency in utilizing
records over 20 years of age in tracing firearms used in crimes, the requirement to
3 Section 923(g)(4) differentiates between licensed businesses succeeded by a new licensee, and a licensed
business that discontinues absolutely — having no successor licensee. In the case of a licensed business
with a successor, the discontinuing licensee must reflect that in the ATF-required A&D records and deliver
them to the successor.
4 ATF final rule, “Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition,” 50 FR 26702 (June 28, 1985).maintain permanent records of all firearms transactions is not justifiable based on the cost
and administrative burden to both the firearms industry and the Government.”5
Manufacturers and importers, however, were required to retain, on a permanent
basis, their manufacturing, importing, and other firearms acquisition records, including
those from prior to 1968. These records proved helpful for a variety of purposes. They
were relevant for criminal prosecutions because they helped prove that a firearm moved
in or affected interstate or foreign commerce. The records could also be used to establish
the age of a firearm and, thus, its classification as an antique or curio and relic. The
records also lacked the privacy concerns raised by dealer records because they did not
record the ultimate owner of most manufactured or imported firearms.
In 2022, ATF published a final rule,6 effective on August 24, 2022, that amended
the record retention requirements in 27 CFR 478.129. Specifically, it amended §
478.129(b) to require that licensees retain each ATF Form 4473 until they discontinue the
business or licensed activity. Section 478.129(d) continued to require licensees to retain
manufacturing, importing, or other acquisition records for firearms until they discontinue
the business or licensed activity, but it imposed the same records retention requirement
on licensed importers’ and licensed manufacturers’ sale or other disposition records.
Section 478.129(e) was also amended to require licensed dealers and collectors to retain
their sale or other disposition records for firearms and the corresponding receipt record
for such firearm until they discontinue the business or licensed activity. These
amendments remain in effect today. When FFLs absolutely discontinue a business, 18
U.S.C. 923(g)(4) and 27 CFR 478.127 continue to require them to deliver the required
records within 30 days after they discontinue business to the ATF Out-of-Business
Records Center. The GCA and its regulations do not address how long ATF retains out-
5 Id.
26, 2022).
6 ATF final rule, “Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms,” 87 FR 24652 (Aprilof-business records (“OOB records”). Currently, ATF maintains all OOB records
indefinitely.
Table 1 summarizes the records retention requirements for each type of licensee
over time.
Table 1. Summary of records retention periods over time, by licensee type*
1969 1985 Current
(since 2022) Proposed
Manufacturers
Importers
• Retain
acquisition
records
permanently
• Retain Forms
4473 for 20 years
• Retain other
disposition
records for 20
years
• Discard
disposition
records 1968 or
older
• Retain all A&D
records 1969 on
until FFL
discontinues
business
• Can store closed
records over 20
years old off site
• Retain all acquisition
records permanently,
including records prior
to 1968
• Retain all other records
for 20 (or 30) years
• Can store closed
records over 20 years
old off site
Retain all records
until business or
licensed activity is
discontinued. Dealers
Collectors
• Discard all
records 1968 or
older
• Retain Forms
4473 from 1969
onward for 20
years
• Retain other
transaction
records for 20
years
• Discard all
records 1968 or
older
• Retain all A&D
records 1969 on
until FFL
discontinues
business
• Can store closed
records over 20
years old off site
• Retain all records for
20 (or 30) years
• Retain all records at
business premises
Manufacturers, importers,
and dealers
• Retain Forms
3310.4 (multiple
sales reports,
pistols/revolvers)
for five years
• Retain Forms
3310.11
(theft/loss
reports) for five
years
• Retain Forms 3310.4
and 3310.12 (multiple
sales reports,
pistols/revolvers and
certain rifles) for five
years
• Retain Forms 3310.11
(theft/loss reports) for
five years
• Retain Forms 4473
initiated, but not
completed, for five
years
*Acquisition records in this table include all methods of acquisition pertinent to the type of licensee, including
manufacturing and importing records. Similarly, disposition records include all methods of disposition pertinent to the
type of licensee, including sales. Acquisition records from 1985 onward also include Forms 4473 unless specifically
mentioned in a bullet point.
The record retention requirements imposed on most licensee records have been
based on two principles. For investigating criminal activity, records retained by FFLsallow ATF to trace, by firearm serial number and firearm identifying information,
ownership of firearms recovered at or used in crimes, a function particularly important in
support of federal, state, and local law enforcement. Retained records also help enforce
federal regulatory requirements. When prosecuting criminal cases for violations of the
GCA, the government may also rely on licensee records to establish through record-
keeping that the firearm has moved between FFLs of different states or countries. More
importantly, licensed importer and manufacturer acquisition (“I&M acquisition”) records
identify the location from which the firearm was manufactured or imported to
demonstrate the firearm’s introduction and movement in commerce and the firearm’s age.
Likewise, ATF uses OOB records submitted to ATF and maintained by NTC to
respond to crime gun trace requests. NTC converts OOB records into digital images after
it receives them and stores them in the Enterprise Content Management (“ECM”) Image
Repository for use in the tracing process. All images that are electronically stored in the
ECM repository are retrievable in accordance with law, regulation, and policy, but are not
searchable by an individual’s name or other personal identifiers or through character
recognition. For fiscal year (“FY”) 2024, NTC conducted 614,995 traces and as of June
11, 2025 when this proposed rule was first drafted, had conducted 420,762 traces for FY
2025. At that same time, NTC held approximately 1.3 billion images of records and as of
June 11, 2025, NTC received approximately 6.8 million OOB records per month in FY
2025. The NTC estimates that 500 million images in the OOB records are older than 20
years.
II. Proposed Rule
ATF is proposing revisions to §§ 478.127 and 478.129 to adjust the records
retention periods for licensee A&D records, Forms 4473, other licensee records, and
NTC’s out-of-business records, as discussed in detail below. In addition, ATF is
proposing some structural changes to the sections to better clarify the different recordprovisions, and is proposing some minor technical edits to conform with plain writing
requirements and updates to ATF forms, numbers, and titles.
A. Reducing licensee A&D records retention periods
As of FY 2024, there were 128,960 active FFLs faced with the costs of retaining,
on a permanent basis, A&D records for firearms. Electronic record-keeping systems
compliant with ATF’s past requirements often require a financial investment in computer
hardware, software, and training. The older the firearm, the more likely it has been
transferred on the secondary market. As a result, the ability to trace crime guns to a
purchaser or determine their movement in interstate or foreign commerce decreases with
time because licensee records do not cover transfers on the secondary market. As a result,
the utility of older records for tracing firearms does not outweigh the increased cost of
permanently retaining electronic or paper records.
