There are a LOT of myths, misinformation, and outright lies about getting an FFL and what the ATF can or can not do (especially for home-based FFLs).

The biggest of all of the myths surrounds when and what the ATF can search or inspect related to your FFL.

You don't have to look very far to find this myth, especially in the comment sections of social media, to find people strangely eager to race to the comments to show how smart they are about something related to firearms (only to accidentally expose how ignorant they are).

So, what's the truth (and why should you trust me)?

My name is Ryan Cleckner and I'm an actual firearms attorney specializing in FFL/ATF firearm law, I have represented hundreds of FFLs against the ATF, I regularly testify in front of Congress about the ATF as a subject matter expert and appear on national television to discuss firearms laws, and I'm not just a firearms lawyer, I'm also legitimately a "gun guy" (e.g. I created GunUniversity and am the best-selling author of firearms books like the Long Range Shooting Handbook) and a former college professor.

Can the ATF search “whenever they want?”

In a word, NO! The ATF cannot search an FFL's location, even their home, "whenever they want."

So, what is the truth about when the ATF can search an FFL?

When someone gets a Federal Firearms License (FFL), they are agreeing to certain things. This is not unlike getting a driver's license. When you get a driver's license, for example, you are agreeing to pull over to the side of the road and present your license and other documents (proof of insurance and registration) if a police officer pulls you over. I can't imagine people filling up comment sections on reddit and social media with "don't get your driver's license, you're letting cops pull you over whenever they want!"

I hope that you can already see two points to this analogy. First, just because you're agreeing to come things by getting a license, it doesn't necessarily outweigh the benefits of getting license. Second, you may have already caught yourself thinking "but, cops can't just pull you over whenever they want - they have to follow certain rules about when and why they can stop you."

Well, if that was what you were thinking, you're right. The same thing applies to having an FFL... the ATF must also follow rules about when and how they can inspect you. They can't simply "do it whenever they want" or "search you anytime day or night."

When and How the ATF may Inspect FFLs

There are two major halves to the ATF when it comes to firearms: there is the industry/regulatory side (NOT law enforcement) and there is the law enforcement side (the actual "Agents").

FFL inspections are NOT conducted by agents. In fact, agents are specifically not allowed to be a part of any inspection and, just like any other law enforcement, they MUST have probably cause, emergency circumstances, or a search warrant.

The inspector side, however, the non-law enforcement side (no badge/no gun) are called Industry Operations Investigators (IOIs) and they are the ones who come to visit to get you your license in the first place and they are the ones that conduct FFL inspections/audits.

These compliance inspections by IOIs are the visits/searches/inspections that you're agreeing to be a part of when you get your FFL.

The ATF is limited, by law, on when and where they can conduct these inspections. For those that claim that the ATF can search "whenever and wherever they want," asking them to show you the law or citation usually quiets them down.

I'll share the relevant regulation so that you can know the truth about when and where the ATF can search: 27 CFR § 478.23 - Right of Entry and Examination

The regulation allows the ATF to inspect the licensed premises of an FFL (not buildings or rooms that aren't part of the FFL) in 3 situations:

1. When they obtain a search warrant signed by a judge,
2. For a standard compliance inspection no more than once every 12 months and only during the FFL's listed business hours, or
3. In connection with an ongoing criminal investigation and only during the FFL's listed business hours.

For the first allowed reason, this is true of every American home or business - having an FFL does not make this more true. If law enforcement suspects criminal activity and gets a search warrant signed by a judge, they can search your home.

For the second allowed reason, for compliance inspections that most people are referring to, the ATF is limited to search no more than once every 12 months and to search only during your chosen business hours. This is FAR from "whenever they want" or "day or night."

And, for the final reason the ATF is allowed, by law, to inspect a licensee's premises, there must be an ongoing criminal investigation and the search is limited only to records related to that firearm. This is often a "trace request" where a firearm is used in a crime and the ATF is tracing the firearm through the stream of commerce to find out where it may have ended up.

The ATF is also limited in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), in 18 USC § 923 - Licensing, to only inspect no more than once every 12 months.

Specifically, 923(g)(1)(B)(ii) says "for ensuring compliance with the record keeping requirements of this chapter (I) not more than once during any 12-month period."

What to Expect Regarding Inspection Timing

Ok, now that we've made it clear, with the actual regulation, that the ATF cannot search whenever and wherever they want and they are limited to inspections of your license much like police officers are limited in how and when they can pull you over with a driver's license, what should an FFL really expect?

On average, and in my experience representing 100s of FFLs across the country, the ATF inspects an FFL about once every ten years. According to the ATF's own statistics, the ATF only inspects about 7% of current licensees in any given year. At that rate, it would take 14 years to inspect every FFL. Of course, the ATF is going to focus more on FFLs that have issues than others so an FFL that follows the rules and doesn't have a lot of their guns showing up in crimes may not be inspected for periods much longer than 10 years.