Caveman
NES Member
Nice Lineup. I have all 3 of those and love them.
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Tax stamp / Suppressor wait times
- Thread starter HuntMaine
- Start date
Caveman
NES Member
That’s where they get you. quick to apply. not so quick for approval. and now a digitized registry.
LittleCalm
NES Member
Congrats. Then mine can’t be too far behind.
WHAT actually happens between application and approval? Does someone MANUALLY check something? Where is the breakdown in the process? Doesn't it just check against NICS? Is there something else going on with the process? Could someone please post the steps taken in this process?
steve8140
NES Member
Once you submit your form and mail your fingerprint cards the application goes into a very large pile of other applications.
Normally people would buy one item at a time but when eForms went live with a “goal” of 90 day approvals everyone went nuts. People were then buying 6+ items and submitting forms for each all at once.
This severely overloaded the system because ATF doesn’t give a crap and doesn’t hire or allocate more people to handle the workload.
While the form is waiting to be looked at it is in what’s know as “pending” phase where it was received and they cashed your $200 check.
That’s where it remains until it makes its way to the top of the pile where an examiner will start processing it.
If you filed as an individual they will do a background check on you. If you filed as a trust or entity then they will do a background check on the person who controls said trust or entity as well as any other responsible person listed on the trust or entity.
(Note that each responsible person need to submit fingerprints, photo and fill out the responsible person questionnaire).
Also, even though the ATF is processing the form, they do not have the access or authority to run the background check. They send it to the FBI to conduct and wait for the green light to proceed. Crazy huh.
The ATF will go through the trust or corp. documents and make sure it’s all on the up and up.
Once everything is done they will approve it and send the approved stamp in the appropriate manner.
- paper form get mailed to the dealer you bought from and then they will call you to pick it up along with your purchased item.
- Eform you will get a email with the approved stamp. Then you can go pick up your item from the dealer.
IF for some reason there is an issue with your application……
- If you’re lucky enough to have a nice examiner you or the dealer might get a friendly email about an issue that can be corrected by email and then get approved.
- if you get a bad examiner they could disapprove your application in which case you would need to start over from scratch. The good news is you will get a refund of your $200 but it could take up to two months to receive it.
The part that doesn’t make sense it that the forms are clearly kept in separate piles for the type of application.
A form 1 is currently around 3 months,
A form 4 paper is 12-15 months,
A form 4 e file is around 6 months,
A form 3 is around 3 weeks to 3 months (this is from dealer to dealer transfers),
A form 5 is around 2 months.
LittleCalm
NES Member
Before eFile power filings still took a year. There is no rational explanation for why it should take more than a few weeks at best. The whole system is a joke and just another reminder of the fact that everything .gov touches turns to complete inefficiency.
I just picked up my first device. I waited over a year. BUT, they did switch to a new system while I was waiting and I'm pretty sure the old applications got sidelined.
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Wait times can be terrible.. But eventually it’ll be done the bigger issue run into is dealing with a gunsmith to take years upon years to get the shit done that they promised your six months ago.. All while the laws in your state are constantly “evolving”. You buy something and then by the time it’s ready it’s Another legal nightmare
LittleCalm
NES Member
Caveman
NES Member
I’m not going to feed the beast with this because I’ve been waiting almost a year for my sbr to get built just to start the atf purgatory plus i’m still waiting for the can to get built so I can start the clock on that.
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Usually what they do is start the paperwork for the receiver while it’s still being built. They just slap an upper on it, the FFL files the paperwork, then starts the transfer to you .. Then it’s configure the way you want before it’s physical transfered to you.
It depends on the type of firearm but there’s ways to shorten your time. Sometimes it’s more complicated.
I know the feeling that I’ve waited years for things to get built to then wait for paperwork..
Fortunately in my case they are just a semi auto hosts. That transfer like a standard firearm, then I just drop a sear in them
Asaltweapon
NES Member
I guess that proves who keeps their head down working versus hanging around the coffee machine or goofing off with the phone.
LittleCalm
NES Member
Ahh, the good 'ol days of only 11 months...
It was even better in 2016 , I purchased two separate supressors around 05/2016 and got the call just a few weeks before christmas on 12/2016 talk about insanely giddy ..... those were my first bought NFA items .
DarthRevan
NES Member
I used it for mine, single shot trust. Fairly painless
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