Statistical data maintained by NTC establishes that there has been a steady
increase since FY 2014 in the percentage of completed traces to a purchaser using records
up through 20 years old. In FY 2014, approximately 73 percent (153,629 of 210,312) of
completed traces identified a purchaser using records up through 20 years old. Tables 2,
3, and 4 below show the remaining total number of traces completed using records over
20 years old in FY 2014, FY 2019, and FY 2024 and 2025, respectively. Column two in
each table contains the subset of column 1’s traces that use records over 25 years old, and
column three contains the subset of column 2’s traces that use records over 30 years old,
illustrating the diminishing number of records used in traces as firearms get older.
Table 2. FY 2014
Over 20 years
FY 2014
Over 25 years
FY 2014
Over 30 years
FY 2014
56,620 35,162 23,758
In FY 2019, approximately 82 percent (253,239 of 308,660) of traces identified a
purchaser using records less than 20 years old.Table 3. FY 2019
Over 20 years
FY 2019
Over 25 years
FY 2019
Over 30 years
FY 2019
55,421 40,871 25,710
More recent data, for FY 2024 and FY 2025, shows a further decline in records
over 20 years old used in traces, as approximately 89 percent (414,405 of 464,325) of
successful traces in FY 2024 identified a purchaser using records less than 20 years old,
and the same in FY 2025 (426,429 of 477,401).
Table 4. FY 2024 and FY 2025
FY Over 20 years Over 25 years Over 30 years
2024 49,920 39,229 29,377
2025 24,885 19,374 14,880
Thus far, NTC’s most recent data indicates that this trend has continued in FY
2026, with approximately 89 percent (203,927of 228,812) of successful traces in the first
half of FY 2026, as of March 31, 2026, requiring records less than 20 years old.
Similarly, prior to implementing 2022’s expanded permanent retention period, the
small percentage of traces that could not be completed due to lack of records over 20-
years old showed an overall decline. ATF uses a specific closure designation for traces
when a licensee informs ATF that it does not have records for that firearm because the
records were more than 20 years old and had been destroyed. In FY 2014, ATF
conducted 350,063 traces. Of these, 0.34 percent, or 1,175, were closed for this reason.
Of 469,842 total traces in FY 2020, only 0.31 percent, or 1,463, traces were closed for the
above reason, and FY 2021 saw another decline in traces closed with this designation to
0.26 percent, or 1,349, out of 528,058 traces.
The declines in both the percentage of traces using records over 20 years old and
those closed because the dealer did not maintain records beyond the 20-year requirement
indicate a diminishing need to access records older than 20 years. This is attributable, inpart, to an increase in the share of traced firearms with a time-to-crime interval (“TTC”)
less than 20 years. A firearm’s TTC is the length of time between the date of a firearm’s
last known purchase to the date law enforcement recovers it as a crime gun. ATF
calculated the TTC for nearly all (1,479,046) of the 1,482,861 firearms traced to a
purchaser between 2017 and 2021. For the entire period, over 87 percent of the traced
crime guns had a TTC of 20 years or less. The median TTC for all firearms was 1,293
days or slightly more than three years, meaning that half of the traced crime guns were
purchased within this time period. And approximately 24 percent of all firearms were
purchased within one year of their recovery. Between 2017 and 2021, the percentage of
firearms with a TTC of less than one year and less than three years steadily increased. In
2017, 19.3 percent of recovered firearms had a TTC of less than one year and 40 percent
had a TTC of less than three years. By 2021, those percentages increased to 32.3 percent
of recovered firearms with a TTC of less than one year and 53.9 percent with a TTC of
less than three years.7
The decreasing need to utilize records over 20 years old, and the even greater
decrease in utility of records more than 30 years old, to trace a firearm to a purchaser —
caused in part by shorter TTC periods and lower median age of recovered firearms —
demonstrate that a 20-year or 30-year records retention period and reducing the volume
of older records maintained by NTC would not have a significant impact on ATF’s
capability to trace crime guns. As a result of these facts and the administrative burdens on
the firearms industry and the government from retaining records indefinitely, ATF is
proposing to reduce the records retention periods in § 478.129 for all firearms acquisition
and disposition records except I&M acquisition records 8 to 20 or 30 years. ATF is
7 ATF, National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA): Crime Gun Intelligence and
Analysis – Volume Two, part III (March. 27, 2024), https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-
ii-part-iii-crime-guns-recovered-and-traced-us/download [https://perma.cc/5TJX-3P5W].
8 As noted above, because these records are needed for prosecutions and collectible classifications, I&M
acquisition records have had a permanent retention period since the GCA was passed in 1968, and FFLsconsidering whether to establish the retention period at 20 years or 30 years as an
appropriate balance between the cost of maintaining records for longer periods and the
public safety interest in being able to trace more crime guns and to more quickly
apprehend perpetrators of crimes involving firearms. Although fewer records 26–
30 years old or over 30 years old have been necessary to trace crime guns in recent years,
there are still traces that involve these older records. For example, the data in Table 4
shows that in 2024, roughly 39,229 traces involved records over 25 years old and 29,377
traces involved records over 30 years old. This means that, in 2024, the percentage of
successful crime gun traces increased from 89 to 94 percent when records up to 30 years
old were available, resulting in almost 10,000 additional successful traces.
ATF seeks comments on whether the costs of retaining these records for an extra
ten years (30 years instead of 20) would be sufficiently offset by the public safety benefit
of maintaining this traceability. See further discussion in this section (above) and in
section III.A of this preamble for more information on the age distribution of records
used for firearms tracing over the past ten years.
1. Paragraph 478.129(b), Forms 4473
This rule proposes to remove the requirement in § 478.129(b) that FFLs must
retain Forms 4473 permanently and replace it with a requirement that FFLs retain Forms
4473 for either 20 or 30 years. Currently, § 478.129(b) states that “Licensees shall retain
each Form 4473 until business or licensed activity is discontinued, either on paper, or in
an electronic alternate method approved by the Director, at the business premises readily
accessible for inspection under this part.” ATF proposes to replace this provision with
“FFLs must retain each Firearms Transaction Record (ATF Form 4473) for no less than
20 [or 30] years from the date on which they sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm.”
were also required to retain such records from before 1968. The need for these older records still exists, so
they would remain under a permanent retention period. These records also do not identify the ultimate
owner of the firearm in most cases.Paragraph § 478.129(b) also states that the records must be maintained in either
paper or an electronic alternate method approved by the Director, at the business
premises, and readily accessible for inspection under this part. These requirements would
remain but in separate sentences that include some minor plain writing edits for
readability.
