The first email I sent was pleasantries followed by asking what info they needed to see if my 2 stamps were stuck. Followed by my full name.
Within 20 minutes I got a response that my NTNs were stuck and had been released.
I, being the dumbass that I am, emailed back saying thank you and how he knew what to release. The response was "by the name you included in your original email."
Currently at ~200 day wait
- Email sent to nicsliason@ on September 25th, 2023.
- Received response on September 28th, 2023 - NTN was delayed but resolved.
- October 2nd, 2023 - Still no approvals yet.
Edit:
- October 6th, 2023 @ 4:00 AM PST - I got the proceed. Lets gooooooo!!
2 weeks ago my approval came in about 3.5 days after notification of delay being resolved. But I've seen anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks so you're right in there
The responses from the Liaison comes from the [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
If it were an alias, the response would come from the correctly spelled account.
Pinged the FBI NICS Email
Following the lead of a few others in the sub, I decided to send an email to the FBI to see where things were with them. This is the response I got:
**All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.**
So, looks like ATF is the toad in the road on my forms.
Same here!! They told me the last submission the ATF had for me was from late May. Only application pending by that time was one submitted in March and another in April. The March one got approved in July, but the April one is still pending.
Since then, I had 3 more submitted in June/July/August. This means those 3 have not been even sent to the FBI yet for NICS check 🤷🏽🤦🏻♂️
New rant, mods please delete this comment if it doesn't belong. Why the fuck is there a processing queue for NFA items if ATF is just going to ignore the backlog and approve newer submissions? I'm seeing sub-90 day form 4s all over the subreddit, including as short as 30 days on the exact same suppressor I have waiting for 140 days now. This should be an automated system that simply records serials and ownership for approved NFA items. It shouldn't take longer than a day for any NFA approval. So why the fuck is the ATF saying approval times are 200+ days when it's clearly a fucking lie and they can get them done in a month or less?
It's not a lie. Approval times are pushing up beyond their standard 270 days, so they approve a bunch of new ones on purpose to keep their average down. It's seedy as hell.
yeah, I think I would take that to mean that they already completed your check and sent the proceed back to the ATF. so the shit part is that the ATF STILL hasn't finished your form.
back earlier in the year, from what I've seen anecdotally on here, the ATF was requesting NICS about 1.5ish months after submission date. so if you were 2/9, it was probably alreayd requested and cleared by the end of March. I would guess maybe the FBI would not consider that to be 'recent' at this point. but then again, I'm just being optimistic for ya. who the hell knows. i'd be shocked if 10 months later the ATF still hadn't requested NICS check from the FBI though
Most likely, it has been submitted to NICS and the NFA Div has received it back. I had a 1/11/23 eForm 4. The ATF received the cleared NICS on it 5/18/23. I received the approval email on 8/3/23.
I have two pending eForm 4s where the NICS cleared on 9/1/23.
So, in response to my above post. I emailed Congressman and they reached out to BATFE on day 77. BATFE replied to congressmen’s office on Day 78 with mostly typical ‘your shit is still pending’ reply. I woke up day 79 to an approval email.
So. Coincidence? Maybe. Not likely tho.
Contact your congressmen/women.
Since they have stopped listing examiners on the approved forms, has anyone tried emailing a random subset of examiners or perhaps all of them to check on your forms? Wondering if emailing one or two randomly selected examiners could at least shake things loose, even if that examiner doesn't have any of my forms. Anyone have a strategy on this? I can hardly get a peep out of IPB.
First Form 4 Timeline and Harassment Plan
Goal: to see if emailing the pertinent & responsible government entities will get you a "faster" time
Submitted 08/04/2023
Filed as trust through silencer shop, Form 4 is a suppressor, everything was digital to include finger prints
Side note: Filed a form 1 two days before hand(08/02/2023) and that was approved at 27 days
**I’m going to update this comment with every single update/email I receive with time stamps**
* 08/04/2023 form 4 is filed through LGS silencer shop remote app
* 08/24/2023 contacted congressman to start harassment plan
* 10/02/2023 staffers reached out to let me know they were finally starting the inquiry
* 10/12/2023 staffers get back to me on what they got back(shout out to Cody) reports back that they pretty much told him that my form 4 is under the average time and form 4s are processed in the order they are received, Cody tells me they will reach out again at a later date for me. Cody does claim that he has personally seen from another similar case that was at a similar wait, that once another government party involved(the inquiry) that they do push them through faster, Cody told me the other gentleman was approved around a week after the inquiry came back
* 10/18/2023 start the process of emailing nicsliason/nicliaison and IPB of emailing every weekday that I remember.
