NFA Noob

[Bobson]

I browse this subforum occasionally, but I don't have any NFA firearms, and to be totally honest, I never really expected to be interested enough to go through the whole process and wait I keep reading about, not to mention those NFA stamps. I hear they're expensive.

But if I decide I do want a certain NFA weapon, how do I actually go about it? Where would I get these forms I keep reading about here? And are there different forms for different items? Like one form for a full-auto rifle, a different form for a suppressor, etc. Or is it all just one form?

Thanks. Sorry for the noob questions.

 

[S.W.G.]

There are different forms for transferring between a dealer to an owner, from a deceased relative to an heir, etc.

I'll let the experts chime in before I say something stupid.

 

[rjrivero]

If you're going to buy an NFA item from a Dealer, which is the Majority of transfers to private citizens, I would guess, you only need to fill out ATF Form 5320.4 aka Form 4. Each stamp is $200 for most NFA items. ($5 for an AOW transfer.)

You would choose your NFA item from your local FFL/SOT Class 3 dealer. (NFA items are typically called Title 2 firearms.) Most dealers make you pay for it in advance, while waiting on your transfer paperwork, some will allow you to put a deposit on it then pay in full when the transfer takes place.

You would determine if you want to transfer the NFA item to yourself as an individual, or to a Trust or Corporate entity.*

For an INDIVIDUAL TANSFER: This is taylored to Silencer transfers.
I'm not saying this is THE ONLY way to fill them out and get them approved, but this is how I have filled them out for my suppressors, and I've never had them delayed due to paperwork errors. I AM NOT A LAWYER. This is the example of how I filled out my Form 4's. Your Class 3 dealer will no doubt be able to help you through this, but for those who are really itching to go quiet, this is my contribution to the community.

You must first print off a Form 5320.4 commonly called "Form 4".

You can download it HERE.

It's pretty easy to fill out but I promised a tutoral, so here it is:
Form 5320.4
Box 1: Check $200 Box.

Box 2a: Your name, address, City, State, Zip
Box 2b: Your County.

Box 3a: Your Dealer's Name, address, City, State, Zip
Box 3b: Your Dealer's Phone number (Include area code)

Box 3c: Usually left BLANK.
Box 3d: Usually left Blank.

Box 4a: Silencer's Manufacturer's Name, City, St
Box 4b: "Silencer"
box 4c: Caliber of the silencer. No matter if it's NATO, Metric, or Imperial. I have some that don't even have units of measure on them.
Box 4d: Model of silencer (Stamped on the side of the silencer)
Box 4e: "Not Applicable" or "NA"
Box 4f: Overall length of the suppressor itself. If you have a thread adapter or Linear Decoupler or Nielson Device, do not include it in the length of the suppressor. Just the suppressor itself. All of mine are in x.xx inches.
Box 4g: Serial number as it appears on the suppressor. Keep spaces or dashes as they appear on the suppressor.
Box 4h: Leave Blank.

Box 5. If you have no FFL, "NA" in each box. If you do, provide the info here.

Box 6a. EIN of your FFL if you have one. "NA" if you don't.
Box 6b. Class of your FFL if you have one. "NA" If you don't.

Box 7. FFL of your Class 3 dealer.

Box 8. EIN of your Class 3 Dealer.
Box 9. "3 NFA DEALER." (To get a suppressor, you have to go through a class 3 dealer.
Box 10. Signature of your FFL.
Box 11. Printed name of your FFL, and TITLE (i.e. Owner.)
Box 12. Date Mon dd, year (Format the ATF Uses.) Sep 02, 2011 for example
Box 13. a-f Answer each question.
Box 14. a-3 Answer each question.

Box 15: Line 1 Your name as it appears in Box 2a
Box 15: Line 2 "All Legal Purposes"
Box 15 Line 3 Blank.
Box 15 Line 4 Your Signature
Box 15 Line 4 Date (Format ATF uses MON DD, YEAR Sep 02, 2011 for example.

Box 16 your Passport size frontal photo. Attach with a Glue Stick.

Box 17: Line 1 Fill out your name as it appears in Box 2a.

Then your Chief Law enforcement officer needs to sign, date, and provide the address, county, and phone number. You will also need fingerprints done at this time.

You must fill out a form 5330.20 "Certification of Compliance" FOUND HERE. Most of us will fill out Boxes 1,2,3 and sign and date box 7.

Box 1 and 2 are the same as it appears in Box 2a of your Form 4.