In addition, ATF is proposing to separate into two sub-paragraphs the general
requirements for retaining the Forms 4473 mentioned above and the existing records
provisions for retaining Forms 4473 associated with non-completed transactions,
including headings to help distinguish them. The requirements for retaining forms
associated with non-completed transactions would remain the same but would have
minor plain writing edits to make them easier to read.
In another rulemaking, ATF is proposing to incorporate into its regulations the
ability for licensees to use Forms 4473 when they conduct background checks for private
parties transferring a firearm between themselves, and when licensees conduct voluntary
firearm handler background checks (“FHCs”) of certain current or prospective
employees. Although licensees may use Forms 4473 when they facilitate private-party
transfers, that has not been in ATF’s regulations, and the FHC use is new. ATF proposes
to clarify, as part of incorporating these uses into the regulations, that these records are
not part of a licensee’s required A&D records and are thus not subject to other regulatory
and enforcement requirements. This has been a source of confusion for licensees using
Forms 4473 for private-party transfers.
As a result, ATF also proposes adding two new sub-paragraphs that would specify
the minimum length of time FFLs must retain Forms 4473 used to facilitate a private-
party transfer process or to conduct a voluntary FHC. In both cases, ATF proposes that
licensees would retain those Forms 4473 for no less than 90 days (three months) from the
date on which they initiate the associated background check. Three months correspondswith the time until the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (“NICS”) purges transaction information. During that period,
NICS can research a “delayed” response and has that period to research and resolve the
check, so retaining the forms for that period would be consistent with the time to resolve
open FHC or private party checks. ATF would also be able to research issues in other
contexts, for example, an FBI NICS audit log that shows an extra background check the
licensee conducted but for which there is no Form 4473 in the licensee’s records; ATF
would be able to use these temporary forms to clarify that the licensee conducted the
background check to facilitate a private-party transfer. Similarly, ATF would be able to
clarify that a transaction involving a missing firearm from licensee inventory was
incorrectly checked as a private-party transfer on the form and verify that the licensee did
indeed complete the required form and background check for that transaction. However,
ATF would not inspect these forms as records in their own right (unless they happen to
be erroneously marked as private-party transfers when they are not) because they do not
involve FFL transactions, and licensees therefore do not need to retain them longer than
three months.
ATF believes that allowing licensees to destroy these records after 90 days would
best provide for public safety. A short retention period would encourage more individuals
to perform voluntary background checks before transferring firearms on the secondary
market. A longer, or permanent, sales record retention period could raise privacy
concerns among private party sellers and purchasers. This privacy interest could cause
private parties to choose to sell their firearms without a background check if licensees
were required to retain them for longer periods. These transactions have also not
historically been subject to any records retention period under federal law, so a short
retention period does not materially change the status quo when it comes to tracing.
However, the paragraph on private-party transfers would also include a five-yearretention period for Forms 4473 associated with NICS background checks that receive a
“denied” response from NICS because the prospective transferee would be a prohibited
person under law. This five-year retention period for transactions with a “denied”
response is consistent with the relevant statute of limitations under federal law, 18 U.S.C.
3282, and would facilitate investigations and prosecutions for unlawful possession,
disposition, or attempted unlawful purchase or possession under applicable federal, state,
and local laws.
2. Paragraphs 478.129(d) and (e), licensee A&D records (importers, manufacturers,
dealers, and collectors)
Paragraph (d) of § 478.129 addresses I&M acquisition records, which, as
discussed above, would continue to have an indefinite, or permanent, retention period
under this proposed rule for the legal process reasons discussed in the preamble. ATF
would retain this paragraph essentially as is but would incorporate into it the requirement
implicit in § 478.129(a) that such records include those from prior to 1968, because ATF
is proposing to remove § 478.129(a). These sentences would include some minor plain
writing edits to make them easier to read, and to remove old language.
Similarly, to Forms 4473, ATF is proposing to remove the requirement in §
478.129(e) that licensees must retain firearms A&D records permanently and is instead
proposing that FFLs would retain all such records (other than those covered under §
478.129(d)) for either 20 or 30 years. Currently, § 478.129(e) requires licensed dealers
and collectors to retain firearm sales or disposition records and corresponding acquisition
records until the business or licensed activity is discontinued. ATF proposes to replace
this provision with “Licensees must retain records required by this part for no less than
20 [or 30] years from the date on which they sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm.” ATF
also proposes to add a second sentence with language that helps better clarify the types of
records covered by this provision, but that does not substantively change the contentcurrently in this paragraph: “For each firearm, retained records include the firearm’s
acquisition records (purchase, receipt, or other acquisition), and corresponding
disposition records (sale or other disposition).” The paragraph would also continue to
require that “Licensees must maintain the records in either paper or an electronic
alternate method approved by the Director, at the business premises, and readily
accessible for inspection under this part.” These sentences also include some minor plain
writing edits to make them easier to read, and to remove old language.
Along with these changes, ATF also proposes removing the off-site storage
provision from § 478.129(d) if ATF changes the records retention period for these
records to 20 years but would revise it if ATF changes the records retention period to 30
years. The provision currently allows FFLs to store paper records at a separate location
provided the records have no open dispositions and do not have a disposition recorded
within 20 years. If ATF changes the retention period to 20 years, this provision would no
longer be necessary because FFLs would no longer retain these records longer than 20
years. If ATF elects to establish a 30-year retention period instead, ATF would revise the
sentence to read, “Licensees may store paper records that do not contain any open entries
and with no acquisitions recorded within 20 years at a separate warehouse, which ATF
will consider as part of the business premises for this purpose and which will be subject
to inspection under this part.”
However, because licensees expressed confusion in the past — when records were
previously retained for 20 years — about how to determine the 20-year point for a record
containing multiple transactions, which often span years, ATF is proposing a replacement
provision to address this subject, which would apply to either retention period. ATF
therefore proposes adding a sentence clarifying that the 20-year-point [or 30-year-point]
for such records would be 20 years [or 30 years] after the most recent disposition date in
the record.B. Removing obsolete provisions and adding an existing form in § 478.129
1. Paragraph 478.129(c), reports of multiple sales or other disposition and theft/loss
Although § 478.129(c) is not undergoing a change to the records retention period
for these reports, ATF is proposing to add ATF Form 3310.12, Report of Multiple Sale or
Other Disposition of Certain Rifles, and to remove references to ATF Form 5300.35,
Statement of Intent to Obtain a Handgun. Form 3310.12 already has a five-year retention
period, as do the other forms in this paragraph, but it has not been specifically listed with
the other multiple sale report for pistols and handguns, ATF Form 3310.4, because it was
not in place when the regulatory provision was last drafted. ATF proposes rectifying this
for clarity. In § 478.129(c), ATF therefore proposes to amend the paragraph by adding
“and Form 3310.12 (Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Certain Rifles)” to
the sentence “Licensees must retain each copy of Form 3310.4 (Report of Multiple Sale
or Other Disposition of Pistols and Revolvers) for no less than five years after the date
they sell or otherwise dispose of the firearms.” In addition, ATF proposes to amend the
paragraph heading to remove the clause “of pistols and revolvers” to reflect that it would
include both kinds of multi-sale reports.