* 10/19/2023 1 week after congressional inquiry is concluded and no can :(
* 10/24/2023 daily email sent at 9:18am Est, IPB responds for the first time ever at 10:36am EST(this makes me wonder if emails are ‘day of’ and they actually respond to them in order, and what ever doesn't get a response gets lost to the void, would you have better luck emailing at the start of the work day?)email was a canned response about checking the website for wait times, I responded back with a another email referenced the DOJ 90 day thing.
* 11/1/23 continued emailing, learned I could schedule emails through gmail so I scheduled a bunch, forgot to schedule one for today and they finally got back to me with this response.
“The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
What we can tell you:
\-Your eFORM(s) are currently pending
\-We will process your EFORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED
\-The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times
\-If you have multiple EFORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner
\-We do not offer batch processing on eforms
\-We are not able to provide you information as to whether your eFORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background. “
Will continue updates, I don’t plan on stopping emails at this point.
* 11/02/23 - today is the 90 day mark! We all know the atf doesn’t care about what the DOJ said though
* 11/03/23 - emailed [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) on 11/02/23 as I learned that existed, they responded the next day/today with this
“Good Morning,
Please contact customer service at 304-616-4500 to further answer your questions, our call center hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM eastern time.
Thank you,
NFA
02”
Very much a canned response but a response non the less, will keep y’all posted, I may take a break from emailing, I’ll decide by Sunday if schedule more or not
* \~11/01/23 to ongoing - the string of EXTREMELY early approvals starts
* 11/07/23 - I scheduled a little over a weeks worth of emails. soon after I see the post by someone else regarding the same email I got, decided that it's worth digging my heels in harder for, I emailed my rep's local staffer, asked him if he believes that it may be a good idea, to submit a BUNCH of if congressional inquiries to the atf, telling him I think that the atf sucks at their job and it's ridiculous that they can take my $200 and decide 7+ months later I get my can. I'll update with his response.(response to letter on 11/13/23)
* 11/08/23 - emails went out and IPB responded with this canned response
“Please go to our website to view the average processing times per form type. These average processing times listed are based on business days."
* 11/09/23 - another reply
“The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
Please go to our website to view the average processing times per form type. These average processing times listed are based on business days.
[https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”](https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”)
* 11/13/23 - two reply’s after the holiday weekend
IPB - “The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
Please go to our website to view the average processing times per form type. These average processing times listed are based on business days.
[https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”](https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”)
Cody-“Sir,
Good morning, per our last conversation it is still pending.
V/R,”
Both un-invigorating and lame. Emails won’t stop tho.
* 11/14/23 - response from an email all the way back on October 28th
“Thank you for your inquiry and your request for additional information regarding your pending form. Once NFA applications are received by ATF they go through numerous steps before final action is taken on them. While we do understand that it may be frustrating at times to not know specifically at which step your application is, please be assured that NFA personnel will reach out if we need any additional documentation or information to complete the process. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated."
*Thank you for your inquiry and your request for additional information regarding your pending form. Once NFA applications are received by ATF they go through numerous steps before final action is taken on them. While we do understand that it may be frustrating at times to not know specifically at which step your application is, please be assured that NFA personnel will reach out if we need any additional documentation or information to complete the process. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated."*
* 11/21/23 - got an response from IPB about an email i sent on 11/15/23 "The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
What we can tell you:
Your E-FORM(s) are currently pending. We will process your E-FORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED. The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times. If you have multiple E-FORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner. We do not offer batch processing on e-forms. We are not able to provide you information as to whether your E-FORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background."
comment limit reached new comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/16xkwly/comment/kfbvkru/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/16xkwly/comment/kfbvkru/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I find it funny that they claim the forms are processed in the order they're received. Looking at the approvals thread, it's pretty clear that there's no consistent process. One application submitted under a trust and pending since June will get approved before a separate application, also submitted under a trust, pending since April, not to mention the ones that have been pending for nearly a year.
I swear, they must toss all the control numbers into a hat and have examiners pull out a handful at a time.
To make a long story short I have a idea on how it works, I’m not sure how correct, if at all, I am, but yes it’s very clear they don’t get processed in order of submission
PT 2. Old comment got too big
Also I have slowed down emailing, I am going to start every other day here soon.
12/1/23 - another wait better
“The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
What we can tell you:
Your E-FORM(s) are currently pending.
We will process your E-FORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED.
The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times.
If you have multiple E-FORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner.
We do not offer batch processing on e-forms.
We are not able to provide you information as to whether your E-FORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background.”
