wait time update (hint, it's now 10 months)

Status
Not open for further replies.
I was talking to my FFL when I ordered my suppressor last week and he mentioned that he has seen a few times in the past couple weeks were people who had multiple items in NFA jail all came through at the same time. He said he isn't getting his hopes up but it it was enough for him to think that they were pulling all applications for a person when they first one is approved instead of waiting to get to them all individually.
There are lots of things like that, that could be done to streamline the process. But I'm beginning to think that the delay is a feature, not a bug. The idea is that as the word of the long delays gets around, fewer people will apply in the first place. Voila, a self-correcting problem!
 
Well, I was finally approved July 11. Of course, I'm still waiting on the actual delivery of said stamp. I'm starting to think it's being sent by wagaon train from Atlanta.......

In case you were keeping count,
form 3 started in March 1 2018,
form 4 August 1, 2018
Approved July 11 2019
Stamp in hand........?
Ridiculous.
 
Your money ahead here.

Most form 4s are taking 51-53 weeks to get approved for us lately.

My M-16 took almost 2 years door to door...

The NFA Branch is not there to streamline the process, only to accommodate it.
 
If they weren't so busy selling guns to Mexico...... Maybe they could speed this up some....
 
Just got a Form 4 (individual) back...11 months almost to the day.

What bugs me is that it was the second Form 4 this year, the fourth in the last five years. I can understand running a first-time NFA buyer through the whole mill, but repeat buyers can reasonably be cleared on a NICS check. Which would defuse the whole legal ticking time bomb...I'm convinced a solid 5th Amendment "Takings" case could be made against the current implementation of NFA'34. When people buying MGs have tens of thousands of dollars tied up for a year, it's a serious problem.
 
I'm convinced a solid 5th Amendment "Takings" case could be made against the current implementation of NFA'34.
That's an interesting concept, and one that's not entirely without merit. But a "taking" would apply more to current owners trying to sell, than to prospective owners trying to buy. If you own something and can't sell it, either because it has become legally nontransferable, or practically nontransferable due to intentional bureaucratic delays, it has become worthless. This diminution in the fair market value is the measure of the "taking."
 
I heard back from my congressman today. They weren't very helpful and said they cannot push constituents to the front of the line, but they did pass along the atf response letter to my request.

Good Morning _____,

ATF received an ATF Form 4 application for Mr. _______ on August 1, 2018. The processing time for a perfected ATF Form 4 application is at least 10 months due to a number of factors, to include; the implementation of the 41F Final Rule, which requires ATF to perform full criminal background checks on all individuals who are identified as a Responsible Persons of a trust or legal entity, there have been changes to various state laws which have in the past disallowed possession of certain NFA firearms and now those states are enacting legislation which would now allow possession and the volume of silencer transfers has increased tremendously. In fiscal year 2007, ATF processed nearly 66,736 NFA applications. In 2016, ATF received more than 379,410 applications, in 2017 ATF received 386,210 applications, and in 2018 ATF received 339,278 applications. Prior to the shutdown the processing time for ATF Form 4, was 7 months, however; at this time ATF is experiencing over a 125,000 backlog and therefore the processing time is expected to be in excess of 10 months. ATF has and will expeditiously continue to process these applications to reduce any existing backlog. An unperfected ATF Form 4 that needs corrections will take longer than 10 months to process.
At this time ATF is processing applications that were received in May 2018, therefore; Mr. ________ still has a few months pending.

according to reddit/nfa, people are receiving stamps that were submitted mid-may 2018.

I would guess you're having a problem because you left the blanks in the form :evil:

Just teasing, good luck and God speed
 
The way I see the 5th Amendment case, it applies to both buyers and sellers.

Someone buying an NFA item, especially an MG, has got thousands (and usually tens of thousands) of dollars tied up in a gun that is in a legal Limbo. The buyer does not have his money...but does not have the gun, either. And the $13K for an Uzi could make a pretty penny invested in the stock market.

Equally, a seller loses value. A widow trying to sell her husband's NFA items to pay medical bills can either try to sell for full value and get paid in a year's time when the Form 4 clears, or sell to a dealer for half price.

Either way, it's wrong.
 
Equally, a seller loses value. A widow trying to sell her husband's NFA items to pay medical bills can either try to sell for full value and get paid in a year's time when the Form 4 clears, or sell to a dealer for half price.
In this market, normally sellers want full payment up front, before submitting the paperwork to the ATF. That leaves the whole transaction up in the air for up to a year, until approval is received. A host of things can go wrong in that time, with one or both parties left holding the bag. No other market, that I know of, works this way. This is simply not viable.
 