With regard to removing references to Form 5300.35, ATF proposes to further
amend the heading of § 478.129(c) by removing the clause “Statement of intent to obtain
a handgun” and proposes to remove from the paragraph the sentence, “Licensees shall
retain each Form 5300.35 (Statement of Intent to Obtain a Handgun(s)) for a period of
not less than 5 years after notice of the intent to obtain the handgun was forwarded to the
chief law enforcement officer, as defined in § 478.150(c).” ATF is proposing these
changes because Form 5300.35 was a predecessor form to Form 4473 and is obsolete.
2. Paragraphs 478.129(a) and (f), records prior to GCA and records of semiautomatic
assault weapon transactions
ATF is also proposing to remove § 478.129(a) and (f) because they are obsolete.Paragraph (a) was included in the regulation to clarify which A&D records generated
prior to 1968 were subject to the provisions of the GCA passed that year. It has been
almost 60 years since this paragraph was added, and this provision is no longer necessary
for most records, especially because ATF is also proposing to reduce the retention period
for most records to 20 [or 30] years. ATF proposes to remove paragraph (a) and to move
the portion of paragraph (a) that pertains to I&M acquisition records to paragraph (c),
which covers such records. Along with removing § 478.129(a), this proposed change
would include redesignating the subsequent paragraphs from (b) through (e) to (a)
through (d).
Paragraph (f), on semiautomatic assault weapon records, was added in 1994, to
reflect the assault weapons ban incorporated in subtitle A of title XI of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-322, § 110101, 108 Stat. 1796,
2011 (1994)). However, the assault weapons ban expired ten years later, in 2004, at
which time the statutory requirements ceased. As a result, this corresponding regulatory
provision is obsolete, and ATF proposes removing it.
C. Reducing retention period for NTC’s out-of-business records in § 478.127
The GCA’s requirement that licensees provide their records to ATF when they
discontinue business has historically been subject to considerable scrutiny and legislative
activity. For 33 years, FY 1979 to FY 2011, ATF’s annual appropriations included a
proviso prohibiting ATF to expend appropriated funds in connection with consolidating
or centralizing firearms records maintained by FFLs. In FY 2012, the restriction was
made permanent.9 In 1986, the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act amended the GCA to
prohibit a registry of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms traffic.10 Pub. L. 99-308, 100
Stat. 449, 459 (1986). A 2016 Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) audit
9 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, Pub. L. 112–55 (November 18, 2011),
125 Stat. 552, 609.
10 Pub. L. 99–308 (May 19, 1986), 100 Stat. 449, 459.examined ATF’s compliance with these, and other, registry prohibitions. The audit was
initiated due to perceptions that ATF’s Out-of-Business Record Imaging System
(“OBRIS”) was not in compliance with the laws and prohibitions, though GAO found
otherwise.11 Despite this finding, recent bills, such as the Shall Not Be Infringed Act of
202312 (preventing registry expansion through eTrace modernization efforts) and the No
Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your Rights Act13 (requiring destruction
of all OOB records) highlight ongoing concerns with ATF retaining OOB records and
trace information. Changing the current retention period would significantly reduce the
volume of records retained by ATF and alleviate concerns that ATF might have
established or will establish a registry of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms
transactions.
ATF records indicate that the number of OOB traces that use OOB records over
20 years old has decreased steadily since 2011. In 2011, approximately 39 percent
(41,652) of OOB traces used records over 20 years old. In 2024, approximately 21
percent (48,319) of OOB traces used records over 20 years old, and approximately 12
percent (29,060) of OOB traces used records over 30 years old. In 2025, approximately
20 percent (50,869) of OOB traces used records over 20 years old and approximately 12
percent (30,934) of OOB traces used records over 30 years old. The trend since 2011 has
been a decrease in the percentage of OOB records used that are more than 20 or 30 years
old.
ATF is therefore proposing to limit the period NTC retains OOB records to no
longer than 20 years [or 30 years] from the date it receives the records. Specifically, ATF
proposes revising § 478.127 to include this retention period for OOB records and to
11 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO-16-552, Firearms Data: ATF Did Not Always Comply with the
Appropriations Act Restriction and Should Better Adhere to Its Policies (2016),
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-16-552.pdf [https://perma.cc/XX3V-VAD4].
12 H.R. 3212, 118th Cong. (2023).
13 H.R. 563, 119th Cong. (2025).update the existing language to be more streamlined and in plain writing. This proposed
section would continue to state that licensees that discontinue operations do not have to
transfer records to ATF when a successor assumes the business, but it would maintain the
requirement that FFLs that discontinue business absolutely must transfer their records. It
would also continue to include the location to which the business must transfer the
records and specify that the chief of ATF’s Federal Firearms Licensing Center may
arrange for the records to instead be delivered to another authority when required by state
law or local ordinance. This information is not changing in substance from current
requirements. However, the 20[or 30]- year retention period would not apply to I&M
acquisition records, for the legal reasons described above. These records also lack the
concerns raised by some parts of the public about gun owner privacy and having a de
facto sales registry. This is because I&M acquisition records in general reflect disposition
to a wholesaler or retail dealer, but rarely to a consumer, and I&M acquisition records in
particular reflect acquisition from or manufacture by another FFL or company, not a
consumer. These records, thus, have no utility for determining which citizens own
particular firearms. In addition, ATF would include the provision discussed above on
retaining such records at ATF: “ATF will retain records delivered to and maintained at
ATF’s Out-of-Business Records Center for no longer than 20 [or 30] years from the date
they receive the records.” ATF seeks comments on the length of the proposed records
retention period, whether 20 or 30 years, for licensee records.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Review
A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) directs agencies to
assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits.
Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review)emphasizes the importance of agencies quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing
costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting public flexibility.
This proposed rule amends 27 CFR 478 to reduce the current requirement for
licensees to retain firearms A&D records permanently down to retaining such records for
20 [or 30] years. A similar 20-year retention period existed before 2022, and this change
represents a cost savings to industry. The proposed rule also establishes a similar
retention period for out-of-business records transferred to ATF, which does not have a
cost on regulated industry but may have a cost impact on the public in the form of
marginally greater public safety risk.