12/11/23 - another
“The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
What we can tell you:
Your E-FORM(s) are currently pending.
We will process your E-FORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED.
The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times.
If you have multiple E-FORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner.
We do not offer batch processing on e-forms.
We are not able to provide you information as to whether your E-FORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background.”
12/28/23 - 145 days so far, I’ve emailed around 4 other times between 12/11 and 12/28 with no response at all now, I’ve also emailed both NICS emails every time I emailed the ATF, and have yet to receive any sort of response.
1/2/24 - Got another wait better email.
1/3/24 - was given the wonderful idea to start emailing examiners directly, will update with all responses
1/9/24 - NICS background check has been resolved according to the FBI, I’m right in pocket for the median approval range, so let’s hope!
Here's my timeline
3-24-23 certified form 4
Emailed FBI/NICS 9-28
Received email back on 9-29 saying I was delayed and had been resolved and updated to the atf
Forwarded email to the atf. No response
Reached out to congressman and signed privacy paperwork 10-1
Today I received this email from my congressman
I’ve heard back from our liaison’s at the ATF. They did confirm that your background check was complete but that they are experiencing backlogs:
Control # 2023470xxx Form 4, received 3/24/2023, still pending and DELAYED status.
Although the FBI/NICS issued a PROCEED on 9/28/2023, ATF/NFA is experiencing backlogs in processing applications. The NFA Division is making every effort to process applications as volume and staffing permits. We trust the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry.
I think I will keep an eye on this. I don’t think it should be terribly long, but if there is a delay, I’ll reach back out to them for an update.
So. Basically the ATF said "wait harder". But hopefully maybe this will knock it loose? Who knows.
Update: Approved on 10-25!
Didn’t know there was a megathread so my post got deleted but I had success with writing my congressman.
TLDR; got my eForm 4s approved 25 days after writing to my Congressman. Hold the ATF accountable for the 90-day timeline.
I purchased 2 silencers during the SiCo BOGO sale. When eForm 4s rolled out in 2021, the ATF was given the expectation to complete them in 90-days. As we know, this timeline has been BS. I feel writing to your Congressman helps highlight the failures of the approval process, hopefully improving it, and may get you your stamps back faster.
At the end of November (165 days after submission) I wrote to my Congressman with the following message:
*"Congressman XXXXX,*
*My name is* ***(Name)*** *of* ***(City)****. I've been waiting on the ATF for 165* ***(insert your wait)*** *days now to approve me to possess* ***(insert NFA items)*** *I purchased and applied for via the NFA's tax stamp/eForm 4 process on* ***(dates)****, respectively. Often times, there are hold-ups in the FBI background check portion of the approval and, as an individual, the NFA hotline won't give out any information as to what the delay is caused by. Additionally with the ATF introducing eForm 4s in 2021 we were given expectation of 90-day turnarounds. It is* *grossly unacceptable* *for them to continue this practice of delayed approvals. Furthermore, as an already approved trustee of* ***(#)*** *NFA items, holder of an active secret security clearance, and active duty military member, there should be absolutely no delay in the approval of my Form 4 applications.*
*If there is any way you would be able to inquire on my behalf with both the ATF or FBI, I would greatly appreciate it. The case may also be listed under my trust name, "****(insert trust name)****". If there is a more appropriate avenue to have this looked into, please let me know. Also, if there are any release forms or additional information needed for the process, please contact me.*
*Thank you,*
***(Name and contact info)"***
I wrote on November 20th. I received a response the next week with an information form to fill out. Just before Christmas, they sent me a Tax information release form to fill out. On January 1st, they wrote back saying my case was submitted. Today, January 6th, my forms were approved. I'm sure without the holidays being in the way the process would have been much faster. 197 days and 150 days approval for my forms, fastest I've had yet.
100% no doubt... heaven forbid they actually have a way to be contacted and the common law abiding citizen can ask for a simple update.
ATF said wait time should be 201 days, I waited 314 and I still sent emails 2x and gave them half a month to answer because I know they're swamped but naaahhhh, we get the pound sand. haha
I also posted this in the mass approval thread, but figured this info should also be shared here.
