ATF Form 4473 Changing Next Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is changing Form 4473 to comply with new regulations and the Bipartisan Safer Community Act (BSCA).

The ATF Form 4473 is the form a buyer must fill out when transferring a firearm through a federal firearms licensee (FFL). The ATF has now updated the form to reflect changes caused by Final Rule 2021R-05F, which changed the definition of a firearm and the new gun control laws passed by Congress. The new forms will be available through the ATF Distribution Center beginning February 1, 2023.

Item 1, Section A is changing now that the ATF created the term “privately made firearms” (PMF) in Final Rule 2021R-05F. The rule was created in response to President Joe Biden’s demand that the ATF regulate so-called “ghost guns. The old Form 4472 had no option for PMFs.

Item 1, Section A of the ATF Form 4473 will now read: “Manufacturer and Importer, if any or Privately made firearm (PMF) (If the manufacturer and importer are both different, include both).”

Question 10 has also been amended. Instead of just asking the gun buyer their city and state, ATF Form 4473 now asks if the buyer lives inside the city’s limits. Sometimes a person’s address will include a city’s name, but the person does not actually live inside the city limits. The buyer will now need to check yes or no to the question of whether they live within the city’s limits.

Section B is also getting two new disqualifying questions. Answering yes to either question will mean the prospective buyer cannot legally acquire the firearms.

The new questions read:

21b: “Do you intend to purchase or acquire any firearm listed on this form and any continuation sheet(s) or ammunition, for sale of other disposition to any person described in questions 21(c)-(m) or to a person described in question 21.n.1 who does not fall within a nonimmigrant exception?”

21.c.: “Do you intend to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm listed on this form and any continuation sheet(s) or ammunition in furtherance of any felony or other offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than one year, a Federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking offense?”

To comply with the BSCA’s mandatory ten-day waiting period for certain buyers under 21, the ATF revised the form. The BSCA instituted the waiting period to give the authorities time to perform “enhanced” background checks, including pulling juvenile records.

The ATF Form 4473 will add the following:

Prior to the NICS/POC information, an instructional header has been added stating: “Notice: If transferee/buyer is under 21, a waiting period of up to 10 days may apply where notification from NICS is received within 3 business days to further investigate a possible disqualifying juvenile record. A NICS check is only valid for 30 calendar days from the date recorded in question 27a.”

Item 27.c. was amended to show the date an FFL may transfer a firearm should NICS or the State agency (conducting the background check) not reply stating more time is needed for the check. It now reads next to the delayed check box: “The firearm(s) may be transferred on ____ if time period is not extended by NICS or the appropriate State agency, and State law allows (optional).”

A box has been added to 27.d. should NICS or the appropriate State agency delay the check as more time is needed to conduct it on a transferee under 21 years of age. It now reads: “Notice of additional delay of transferee under 21 years of age received on _______ (date), and may be transferred on _________ (date).”

Also added to 27.d. is a box for FFLs to check should no response be received from NICS or the appropriate State agency (for transferees under 21 years of age) within 10 business days after the initial delay was given. It now reads: “No response was provided within 10 business days after initial delay for transferee/buyer under 21.”

FFLs will still be allowed to use the current ATF Form 4473 until the end of March. On April 1, 2023, FFLs will be required to use the new form only.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.