ATF Form 1 & Form 4 Trust/Biz Cheat Sheet

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** 2022 Edit – The ATF eForms system for eForm 4 has mostly changed this info, but it may still be useful for individual Form 4 transfers that must stay on paper forms for now. **

With the July 13th 2016 ATF rule changes concerning NFA trusts and form submission, here is a reminder on what needs to be done for ATF Forms 1 and 4 submitted by a NFA trust, LLC, corporation or other entity. The NFA Branch is extremely particular on NFA forms and failure to follow all instructions exactly can result in major delays in form processing or denial of forms. It is assumed that you have already downloaded the PDF copies of the forms from the BATFE website and correctly completed the ATF Form 1/4 and the Responsible Person Questionnaire(s) in electronic format. CDS ARMS provides the form completion as a consulting service if desired, please CONTACT US today for assistance. For the packet you will also need two completed fingerprint cards, one 2″x2″ passport style photo and a full copy of your completed trust or business documents for each ATF form you wish to send in. The ATF receives two full copies of the forms and your local police or sheriff’s department receive a third informational copy. You will personally receive back the second copy with the stamp once approved.

Here are the final steps to prepare your packets and mail!

NOTE: These instructions reference ‘PDF pages’ which makes it easy to identify which page is which on the electronic PDF copy. Once the pages are printed physically there will no longer be PDF page numbers and you will need to reference back to the original PDF document by matching the page title at the bottom middle of the form page.

PRINTING FORMS
PDF forms contain instruction pages which do NOT get sent in with completed forms. Please take care to print only the proper pages in the proper way. The BATFE NFA Branch WILL *NOT* accept a Form 1 or 4 unless pages 1 and 2 of the form are printed doubled sided on one piece of paper. Page 3 is a single sided document. In your printer settings the doubled-sided feature is often referred to as ‘duplex’ mode. Most basic printers will not support duplex printing so you will need to learn how to print one side and flip the page to reinsert for the second page, or find a different printer that will do duplex printing.

Print out EXACTLY the following:

  • ATF Form 1/4
    • PDF Pages 1-2 Duplex, Page 3 Loose (ATF Main Copy)
    • PDF Pages 7-8 Duplex, Page 9 Loose (ATF Second Copy)
    • PDF Pages 10-11 Duplex, Page 12 Loose (CLEO, Chief Law Enforcement Officer Copy
  • ATF Responsible Person Questionnaire
    • PDF Pages 1-2 Duplex
    • PDF Pages 3-4 Duplex

SIGNING & PREPARING FORMS
NOTE: It is imperative that all NFA forms are signed directly with a real wet ink signature, not by a computer generated and printed means.

  • ATF Form 1/4
    • PDF Page 1: SKIP THIS LINE FOR FORM 4 AS ONLY DEALER SIGNS HERE. FOR FORM 1 ONLY!: Sign (box 7) and date (box 9) at bottom of the page. Repeat on PDF pages 7 and 10 since they’re carbon copies.
    • PDF Page 2: Sign and date boxes at the bottom of the page under ‘CERTIFICATION’. Repeat on PDF pages 8 and 11 since they’re carbon copies.
    • PDF Page 3: If paying tax by check or money order, mark the ‘Check’ box. Otherwise complete section 17 for ‘Method of Payment’ and be sure to sign and date below to authorize the charge. This is NOT repeated on PDF pages 9 and 11 since the information is masked for security.
  • Responsible Person Questionnaire (To be completed in entirety for each responsible person):
    • PDF Page 1: Attach a small loop of tape to the rear of the 2″x2″ passport style photo and stick it in the box 3e provided at center right. This is the only photo required for form submission, CLEO copy does NOT get a picture.
    • PDF Page 2: Sign and date boxes at the middle of the page under ‘CERTIFICATION’. Repeat on PDF page 4 since it is a carbon copy.

MAILING FORMS
Get two large envelopes to send forms. Per NFA item, the ATF receives one whole packet of forms 1 or 4 in duplicate, a single copy of the Responsible Person Questionnaire with picture, two fingerprint cards per person, payment (if check), and a full copy of trust or business documents evidencing its existence. For each ‘responsible party’, two fingerprint cards, and a Responsible Person Questionnaire (RPQ) with one passport style photo is attached. The local Chief of Police or Sheriff in your area receives the third form copy and a RPQ for each person as a notification only.

  • ATF Envelope
    • Form 1 or 4, in duplicate, copies 1 and 2, PDF pages 6 total, four physical pages total
    • Payment for NFA tax made payable to ‘BATFE’ if paying with check or money order, otherwise disregard
    • Responsible Person Questionnaire, with one photo, PDF pages 2 total, physical pages 1, for EACH person
    • Two fingerprint cards for EACH person
    • One fully signed and notarized trust copy, duplex to save mailing weight

ATF packet is to be mailed to the following address:
NFA Branch – BATFE
P.O. Box 530298
Atlanta, GA 30353-0298

  • CLEO Envelope
    • Form 1 or 4, CLEO copy 3, 3 PDF pages, 2 physical pages total
    • Responsible Person Questionnaire, CLEO copy 3, 1 physical page, for EACH person

CLEO copies are to be sent to the local police or sheriff’s office location listed on page two of the PDF Form 1/4 under section 10. This is a notification only so you will not likely hear any response regarding this submission.

Drive to your favorite US Post Office and mail!

WHAT’S NEXT?
ATF will receive your packet and process your payment quickly. When you see the tax charged you can assume your paperwork made it there safely. Your forms will then be queued for data entry and put in line for further form processing. If any paperwork issues are encountered the ATF NFA Branch will contact you or the dealer with further instructions. The end result should be approved Form 1 or 4! For Form 1 approvals you will receive an approved form copy with NFA stamp directly to your physical address. For a Form 4 submission the transferring dealer will receive the approved form back in the mail and contact you to proceed further.

Now the fun part starts; the wait! Good luck and enjoy stamp collecting! 🙂

See also: HOW TO CHECK NFA STATUS