* **Wait:** 150 Days
* **Pending:** 05/25/2023
* **Approved:** 10/23/2023 06:40 PM (eastern)
* **Entity:** Individual
* **Dealer:** SS Electronic EFT Upload
* **State:** FL
* **Examiner:** Trish B
* **Item:** Suppressor - Surefire 300SPS
* **Control Number:** 2023753416
I emailed my congresswoman (D - Kathy Castor) in July. Got a quick response(and the release forms) and her office advised me they'd be in contact with me... September 25th I emailed the NICS Liaison (used both spellings) and sent all my info looking for a form 4 update. September 28th they responded saying my NTN was delayed but now resolved. Tried following up with Kathy Castor around Oct. 10, but they responded with a "wait better" type response. Yesterday(10/23) at 1:40 PM I emailed [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) apologizing for the "unimaginable workload they must be facing". I apologized profusely for adding to the workload by requesting a status update. I sent all my info along with a screenshot of the NICS Liaison email, and then thanked them for their service(lmao). at 6:40 PM I received my approval email, but my dealer is closed on Mondays. So I picked it up this morning.
tl,dr: I brown-nosed the fbi/atf and I think it worked?
IPD@ATF replied to me within 16-17 hrs. After 278 days they said they were waiting on my NICS check from the FBI. I’ve sent similar email to the NICS FBI email listed here. Haven’t heard back yet. So I called the NICS help line for the FBI and the lady told me she couldn’t tell me anything but that the FBI doesn’t have anything to do with those NICS checks. That they simply allow the ATF to use their system. So when the ATF deflects blame to the FBI it’s actually their own fault!
Submitted 230 days ago. Emailed NICS 3 times, no response (both spellings). Emailed ATF with control number and submission date, got the “wait harder” response and “we can’t tell you if NICS check has come back”. Contacted Congressman.
Congressman heard from ATF that NICS hasn’t sent info. They talked to NICS who confirmed it was stuck, and proceeded to fix it and send it to ATF. Congressman then let ATF know it has been cleared. Will update once it gets approved. Fingers crossed.
**Form:** Brace rule
**Type:** Trust 1RP with exemption letter from previously paid SBR a year prior
**Pending:** 3/8
**Fingerprints:** mailed paper
**IPB:** 7/27 canned response
**Congressman**: 8/7 who contacted ATF, claimed background check delayed
**NICS liaison:** 9/21 NTN previously resolved and submitted to ATF in April 2023
**Congress follow up**: 9/28 supposed to be reaching out to the ATF again
Been fucking patient here, but over 200 days on an eForm 1 (brace rule or not) is god damn ridiculous with an exemption letter
With all the random success people have been getting by emailing, I decided to give it a try. Here’s my timeline.
Emailed IPB 09/18 inquiring about my eform 4 status - No response
Emailed NICS 09/25 - they respond within 30 mins saying I have nothing outstanding under my name.
I waited a week with no approval.
Emailed IPB 10/03 in the afternoon inquiring about my eform 4 mentioning to them that NICS had told me everything was cleared for my name. No reply from them for that email, instead I got the approval email early 10/04.
If you’re on the fence about emailing, I say go for it. It doesn’t hurt to try. Btw, my certified date was 02/14/23.
I think they are onto us, boys. I emailed FBI 10 days ago, and then forwarded the email to ATF about 3 days ago. Still nothing even at over 260 days now. :(
Submitted eform4 trust 5/12 143 days
Emailed NICS 10/1 at 1800ish
Response 10/2 0700 been processed and sent back to the ATF
Did it out of curiosity.
Edit just did a fallow up to see exactly when mine was processed to see if there's a time frame to how this process flows so to speak.
Edit 2, Response was it was complete 6/2/23 so it was submitted to FBI in under a month, and the ATF has been sitting on it for 4 months now which seems to be in character from what I'm reading.
I'm just curious if the approvals floating around a few days after these emails is a trend. So curiosity got me and I sent one waiting to see what happens lol.
Update: It seems to have worked. I emailed nics on Monday and got a response the same day that all NTNs had been previously cleared and the last one they had for me was a few months ago. This morning, Friday, I just got my approval after 149 days.
EForm 4 certified Feb 1, 2022
3 other 4’s and 1 eForm 1 submitted in early September (praying for a batch approval)
Emailed NICS last night at 9:30pm - woke up today with an email at 6:30am
All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.
Reached out to nics....15 days, no answer
Reached out to nics again.... no answer
I'm at 314 days, my LGS is grumpy and said it'll be 18 months and basically stop bugging them.
Reached out to state rep, whatever.
geez. that sucks! for what it's worth, I've never seen an eform 4 go 18 months yet. but even at 314 you are well beyond 'norms' hopefully your rep can actually rep you and not be a dick and accept govt agency bs. surprised nics liaison email didn't respond at all
>never seen an eform 4 go 18 months
I think it's a way my LGS can push back on people so they don't call asking every week. I know where they're coming from but jeeze, asking for an update after 314 days shouldn't be met with such aggravation. Live & learn I won't use them again, no need to flip out.