You must get Fingerprint Cards FBI Forms FD-258. Can't download these because of the stock of paper they are printed on. Call the ATF and they'll send them to you.

Pitfalls to avoid:
Each Form 4 needs to be filled out on ONE SHEET OF PAPER FRONT AND BACK.

Your Form 4 needs to be mailed in duplicate. TWO COPIES EACH WITH ORIGINAL IN INK SIGNATURES. So fill it out first, then copy, then sign each form. Then each form needs to be signed by your CLEO.

You need to include a check for $200 Made out to the "National Firearms Act Branch, BATFE"

You can make one check out for multiple items.

Mail out checklist:
[ ]1. Form 5320.2 in DUPLICATE (2 forms)
[ ]2. Fingerprint Cards FBI Form FD258 (Two of them.)
[ ]3. Certification of Compliance. Form 5330.20
[ ]4. Check for $200 per item.

Mail them to the address on the top right of the form. It should read:
National Firearms Act Branch Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, P.O. Box 530298 Atlanta, GA 30353-0298

(Some of the older forms still have the Chicago, IL address. DO NOT SEND THESE THERE. You can still use those forms, though.)

Once your check clears, you can call them periodically to get an update on your status. Have your serial number ready. Phone number is: (304) 616-4500


For a TRUST/LLC/Corp Entity Transfer:

 

[rjrivero]

For a TRUST/LLC/Corp Entity Transfer: Again tailored for silencers.
There are some simple changes that need to be made to do a Trust/LLC/Corp. I included this post to reflect those differences. Again, this is how the Form 4's are filled out for items that I have gotten approved. This does not imply the ONLY or CORRECT way to do the forms. I am NOT A LAWYER. This is an example of how I got my Form 4's approved. Again, your FFL/SOT will *probably* help you fill out the forum. I post this for reference.

You must first print off a Form 5320.4 commonly called "Form 4".
You can download it HERE.

Form 5320.4
Box 1: Check $200 Box.

Box 2a: Trust/LLC/Corp Name, address, City, State, Zip
Box 2b: Trust/LLC/Corp County.

Box 3a: Your Dealer's Name, address, City, State, Zip
Box 3b: Your Dealer's Phone number (Include area code)
Box 3c: Usually left BLANK.
Box 3d: Usually left Blank.

Box 4a: Silencer's Manufacturer's Name, City, St
Box 4b: "Silencer"
box 4c: Caliber of the silencer. No matter if it's NATO, Metric, or Imperial. I have some that don't even have units of measure on them.
Box 4d: Model of silencer (Stamped on the side of the silencer)
Box 4e: "Not Applicable" or "NA"
Box 4f: Overall length of the suppressor itself. If you have a thread adapter or Linear Decoupler or Nielson Device, do not include it in the length of the suppressor. Just the suppressor itself. All of mine are in x.xx inches.
Box 4g: Serial number as it appears on the suppressor. Keep spaces or dashes as they appear on the suppressor.
Box 4h: Leave Blank.

Box 5. If you have no FFL, "NA" in each box. If you do, provide the info here.

Box 6a. EIN of your FFL if you have one. "NA" if you don't.
Box 6b. Class of your FFL if you have one. "NA" If you don't.

Box 7. FFL of your Class 3 dealer.

Box 8. EIN of your Class 3 Dealer.

Box 9. "3 NFA DEALER." (To get a suppressor, you have to go through a class 3 dealer.

Box 10. Signature of your FFL.

Box 11. Printed name of your FFL, and TITLE (i.e. Owner.)

Box 12. Date Mon dd, year (Format the ATF Uses.) Sep 02, 2011 for example

Box 13. a-f Not necessary for Trust/LLC/CORP. Answer each question if you wish.

Box 14. a-3 Not necessary for Trust/LLC/CORP. Answer each question if you wish.

Box 15: Line 1 Trust/LLC/Corp Name as it appears in Box 2a
Box 15: Line 2 "All Legal Purposes"
Box 15 Line 3 Blank.
Box 15 Line 4 Your Signature, Print Title as it appears on your TRUST/LLC/Corp
Box 15 Line 4 Date (Format ATF uses MON DD, YEAR Sep 02, 2011 for example.

Box 16: Leave Blank

Box 17:Leave Blank.
Then your Chief Law enforcement officer does NOT need to sign off on a TRUST/LLC/CORP application.

Form 5330.20 "Certification of Compliance" FOUND HERE. Is not needed for TRUST/LLC/CORP.

Fingerprint Cards FBI Forms FD-258 are not needed for TRUST/LLC/CORP applications.