The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) has determined that this
proposed rule would not be a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order
12866. Therefore, it did not review this rule. ATF provides the following analysis to
comply with Executive Orders 12866 and 13563.
1. Need statement
While existing federal regulations (§ 478.129(b), (c), and (d)) require licensees to
retain manufacturing, importing, or other acquisition records, and sale or other
disposition records, for firearms until they discontinue the business or licensed activity,
the requirements were term-limited to 20 years for all records — except importer and
manufacturer acquisition records, which were indefinite — from 1985 until ATF’s 2022
rulemaking that began requiring indefinite periods for other A&D records as well.
Records retained by licensees allow ATF to trace ownership of firearms recovered
at or used in crimes, a function particularly important in support of federal, state, and
local law enforcement. However, statistical data maintained by NTC establishes that
there has been a steady increase since FY 2014 in the percentage of completed traces to a
purchaser using records less than 20 years old, and a corresponding decrease in the need
to utilize records over 20 years old to trace a firearm to a purchaser — caused in part byshort TTC periods and lower median age of recovered firearms. Since 2022, however,
approximately 128,960 active FFLs have been facing costs of retaining, on a permanent
basis, A&D records for firearms. The older the firearm, the more likely it has entered the
secondary market and may have been transferred multiple times. As a result, the ability to
trace crime guns through licensee records decreases over time because licensee records
do not cover transfers on the secondary market. As a result, the utility of older records
does not outweigh the increased cost of permanently retaining electronic or paper
records.
2. Benefits
Reducing the records retention period for licensee A&D records and Forms 4473
from permanent to 20 or 30 years would benefit FFLs. Based on current ATF data on
active FFLs, out of 79,378 licensees, only 13,729 had their license originally issued prior
to December 31, 2005 (20 years ago). Accordingly, only 17 percent of all FFLs have
been licensed for 20 years or more. This minority of licensees were also offered several
accommodations when regulations were finalized in 2022 requiring a permanent records
retention period, including an accommodation for electronic storage of records older than
20 years, and allowance for off-site storage to accommodate the printed records that they
would start to retain. These accommodations make it less likely that this proposed rule
would help licensees recover sunk costs, such as those for expanding storage facilities or
converting to digitized retention or electronic records, of compliance with the current
rule. Further, ATF estimates only a de minimis number of FFLs incurred these costs
because it is likely that large dealers maintain established record-keeping systems capable
of complying with the current or proposed regime equally. On the other hand, smaller
dealers — though having faced less than three years of new records (which would not be
impacted by the proposed rule because they are still younger than 20 years) — would
have facilitated their compliance by using digital or off-site accommodations based ontheir level of operations and storage needs. The cost savings are thus difficult to quantify
precisely as many costs associated with increased storage would have been incurred
going forward under the current rule but may not have yet accrued. Therefore, ATF
expects a qualitative benefit to accrue to the industry, yet of unknown magnitude and
number of beneficiaries.
3. Costs
ATF expects that reducing the required record retention period from permanent to
the 20-year [or 30-year] limit that was in effect prior to 2022 would have a limited
number of costs and potential risks to public safety.
The primary source of any potential risk would be the possibility that ATF is
unable to complete a small portion of firearm trace requests from federal, state, and local
law enforcement if they pertain to a firearm sold over 20 [or 30] years ago. These failed
trace requests may include high-profile urgent traces. However, firearms of that age may
be more commonly involved in inheritance transfers and secondhand sales, for which
ATF has no data, and thus a lesser ability to trace.
To better determine this potential risk, ATF must first examine the frequency of
such traces that stem from firearms over 20 [or 30] years old.
Based on data from ATF’s National Tracing Center, Table 4 shows the
distribution of firearm tracing requests based on the age of the firearm records utilized to
identify a purchaser.
Table 4. Age of firearm records required to identify a purchaser
FISCAL
YEAR <5 Yrs 5-10
Yrs
10-15
Yrs
15-20
Yrs
20-25
Yrs
25-30
Yrs
30-35
Yrs
35-40
Yrs
40-
45
Yrs
45-
50
Yrs
50-
55
Yrs
55+
Yrs
2015 82,919 41,958 20,981 17,912 20,605 11,296 9,032 6,980 5,372 1,529 105 117
2016 100,167 45,388 22,559 17,908 20,196 11,920 8,500 7,509 5,714 2,226 226 189
2017 116,408 52,635 24,244 17,244 18,772 13,068 8,288 7,510 5,531 2,848 315 247
2018 127,692 64,411 27,232 17,473 17,230 15,497 8,737 7,720 5,559 3,699 546 339
2019 137,627 69,977 29,768 15,867 14,550 15,161 8,268 7,034 5,379 4,045 715 269
2020 162,273 74,082 30,464 15,476 13,077 14,394 7,861 6,106 4,959 3,783 804 46
2021 217,873 84,446 30,465 14,834 11,480 12,897 7,510 5,309 4,824 3,687 1,256 77
2022 253,062 93,476 36,075 15,979 11,346 12,550 8,707 5,451 5,285 3,797 2,060 1492023 259,614 100,002 43,215 17,741 11,334 11,353 10,144 5,833 5,540 4,102 2,620 416
2024 246,592 101,391 46,370 20,052 10,691 9,852 10,686 5,911 5,172 4,036 2,983 589
Based on the above distribution, the age of the firearms being traced is
predominantly less than five years old, followed by those aged between five and ten
years, 10 to 15 years, and 15 to 20 years. After 20 years, firearms are generally traced
less frequently, but inconsistently so, and the reduction is not always linear. For example,
in 2024 more traces involved firearms between 30 and 35 years old than those aged 25 to
30 years, and in 2022 there were more traces for firearms aged 25 to 30 years old than for
those aged 20 to 25 years, while in 2019 there were more aged 25 to 30 years old than
aged 20 to 25 years. Generally, however, the older the gun, the fewer the traces received
for it. Presented as a percentage, Table 5 includes this distribution in more aggregate
terms.