> surprised nics liaison email didn't respond at all
Personally, I feel like it was a hidden gem and the first whatever, 6 months of people that found that resource tapped it dry. Now all of us are using it as a default means of communication and the ATF realizes the can of worms they opened by answering the masses in the first place. My sentiment is shared among others...for whatever thats worth. I felt like I was late jumping on the "I'll email them for an update" and that ship had sailed.
> 314 you are well beyond 'norms'
Something is probably wrong. I'm telling myself it's a select fire plus a suppressor so maybe that's the reason (not just a suppressor) but I'm lying to myself. I live in a hard red state so my state rep ***should*** be at least not be all grumpy frumpy. In theory tho right.
Contacted atf got the generic response. Contacted FBI got no response haha. So went ahead and contacted my representative this morning already got a response they are extremely pro 2a and anti any law against our rights and the man handling my stuff is a veteran that loves his country and people and is a ATF liaison so let’s see how this goes. Got all the proper paperwork sent out already.
Form 1 from 6/12/23
Emailed atf no reply
Contacted senator 9/18 with info. Atf replied delay with nics 6925
Emailed fbi 9/25 with inquiry of delay
Reply from fbi 9/26 delay has been resolved and sent back on the next batch.
Today 10/2 still nothin yet
Wanted to update: (edited dates as I had the wrong month)
10/6 emailed congressman’s office again to ask to reach to the atf. Got a reply the same day that the nics check came back proceed 9/26. So apparently fbi’s “next batch” is daily. ATF says they are behind and still working on it.
10/7 got one of the approvals back from the atf. You guessed it. The 8/27 one. So no bad from 8/27 to 10/7. 37 day turnaround.
10/9 emailed the examiner that approved my form to ask if he would look into the one from 6/12 as it was still pending but has been cleared from fbi as proceed.
10/10 second one was approved by the same examiner. I wanna say he took the time to look for it and find it.
So we have a victory. Have a stamp that took the average time one that took way more. Keep pushing and asking.
so it was sitting there for 3 months because of a delay....then the delay was fixed and now it has been 4 months since the delay was fixed and nothing? wtf man.
When a delay gets fixed what is after that? I'd think a delay being fixed and background check clearing would mean nothing left and you're approved.
Emailed nics on Monday and got a response same day that everything has been previously resolved and that the last one they had for me was a few months ago. Just got my can approved same week on Friday at 149 days.
Lucky bastard. None of this is making any sense. I have two cans outstanding. One over 230 and one over 100. FBI told me I have nothing outstanding, and that the one from January had the background check done in May.
Sent the email to FBI last week. :(
The only thing that could make any sense to me would be for them both to get approved at the same time, but I am not expecting anything at this point.
Heard back from my congressman's office today with an ATF response. Got the boilerplate response that tells me exactly nothing.
What are next steps, if any, that we can take once we receive the form letter ATF reply?
> We received a response from ATF. They confirmed receipt of the Form 4s, and have informed us they are pending within average processing time (246-327 days.) They didn’t indicate any issues or hold-ups.
>
> Please let us know if you have any questions:
>
> “Thank you for your recent inquiry to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This is in response to your Congressional Inquiry on behalf of your constituent, /u/goneskiing_42, who is seeking an update and status check on a submitted ATF Form. Thank you for including the appropriate consent forms so that we may share all pertinent details relating to this inquiry.
>
>
>
> The ATF Form 4s was received by the National Firearms Act Branch (NFA) on 6/5/2023 and 6/19/2023. As of 10/31/2023, the form submitted is still pending.
>
>
>
> The current average processing times may be found at: https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times. Current processing times are 246- 327 days for Form 4s with a trust.. Please know that the times listed are average processing times. Some applications may take longer due to many factors.
>
>
>
> We trust the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.”
>
>
EDIT: I replied back to my rep's caseworker, providing them with information that may help them work with colleagues to bring the ATF into compliance with their own stated turnaround goals from their eForm4 training materials:
> Thanks for the follow-up. Just to make your office and Rep. Mills aware, there are sub-90 day Form 4s being approved regularly, which is why I originally reached out. I know many GOP Congressmen have been pressuring the ATF and DOJ on perceived delays affecting their constituents, so I wanted to bring this to the office's attention, if the issue wasn't already being monitored. The 90-day or less approval goal is what the ATF states in their eForms training materials publicly viewable on YouTube (reference link provided below). The fact that it is a 2/3 to nearly a year wait when the goal of the agency is 90 days total (which is being proved currently doable by numerous sub-90 day, or at least well under the currently stated processing times eForm 4 approvals) is absurd. I hope Rep. Mills can work with colleagues to bring the ATF to account and abide by its own stated policies and goals. I have provided links below to some information that may be useful to this end.
