NFA Approval Times Getting Faster!

We’ve got some great news for our industry… NFA paperwork processing times from the ATF have dropped significantly from years past.

We have even better news for you if you already have your FFL: this is likely to encourage more customers to buy NFA firearms (like silencers, short barreled rifles, and more) from you!  

Considering that you can make a few hundred dollars per NFA sale with your own FFL, this is awesome.

Don’t have your FFL yet?  What are you waiting for? Stop reading, stop waiting, and sign up for your Get Your FFL course right now! If you also become an SOT, then these month-long transfer times for NFA firearms, turn into just a couple of days!

Tracking NFA Transfer Times

You can now track up-to-date processing times straight from the ATF here: ATF’s Current Processing Times

The information can be broken down into the following categories for both paper and e-file submissions to the ATF:

• Form 1 (Application for a non-FFL to make an NFA Firearm)
• Form 2 (Notification that an FFL made an NFA Firearm – no approval needed for FFLs)
• Form 3 (Application to transfer from one FFL to another – it’s WAY faster with an FFL)
• Form 4 Trust (Application to transfer from FFL to an NFA Gun Trust)
• Form 4 Individual (Application to transfer from an FFL to an individual customer)

This is great news for FFLs today (and those who hurry up and start their FFL process soon). With these reduced wait-times from the ATF, it’s a potential perfect-storm for a big boom in silencer sales!

How to Take Advantage of a Coming Silencer Sales Boom

Again, if you don’t have your FFL yet and/or you haven’t registered as an SOT…..stop reading and Get Your FFL!

Current FFL/SOTs can order silencers from a distributor, and have it shipped directly to them in a few weeks, via a Form 3.

Now, if you’d like to take advantage of sales even while you’re waiting for your inventory, you should seriously consider selling a gift-certificate for the cost of the silencer while you’re waiting for the silencer to arrive.

This way, you get the sale now and you don’t have a risk of inventory later! Also, gift certificates for firearms are a great way to handle holiday gift purchases without the potential to have legal troubles with gifting/paying.

When the silencer is transferred to your FFL, you can then have the customer come in to use their gift-certificate to purchase the silencer and start their Form 4. If you hurry, you might be able to take advantage of the fast ATF processing times!

I look forward to having you in our industry!

AUTHOR

Ryan Cleckner

Check out Ryan Cleckner 's Courses

Ryan Cleckner is a former special operations sniper and current attorney specializing in firearms law/ATF compliance and is a firearms industry executive (former govt. relations manager for NSSF, Vice President of Remington Outdoor Company, and a SAAMI voting board member).