Table 5. Age of firearm records required to identify a purchaser by aggregates
FISCAL
YEAR
Total
traces to
purchaser
0-20 Y
total
traces
Percentage
using
0-20 Y
0-25 Y
total
traces
Percentage
using
0-25 Y
0-30 Y
total
traces
Percentage
using
0-30 Y
2015 218,806 163,770 75% 184,375 84% 195,671 89%
2016 242,502 186,022 77% 206,218 85% 218,138 90%
2017 267,110 210,531 79% 229,303 86% 242,371 91%
2018 296,135 236,808 80% 254,038 86% 269,535 91%
2019 308,660 253,239 82% 267,789 87% 282,950 92%
2020 333,325 282,295 85% 295,372 89% 309,766 93%
2021 394,658 347,618 88% 359,098 91% 371,995 94%
2022 447,937 398,592 89% 409,938 92% 422,488 94%
2023 471,914 420,572 89% 431,906 92% 443,259 94%
2024 464,325 414,405 89% 425,096 92% 434,948 94%
As shown in Table 5, the vast majority of traces requested used records within the
20-year-old age group. In 2024, 89 percent of traces requested used records under 20
years old, 92 percent used records under 25 years old, and 94 percent used records under
30 years old. The percentage of successful crime gun traces increased from 89 to 94
percent when records up to 29 years old were available, resulting in almost 10,000
additional successful traces.Table 6. Age of firearm records required to identify a purchaser by percentage
FISCAL
YEAR
Traces
beyond
0-20 Y
Traces
beyond
0-25 Y
Traces
beyond
0-30 Y
Percentage
of traces
beyond
0-20 Y
Percentage
of traces
beyond
0-25 Y
Percentage
of traces
beyond
30 Y
2015 55,036 34,431 23,135 25% 16% 11%
2016 56,480 36,284 24,364 23% 15% 10%
2017 56,579 37,807 24,739 21% 14% 9%
2018 59,327 42,097 26,600 20% 14% 9%
2019 55,421 40,871 25,710 18% 13% 8%
2020 51,030 37,953 23,559 15% 11% 7%
2021 47,040 35,560 22,663 12% 9% 6%
2022 49,345 37,999 25,449 11% 8% 6%
2023 51,342 40,008 28,655 11% 8% 6%
2024 49,920 39,229 29,377 11% 8% 6%
Table 6 calculates the inverse, with the numbers and percentage of firearm traces
that were received that used records older than 20 years, 25 years, and 30 years, which in
2024 amounted to 11 percent, 8 percent, and 6 percent, respectively. Therefore, based on
volume from the most recent 2024 fiscal year, under a 20-year retention limit, 49,920
additional traces would be unsuccessful because they would need records over 20 years
old (Table 6). If there was a 25-year retention period, then the additional unsuccessful
traces would be reduced from 49,920 to 39,229. And finally, if there was a 30-year
retention period, the number would be 29,377 unsuccessful traces. While inference on
risks to public safety are difficult to make definitively, and most traces occur within the
first 20 years as shown above, the remaining traces that would be unsuccessful as a result
of the proposed rule could delay or hinder federal, state, and local law enforcement
efforts to track and stop violent offenders.
4. Regulatory alternatives
Alternatives 1 and 2: Guidance or no action (keeping indefinite retention period)
ATF considered issuing guidance on records retention periods, as well as not
issuing a rulemaking on the issue, also known as the no-action alternative. The
decreasing need to utilize records over 20 years old — caused in part by short TTCperiods and lower median age of recovered firearms — demonstrate that a 20-year or 30-
year records retention period and reducing the volume of older records maintained by
NTC would not have a significant impact on ATF’s capability to trace crime guns.
Accordingly, the requirement to maintain permanent records of all firearms transactions
is not justifiable based on the cost and administrative burden to both the firearms industry
and the government. ATF also considered the alternative of affecting the proposed
change through guidance instead of rulemaking. However, because the requirement is
already in a regulation, revising the requirement must also be accomplished via
rulemaking.
Alternative 3: 20-year retention period versus 30-year retention period
ATF considered reducing the records retention period to 20 years, as it was prior
to 2022, or to 30 years. Considerations in favor of 20 years were predominantly based on
the longstanding practice and precedent that had been in place prior to 2022, except for
I&M acquisition records. Returning to this retention period would offer familiarity and
thus greater ease of compliance to industry. Alternatively, proposing a 30-year retention
requirement would similarly reduce storage burdens compared to the current post-2022
baseline of indefinite records, but would secure an additional ten years of records to
facilitate possible traces for ATF and federal, state, and local law enforcement. The
difference in estimated benefits and costs between the 20- and 30-year retention periods
appears to be marginal, according to ATF tracing data presented above. ATF invites
public comment on these two possible retention periods to further inform ATF’s decision
between these options. ATF will decide on one of these periods for the final rule.
B. Executive Order 14192
Executive Order 14192 (Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation) requires an
agency, unless prohibited by law, to identify at least ten existing regulations to be
repealed or revised when the agency publicly proposes for notice and comment orotherwise promulgates a new regulation that qualifies as an Executive Order 14192
regulatory action (defined in OMB Memorandum M-25-20 as a final significant
regulatory action under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 that imposes total costs
greater than zero). In furtherance of this requirement, section 3(c) of Executive Order
14192 requires that any new incremental costs associated with such new regulations
must, to the extent permitted by law, also be offset by eliminating existing costs
associated with at least ten prior regulations. However, this proposed rule would not be
an Executive Order 14192 regulatory action because it is not a significant regulatory
action as defined by Executive Order 12866 and it would not impose total costs greater
than zero. ATF therefore expects this rule, if finalized as proposed, to qualify as an
Executive Order 14192 deregulatory action (defined by OMB Memorandum M-25-20 as
a final action that imposes total costs less than zero).
C. Executive Order 14294
Executive Order 14294 (Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations)
requires agencies promulgating regulations with criminal regulatory offenses potentially
subject to criminal enforcement to explicitly describe the conduct subject to criminal
enforcement, the authorizing statutes, and the mens rea standard applicable to each
element of those offenses. This proposed rule would not create a criminal regulatory
offense and is thus exempt from Executive Order 14294 requirements.
D. Executive Order 13132
This proposed rule would not have substantial direct effects on the states, the
relationship between the federal government and the states, or the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance
with section 6 of Executive Order 13132 (Federalism), the Director has determined that
this proposed rule would not impose substantial direct compliance costs on state and local
governments, preempt state law, or meaningfully implicate federalism. It thus does notwarrant preparing a federalism summary impact statement.
E. Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule meets the applicable standards set forth in sections 3(a) and
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform).
F. Regulatory Flexibility Act
the Regulatory required Under a regulatory Flexibility Act (“RFA”), 5 U.S.C. 601–612, agencies are
to conduct flexibility analysis of any proposed rule subject to
notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency head certifies, including
a statement of the factual basis, that the proposed rule would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small entities include certain
small businesses, small not-for-profit organizations that are independently owned and
operated and are not dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with
populations of less than 50,000.