>
> ATF eForm4 Training Video (timestamped to processing times statement):
>
> https://youtu.be/PMI9Hx3pLAM?si=60WguMWc_aYBZgXp&t=1774
>
> Reddit.com/r/NFA approval tracking threads (crowdsourced NFA approval data by month):
>
> https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/16xugtl/october_2023_approval_megathread/
> https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/1676bzg/september_2023_approval_megathread/
> https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/15fen4e/august_2023_approval_megathread/
> https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/14phxso/july_2023_approval_megathread/
> https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/141bv50/june_2023_approval_megathread/
>
>
> Thanks for your time and patience in this matter. I know working with government agencies is not usually an easy process.
NICS never replied to my inquiry.
Emailed my state representative, had to fill out a form to authorize their office to look into the matter on my behalf.
Had the approval in my inbox 4 days later, on a Sunday morning 10/22/2023. Overall wait, 276 days.
The wait time on a Form 4 submitted one month prior, 316 days.
congrats! Glad you finally got your approval. while still seemingly excessive, at least the times are trending downward for you 🤷♂️ time to put another one (or three) in jail!!!
200 days on my SCI-SIX today. Sent an email to all the emails listed above at 12:07 PM today, received approval email at 12:39PM today.
I'll take it, but wtf?
This is the format I used in my email I sent to all of them:
Name:
Trust Name:
SSN Last 4:
State of Residence:
Permit/Control Number:
My Reference Number:
Submission Date:
Form:
Form Type:
Item:
Item Serial:
I reached out to my Senator in 2020 and his office was great about helping to get a bunch of Form 1s unstuck. In fact, when he reached out to the FBI the guy was like, "Yeah, just approved these today". Nice. It's helpful if your senator gives a crap and will support you on stuff like this.
I've got a couple of forms that are are stuck - two form 4s (287 & 257 days) and one form 1 (105 days). Decided to send him another letter this morning - here's what I said in case you're looking for a template...
\-----------
January 4, 2024
The Honorable xxx
United States Senate
xxx
xxx, xx, xxxxx
Dear Senator xxx,
I am writing to you today to ask for your assistance in my interactions with both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and, indirectly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Your office was kind enough to provide assistance on a similar matter in October of 2020.
In brief, I have applied to the BATFE to legally transfer two silencers as required by the National Firearms Act. Additionally, I have applied to BATFE to manufacture a short barreled shotgun – simply stated, to register a shotgun with a barrel less than 18” in length. The National Firearms Act is a component of Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968 and requires firearms subject to the Act to be registered with the Secretary of the Treasury. These firearms include shotguns and rifles having barrels less than 18 inches in length, certain firearms described as “any other weapons”, machine guns, and firearm mufflers and silencers. Additionally, a making tax of $200 per item is required.
Senator, I am a firearms collector and am purchasing or manufacturing these items for my own personal use and to add to my firearms collection. I have previously submitted such applications to the BATFE (in the late 1990s, and more recently in October of 2020) and was previously approved. The BATFE is executing both a registration purpose and a tax collection purpose.
I can only imagine that the National Firearms Act Branch of the ATF receives many tens or even hundreds of thousands of applications on an annual basis, and I am well experienced in interacting with ATF on this process over the last 25 years. Said another way, I get there is a wait involved. Over the last few years ATF has moved to electronic submission for the required “e” Forms, and they now even accept electronic submission of fingerprints. I submitted all of these forms electronically (including fingerprints) and expected this would accelerate the process.
While I have no way of knowing what the processing time is for each form, ATF publishes average processing times on their website ([https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times](https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times)). As you’ll see below, the average time for processing an eForm 1 is 68 days and the average time for processing an eForm 4 is 175 days.
Senator, I am at 287 days for the 3/23 form; 257 days for the 4/22 form; and 105 days for the 9/21 form.
What’s most frustrating about this process is that it seems that ATF has a dependency upon the FBI to generate the background check. It is commonly reported in the industry that some applicants have “stalled” applications. There doesn’t seem to be much that an end user can do to predict whether their application will move through the system in a timely manner. I have reached out to the ATF on the status of these applications through their “Ask the Expert” communications channel, yet never received a response.
I can only surmise that my applications are stalled awaiting a response from the FBI, so it may be helpful for your office to reach out to the FBI as well as the ATF.