Pitfalls to avoid:
Each Form 4 needs to be filled out on ONE SHEET OF PAPER FRONT AND BACK.
Your Form 4 needs to be mailed in duplicate. TWO COPIES EACH WITH ORIGINAL IN INK SIGNATURES. So fill it out first, then copy, then sign each form.
You need to include a check for $200 Made out to the "National Firearms Act Branch, BATFE"
You can make one check out for multiple items.

Mail out checklist:
[ ]1. Form 5320.2 in DUPLICATE (2 forms)
[ ]2. TRUST: Full Trust including Schedule A
[ ]3. LLC/CORP: Certifcate from state.
[ ]4. Check for $200 per item.
Mail them to the address on the top right of the form. It should read:
National Firearms Act Branch Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, P.O. Box 530298 Atlanta, GA 30353-0298
(Some of the older forms still have the Chicago, IL address. DO NOT SEND THESE THERE. You can still use those forms, though.)
Once your check clears, you can call them periodically to get an update on your status. Have your serial number ready. Phone number is: (304) 616-4500

 

[Bobson]

Yikes.

Thanks a lot, rjrivero. I didn't really expect anyone to type out such a lengthy response, but I appreciate the time you took to do it.

 

[rjrivero]

That is a cut and paste from a post I made earlier this year at Michigan Gun Owners. When the AG penned his opinion allowing private citizens to own suppressors, I wrote this up to help folks out. (Which is why it was written for suppressors.)

I thought it would be useful in response to your question.

 

[zignal_zero]

Bobson - I c u used the word "yikes" I'm assuming that's because of everything you just read. While that was EXTREMELY informative and answers a ton of questions you'd probably have while filling out the form, you have to keep in mind that he just mapped out EVERY single step of everything you'll write on the form. It makes it look a lot more overwhelming than it really is.

A job application at a fast food restaurant has about the same amount of boxes on it. So... if you feel like you could fill one of those out, a form 1 or form 4 will not be a big deal. Don't get me wrong, take your time, ask questions, make sure its done correctly, but do not get the idea that it is a major undertaking because it is not. When u actually start filling out the form, you'll be pleasantly surprised

 

[MtnCreek]

Looks likle rjrivero had a link here a while back (don't remember who posted it). In the link, the step by step process looked very simple compaired to the 'pure text' above. Good info, Thanks!

I will correct you on one thing:

(NFA items are typically called Title 2 firearms.)

They're typically called Class 3.

 

[CoRoMo]

I doubt that it adds much on top of rjrivero's posts, but here's something (much smaller) that I compiled a while back.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=508890

I tried to make it short, concise, and clear. hth

 

[rjrivero]

MtnCreek: I do agree, they are called Class 3 typically. I should have said they are "Title 2 firearms that are typically called Class 3. However, Class 3 is a Dealer classification, and Title 2 is the firearm designation."

 

[Strykervet]

Search on here for NFA trusts, read up on those, then find a lawyer close to you that KNOWS and DOES NFA trusts. That he or she can do NFA trusts is important. Search for "gundocx" and find a local lawyer that uses that AND has one himself. If you can't find a local one, look up Golberg or Goldman, he's in FL and networks all over US. Or PM me and I'll give you my guy's name and he can do the same thing. You need a good NFA trust lawyer or you could end up with junk on the wrong side of the law, or inadequate protection. If you want more info about what you can do with them, search on here, I've written some long winded posts about it and I'm not repeating myself again.

I will say a REAL NFA trust from a lawyer that specializes in them (try estate planning lawyers, you need to find one that is a gun nut and you should be golden). No internet junk, no regular trust (they are inadequate for this) and not an LLC. They cost too much money, etc. Trust is one time fee.

You fill out the form, send in a copy of the trust, and you wait. Get a call later, make a pickup. The store will walk you through everything your NFA trust lawyer didn't. If you plan on buying more than one suppressor or NFA item, and you plan on letting others use it, even in your presence, you really could use the trust.

 

[Magnuumpwr]

Post #'s 3 and 4 would do good to be a "sticky". I have read it several times and now I believe, "search forum" is my friend.

 

[Sgt_R]

Tagged for later use. Thanks.

R

 

[TXSWFAN]

Every time I've bought a Title 2 (not Class 3) item, my dealer already had the F4 filled out. I just filled out the back which has the same questions as a 4473. A few signatures and then I send in one copy of my trust with an updated Schedule A, two copies of the F4 and a $200 check. That's it.