The Director certifies, after consideration, that this proposed rule would not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This proposed
rule is deregulatory in nature and would provide savings to the regulated industry. It
reduces the length of time persons would have to store records, which reduces costs to
small entities, and it imposes no additional burdens or costs.
G. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This proposed rule does not include a federal mandate that might result in the
expenditure by state, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private
sector, of $100 million or more in any one year, and it would not significantly or uniquely
affect small governments. Therefore, ATF has determined that no actions are necessary
under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
H. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (“PRA”), 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521,agencies are required to submit to OMB, for review and approval, any information
collection requirements a rule creates or any impacts it has on existing information
collections. An information collection includes any reporting, record-keeping,
monitoring, posting, labeling, or other similar actions an agency requires of the public.
See 5 CFR 1320.3(c). If this proposed rule is finalized, ATF would create an information
collection request associated with 27 CFR 478.127 because the requirement contained in
§ 478.127 requires FFLs to transfer acquisition and disposition records to ATF’s Out-of-
Business Records Center when the FFL discontinues business absolutely, and would
constitute an information collection under the PRA.
In addition, if this rule is finalized as proposed, ATF would revise four existing
information collections. The information collection requirements in § 478.129 are the
FFL record-keeping retention requirements in current paragraphs (b) through (e) of that
section (which would be redesignated as paragraphs (a) through (d) under this proposed
rule). These record retention requirements are subject to the PRA and would need to be
updated to reflect the new retention period. They were previously established as an
information collection under OMB control numbers 1512-0544, 1512-0520, 1512-0006,
1512-0524, and 1512-0129, from prior to when ATF transferred to the Department of
Justice from the Treasury Department. But it appears they were not continued under a
Department of Justice information collection action after the transfer and remain cited in
the regulation under the old Treasury number. As a result, ATF would also update these
information collections to reflect ATF OMB control numbers as part of the same process.
ATF expects to combine these § 478.129 records-retention period requirements into
existing information collection requests for the corresponding records: 1140-0020,
Firearms Transaction Record (ATF Form 4473); 1140-0031, Records of Acquisition and
Disposition, Registered Importers of Arms, Ammunition, and Defense Articles on the US
Munitions Import List; 1140-0032, Records of Acquisition and Disposition, Dealers ofType 01/02 Firearms, and Collectors of Type 03 Firearms; and 1140-0067, Licensed
Firearms Manufacturers’ Records of Production, Disposition, and Supporting Data.
Although this rule involves the existing ICRs, the proposed changes would not add to the
burdens imposed on the respondent beyond existing, OMB-approved requirements
because ATF is proposing to reduce the retention periods.
I. Congressional Review Act
This proposed rule would not be a major rule as defined by the Congressional
Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804.
IV. Public Participation
A. Comments sought
ATF requests comments on the proposed rule from all interested persons. ATF
specifically requests comments on the clarity of this proposed rule and how it may be
made easier to understand. In addition, ATF requests comments on the costs or benefits
of the proposed rule and on the appropriate methodology and data for calculating those
costs and benefits.
All comments must reference this document’s RIN 1140-AA95 and, if
handwritten, must be legible. If submitting by mail, you must also include your complete
first and last name and contact information. If submitting a comment through the federal
e-rulemaking portal, as described in section IV.C of this preamble, you should carefully
review and follow the website’s instructions on submitting comments. Whether you
submit comments online or by mail, ATF will post them online. If submitting online as
an individual, any information you provide in the online fields for city, state, zip code,
and phone will not be publicly viewable when ATF publishes the comment on
https://www.regulations.gov. However, if you include such personally identifiable
information (“PII”) in the body of your online comment, it may be posted and viewable
online. Similarly, if you submit a written comment with PII in the body of the comment,it may be posted and viewable online. Therefore, all commenters should review section
IV.B of this preamble, “Confidentiality,” regarding how to submit PII if you do not want
it published online. ATF may not consider, or respond to, comments that do not meet
these requirements or comments containing excessive profanity. ATF will retain
comments containing excessive profanity as part of this rulemaking’s administrative
record but will not publish such documents on https://www.regulations.gov. ATF will
treat all comments as originals and will not acknowledge receipt of comments. In
addition, if ATF cannot read your comment due to handwriting or technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, ATF may not be able to consider your comment.
ATF will carefully consider all comments, as appropriate, received on or before
the closing date.
B. Confidentiality
ATF will make all comments meeting the requirements of this section, whether
submitted electronically or on paper, and except as provided below, available for public
viewing on the internet through the federal e-rulemaking portal, and subject to the
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Commenters who submit by mail and who
do not want their name or other PII posted on the internet should submit their comments
with a separate cover sheet containing their PII. The separate cover sheet should be
marked with “CUI//PRVCY” at the top to identify it as protected PII under the Privacy
Act. Both the cover sheet and comment must reference this RIN 1140-AA95. For
comments submitted by mail, information contained on the cover sheet will not appear
when posted on the internet, but any PII that appears within the body of a comment will
not be redacted by ATF and may appear on the internet. Similarly, commenters who
submit through the federal e-rulemaking portal and who do not want any of their PII
posted on the internet should omit such PII from the body of their comment and any
uploaded attachments. However, PII entered into the online fields designated for name,email, and other contact information will not be posted or viewable online.
A commenter may submit to ATF information identified as proprietary or
confidential business information by mail. To request that ATF handle this information as
controlled unclassified information (“CUI”), the commenter must place any portion of a
comment that is proprietary or confidential business information under law or regulation
on pages separate from the balance of the comment, with each page prominently marked
“CUI//PROPIN” at the top of the page.
ATF will not make proprietary or confidential business information submitted in
compliance with these instructions available when disclosing the comments that it
receives but will disclose that the commenter provided proprietary or confidential
business information that ATF is holding in a separate file to which the public does not
have access. If ATF receives a request to examine or copy this information, it will treat it
as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). In addition,
ATF will disclose such proprietary or confidential business information to the extent
required by other legal process.
C. Submitting comments
Submit comments using either of the two methods described below (but do not
submit the same comment multiple times or by more than one method). Hand-delivered
comments will not be accepted.
• Federal e-rulemaking portal: ATF recommends that you submit your comments
to ATF via the federal e-rulemaking portal at https://www.regulations.gov and follow the
instructions. Comments will be posted within a few days of being submitted. However, if
large volumes of comments are being processed simultaneously, your comment may not
be viewable for up to several weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that is
provided after you have successfully uploaded your comment.
• Mail: Send written comments to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section ofthis document. Written comments must appear in minimum 12-point font size, include
the commenter’s first and last name and full mailing address, and may be of any length.