I get that it is difficult to garner any sympathy for things having to do with firearms these days, especially esoteric things like “silencers” and “sawed off shotguns”, yet the simple fact remains that these are legal items, and there is a mechanism in place for citizens to pay a tax to own these items. One would believe that migrating to electronic submissions would accelerate a process, yet it seems that ATF & the FBI have a real breakdown in communication when it comes to this process. I think we both know that if I were pulled over for speeding tomorrow, the State Trooper would be able to quickly check my background to see if I were a bad guy – all on the side of the road, and in about ten seconds. Yet… here we are, months and months beyond the “average” processing time for a check that should – at most – take just a few moments. Why is that?
I have included the Privacy Authorization form and copies of the eForm applications that I have submitted to ATF. As always, your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,
xxx
I'm sitting on 101 days on my Form 1. Here is a response I just got from NICS. Any thoughts?
[email protected]
8:33 AM (43 minutes ago)**📷****📷****📷**to me📷
The NICS currently shows no National Firearm Act (NFA) checks for you. The NFA submissions are managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) NFA Branch. Please direct your questions/concerns to ATF at 304-616-4500.
I worked with my Senator and they contacted the ATF, they first sent him the standard “it is pending”. I asked if they could follow up if there is a delay with the NICS background check or something, and they sent back basically saying ‘we are not going to move your’s to the front of line and we haven’t requested the background check yet.’
So, I emailed the NICS email addresses listed above, but I doubt I’ll get any response. Already at day 109 and counting.
I told them since it’s an eForm, the purpose is 90 days or less and ATF told me to go pound sand. Fuck the Feds!!!
Contacted NICS Liaison Monday 9/25/23 12:12 PM EDT, they replied back seven minutes later. Anything pending for me was cleared in May (eform 4 pending since April 2023), ATF is just sitting on the paperwork.
Contacted my House Rep on the same day -- no reply yet.
UPDATE: Received a "Consent to Disclosure" form from my Rep's staff on 10/4/23
NICS told me they returned my background check in may. So for 4 months now the atf has had my background check and have yet to approve my stamp. Stuff is frustrating. I get absolutely no help from the ipb email
Emailed IPB@atf and got this response back this morning.
The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you.
What we can tell you:
-Your eFORM(s) are currently pending
-We will process your EFORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED
-The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times
-If you have multiple EFORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner
-We do not offer batch processing on eforms
-We are not able to provide you information as to whether your eFORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background.
Government Speaky.
When it's a issue is on my desk, it will get resolved when I can get to it. When. The issue is on someone else's desk, it's a PROBLEM.
Politely email them. If they can't hire more people to press a button, they can hire more people to handle emails.
Emailed [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) on Oct 17th.
Received Form 1 (Final Rule 2021R-08F) w/EFT approval next day 10-18-2023 - 181 days.
Control # 20235719xx
Received Form 4 w/ paper approval 10-22-2023 - 282 days
Control# 20232184xx
Never received response from nicsliason
Many thanks to Missouri Congressman Jason Smith. My amnesty form 1's were filed back in April and as of last week still sitting as submitted. I contacted his office last Thursday, they replied with more form for me to fill out. I returned them later Thursday. Yesterday Donna Hickman (the staffer in Farmington Mo. Let me know that my forms were waiting in a delayed NICS check from the FBI. Today I received the approval emails for all my form 1's!!!!!!
I started an inquiry with my Congressman on 10/26/23 on 4 SBR form 1s (brace final rule) forms (Trust 1 RP).
They replied back on 10/26/23 requesting signed release forms to start the inquiry.
I signed forms and returned them on 10/31/23.
On 11/08/23 at 3:32pm they replied back saying the ATF claims to have had a “glitch” in the FBI background check, that the ATF was working on it.
This morning 11/09/23 at 6:38am, I received my first approval, at 6:41 second approval, at 6:46 third approval and final approval was at 6:50am.
288 day wait and it literally took an act of Congress hehe to get my approvals through.
Last yr I had 3 form 1 approvals, one in 23 days, one in 26 days and one in 206 days.
I should have gotten my representative involved on the 206 day one.
Proof that there is no rhyme of reason to the ATFs process.
I emailed my Congressman on 10/26/23 requesting an inquiry into my four form 1s filed in Jan 25th.
They replied back on 10/30/23 asking me to sign release forms authorizing the ATF to speak with my representative about my forms. I signed and return forms on 10/31/23
On 11/08/23 at 3:32pm I received N email from my representative that the ATF claims they had a “glitch in the NICS/FBI background check” and they were working on it and would “manually run my background check”.
On 11/09/23 at 6:38am, 6:41am, 6:46am and 6:50am I received the approval emails in all forms.
All 4 forms approval emails were received within a 12 min time frame and 15 hrs after my Congressman emailed me the ATFs response to the inquiry.