Whatever the gov't's "mitigating circumstances' are, it's ridiculous that in 2019 it takes a year or more for someone to have permission to take possession of their property (for which they have already purchased, and for which tax monies have already been collected) due to "background checks", when agencies like NICS or FDLE (in Fl) can perform a background check on a law abiding individual to purchase a firearm in minutes. Especially when the individual being investigated, who already holds NFA tax stamps for other items previously acquired, is "known" to the ATF due to previously acquired stamps. In that sense, I think that approval for the first stamp could/should be a "vetting process", and a simple NICS check against a correctly submitted packet should result in a timely approval for subsequent applications.
 
Whatever the gov't's "mitigating circumstances' are, it's ridiculous that in 2019 it takes a year or more for someone to have permission to take possession of their property (for which they have already purchased, and for which tax monies have already been collected) due to "background checks", when agencies like NICS or FDLE (in Fl) can perform a background check on a law abiding individual to purchase a firearm in minutes. Especially when the individual being investigated, who already holds NFA tax stamps for other items previously acquired, is "known" to the ATF due to previously acquired stamps. In that sense, I think that approval for the first stamp could/should be a "vetting process", and a simple NICS check against a correctly submitted packet should result in a timely approval for subsequent applications.

there you go applying logic to the government........ In other news, after a full year, almost to the day, of submitting my form 4 the stamp has finally arrived at my dealer. Of course, now I'm working the next 2 nights so I cannot take possession until Wednesday, but still, I am no longer waiting on a federal agency! Time to start stamp #4 I suppose........
 
I'm normally not a conspiracy nut, but I really think the processing delays are being done on purpose, in order to have a de facto prohibition on NFA items. In 1934, the $200 tax was what made the NFA a de facto prohibition. Today, because of inflation, that $200 tax is a minor consideration. So the processing delay has taken the role that the tax once played. A truly pro-gun Administration could cut through the red tape in no time. The fact that they haven't done so shows exactly where they stand.
 
I'm normally not a conspiracy nut, but I really think the processing delays are being done on purpose, in order to have a de facto prohibition on NFA items. In 1934, the $200 tax was what made the NFA a de facto prohibition. Today, because of inflation, that $200 tax is a minor consideration. So the processing delay has taken the role that the tax once played. A truly pro-gun Administration could cut through the red tape in no time. The fact that they haven't done so shows exactly where they stand.
Yet electronic Form 1's are being processed in as little as 30 days.
That doesn't point to a conspiracy, but to a data entry/paper processing problem.
 
I'm normally not a conspiracy nut, but I really think the processing delays are being done on purpose, in order to have a de facto prohibition on NFA items. In 1934, the $200 tax was what made the NFA a de facto prohibition. Today, because of inflation, that $200 tax is a minor consideration. So the processing delay has taken the role that the tax once played. A truly pro-gun Administration could cut through the red tape in no time. The fact that they haven't done so shows exactly where they stand.
That's absolute baloney, nothing more than you taking another shot at the present administration.

See Tom's post.
 
A lot of individuals with November and even December check cashed dates are starting to get their stamps, it looks like things are finally starting to speed up.

Fingers crossed for my Dec 28 stamp, maybe I'll even get my May 23 before the end of the year.
 
Approved!

Called for status and was told that the individual F4 for my Obsidian .45 was approved.

Pending : 12/28/2018
Approved: 09/04/2019
Received: ?
 
I’m thinking about buying some stuff. Been a long time since I got a new stamp. And I kinda regret selling my m60 and registered AR lower.

Are you guys saying that a form 1 like making a Sbr is only taking 30 days??
 
I’m thinking about buying some stuff. Been a long time since I got a new stamp. And I kinda regret selling my m60 and registered AR lower.

Are you guys saying that a form 1 like making a Sbr is only taking 30 days??

Those would be about the coolest MGs to own, a registered AR lower would give you so many options today.

E-filed Form 1s are getting returned in a month or less for the most part. I don't think anyone is doing paper F1s anymore (for obvious reasons), but the last few wait times I saw reported were similar to paper F4s.
 
I just got my Form 1 SBR stamp today. Application signed and mailed 3/8/19 and approved 9/10/19. Way sooner than I was expecting!!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top