See also section IV.B of this preamble, “Confidentiality.”
D. Request for hearing
Any interested person who desires an opportunity to comment orally at a public
hearing should submit his or her request, in writing, to the Director within the 90-day
comment period. The Director, however, reserves the right to determine, in light of all
circumstances, whether a public hearing is necessary.
Disclosure
Copies of this proposed rule and the comments received in response to it are
available through the federal e-rulemaking portal, at https://www.regulations.gov (search
for RIN 1140-AA95).
Severability
Consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act, the issues raised in this
proposed rule may be finalized, or not, independently of each other, after consideration of
comments received. ATF has determined that this proposed rule implements and is fully
consistent with governing law. However, in the event this proposed rule is finalized, if
any provision of that final rule, an amendment or revision made by that rule, or the
application of such provision or amendment or revision to any person or circumstance, is
held to be invalid or unenforceable by its terms, the remainder of that final rule, the
amendments or revisions made by that rule, and application of the provisions of the rule
to any person or circumstance shall not be affected and shall be construed so as to give
them the maximum effect permitted by law.
List of subjects in 27 CFR part 478
Administrative practice and procedure, Arms and munitions, Exports, Freight,
Imports, Intergovernmental relations, Law enforcement officers, Military personnel,Penalties, Reporting and record-keeping requirements, Research, Seizures and forfeitures,
Transportation.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, ATF proposes to amend 27 CFR part
478 as follows:
PART 478 – COMMERCE IN FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION
1. The authority citation for 27 CFR part 478 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 18 U.S.C. 847, 921-931; 44 U.S.C. 3504(h).
2. Revise § 478.127, including the section heading, to read as follows:
§ 478.127 Discontinued business records.
(a) When a licensed business is discontinued but is succeeded by a new licensee,
the records prescribed by this subpart must appropriately reflect these facts and be
delivered to the successor. The successor licensee may retain them or deliver them within
30 days following the date the business was discontinued, to one of the locations
described in paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) When a licensed business is discontinued with no successor licensee, the
records must be delivered within 30 days after the date the business is discontinued to the
ATF Out-of-Business Records Center; 244 Needy Road; Martinsburg, West Virginia
25405, or to any ATF office in the area in which the business was located. However, if
state law or local ordinance requires the licensee to deliver records to another responsible
authority, the Chief, Federal Firearms Licensing Center, may permit records required by
this subpart to be delivered to such authority.
(c) ATF will retain records delivered to and maintained at its Out-of-Business
Records Center for no longer than 20 [or 30] years from the date they receive the records.
(d) The retention periods in paragraph (c) of this section do not apply to importer
and manufacturer acquisition records, which ATF retains indefinitely.
3. Amend § 478.129 by:a. Revising the section heading;
b. Removing paragraphs (a) and (f) and redesignating paragraphs (b) through (e)
as paragraphs (a) through (d);
c. Revising newly designated paragraphs (a) through (d); and
d. Revising the OMB approval statement at the end of the section.
The revisions read as follows:
§ 478.129 Records retention requirements.
(a) Firearms Transaction Record. Licensees must retain each Firearms
Transaction Record, ATF Form 5300.9 (“Form 4473”), for no less than 20 [or 30] years
from the date on which they sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm. FFLs must maintain
Forms 4473 as either paper forms or e-Forms 4473, at the business premises, readily
accessible for inspection under this part, and as provided in § 478.124(h) and (i), except:
(1) Not-completed transactions. If a Form 4473 is initiated but a sale, delivery, or
transfer does not take place, the FFL must retain the associated Form 4473 separately in
alphabetical (by name of transferee) or chronological (by date of transferee’s
certification) order for no less than five years after the potential transferee initially signs
the form to initiate the NICS check.
(2) Private-party transfers. FFLs must retain Forms 4473 used for private-party
transfers for no less than 90 days from the date on which they initiate the associated
background check. They must retain them alphabetically (by name of transferee) or
chronologically (by date of transferee’s certification). However, licensees must retain
Forms 4473 used for this purpose that receive a “denied” response from NICS for no less
than five years and may then dispose of them. These records do not constitute licensee
firearms records, and the licensee therefore does not send them to ATF’s Out-of-Business
records center when the FFL absolutely discontinues its business.
(3) Voluntary firearms handler checks. FFLs must retain Forms 4473 used forvoluntary firearms handler checks for no less than 90 days from the date on which they
initiate the associated background check. They must retain them alphabetically (by name
of employee) or chronologically (by date of employee’s certification). These records do
not constitute licensee firearms records, and the licensee therefore does not send them to
ATF’s Out-of-Business records center when the FFL absolutely discontinues its business.
(b) Reports of multiple sales or other disposition and theft/loss reports. Licensees
must retain each copy of Form 3310.4 (Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of
Pistols and Revolvers) and Form 3310.12 (Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition
of Certain Rifles) for no less than five years after the date they sell or otherwise dispose
of the firearms. Licensees must retain each copy of Form 3310.11 (Federal Firearms
Licensee Theft/Loss Report) for no less than five years after the date they report the theft
or loss to ATF.
(c) Importer and manufacturer acquisition records. Licensed importers and
manufacturers must retain acquisition records required by this part until they discontinue
business, including those from prior to 1968. These acquisition records include
documents on importing, manufacturing, or other acquisition methods, including ATF
Forms 6 and any corresponding ATF Forms 6A as required by subpart G of this part.
These licensees must maintain the records in either paper or an authorized electronic
method, at the business premises, and readily accessible for inspection under this part.
Licensees may store paper records that do not contain any open entries and with no
acquisitions recorded within 20 years at a separate warehouse, which ATF will consider
as part of the business premises for this purpose and which will be subject to inspection
under this part.
(d) All other acquisition and disposition records. Except for records described in
paragraph (c) of this section, licensees must retain records required by this part for no less
than 20 [or 30] years from the date on which they sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm.This includes importer and manufacturer disposition records. For each firearm, licensees
must retain the acquisition records (purchase, other receipt, or other acquisition), and the
corresponding disposition records (sale or other disposition), for the firearm. Licensees
must maintain the records in either paper or an authorized electronic method, at the
business premises, and readily accessible for inspection under this part. Licensees must
retain a record containing multiple sale or other disposition dates in its entirety for no less
than 20 [or 30] years after the date of the most recent sale or other disposition contained
in that record.
* * * * *
(Paragraph (a) is approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control
number1140-0020; paragraph (c) is approved under control numbers 1140-0031 and
1140-0067; 1140-0032, and paragraph (d) is approved under control number 1140-0032.)
Robert Cekada,
Director.