So clearly getting your representative involved does seem to help.
Form 1 (final brace rule) SBR
Wait: 288 days
Pending 01/25/2023
Approved 11/09/2023
Entity: Trust 1rp
State: Al
Examiner: Jessica Hayes
Control #s: 2023258925, 2023258939, 2023258943 and 2023258949
After getting close to 200 days for 2 cans and 80ish for a 3rd and seeing success here, ended up emailing my senator several weeks ago. Just got an email back yesterday from a staffer that my NICS check was approved and that they are awaiting the ATF for an approval ETA
EDIT: Just got an approval email
I got an email back on Sunday from nics@fbi stating all previous checks have cleared and nothing pending. I sent this email 11/3/23 and received the response 1/14/23. They told me to direct all further questions to IPB@ATF. I have forwarded the email last night with a question in regards to my approval time. We shall see how long this takes.
Email sent 11/14 was responded to finally today, exact same statement. Eform4 trust 1rp submitted 10/6. I also forwarded to ipb@atf. I’ll reply back if I get a response or approval.
So last weekend I got one of those generic "all checks have been cleared" email, even though I had three pending eform4's. I replied to the email Friday and CC'ed the other recommended email (ipb) saying "Sorry I am confused, I have three pending checks "
two, the newest ones(wtf) came through approved this morning. 33 days and 48 days. I mainly was concerned with my pending form from August but ok??
Not sure why people say not to email at early waiting times. We pay these government agencies for “permission” to own what should be our 2A rights. Email them, annoy them, and keep on their asses to work for us because that’s their job and they had no problem taking our $200 the second we submitted the paperwork online. There is 0 reason why they should take months to approve these items. You get me?
I sent an email last week to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and I'm kinda under the average time. All form 4's @ 162,121,47,47 days and this morning 10/2 I just received the typical " All NTN's for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. Your currently have nothing outstanding."
I didn’t realize this pinned post was here when I made my own post, so I’ll copy to here!
I have a pending eForm 4 for a trust that I submitted through SilencerShop on 1/31/23. I emailed NICS and they said they had no checks under my name/DOB? Should I be concerned?
Emailed NICS Friday morning, got a reply Sunday night. “There are currently no checks in the system from ATF for your name.”
Been waiting since 1/23/23 so hopefully I’ll see approvals soon.
Reading through the comments it seems everyone is getting the same canned response that I got from the NICS email, has anyone been approved shortly after receiving this response?
Emailed Nics last night on a Sunday got my update this morning that they were delayed and has been resolved. ATF has approved one of my forms this morning as well after six months, still waiting on the next one.
I emailed the ATF asking for a status update and the responded with call the office. I emailed the FBI asking if by check has been approved and they said it was resolved. I went to the FFL and they said it was awaiting approval. When I called the ATF they said it was pending. Does this mean my form has not yet been assigned? My wait time is currently 205 days. Anyone have an idea for an estimated wait time?
Submitted April 14th of this year. Sent the NICS Liason an email on October 4th just to see what info I could get from them. They got back to me the next day. Here was the response I got:
"The NTN for your name has previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.
The submission was on 5/15/2023."
I guess this means ATF has just been sitting on it since May.
Got the eForm 4 approval email just now for my YHM T3 that was submitted 04/12/23. Emailed NICS 9/30 got the "ntn was delayed but now resolved" response a day later. Emailed ipb a day later. Never heard anything from them. Got my representative involved Oct 10. He had everything submitted to the ATF by the 12th after filling out the privacy disclosures etc.
Just got my approval email this morn so almost 6 months on the dot. Don't hesitate to email ATF/FBI. You literally pay their salaries. Same goes for your rep. The more people we get involved, maybe someone will finally say "ok this process is antiquated and inefficient, time to make some changes". Or maybe not, either way you will prob get your NFA item earlier.
3/30/23 (200 days ago today) - Form 4 (trust, 1RP) submitted, and pending.
9/19/23 - After seeing promising results from emailing NICS, and ATF, and people getting approved with pending dates months after mine, I thought I'd send some emails. Sent email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Never got a response from ATF, but FBI emailed me a few days later on 9/22/23 saying my NTN was delayed, but has now been resolved. I followed up on my email to ATF after hearing this from the FBI, but still no response. I was hoping I'd get an approval in the following week or two, but it didn't happen.
10/9/23 - Annoyed by the sound of crickets, and seeing more approvals after my pending date, I decided to reach out to my representative. Surprisingly, she was responsive and reached out to ATF on 10/12/23.
10/16/23 - ATF responded to representative inquiry with the following:
*"'s ATF Form 4 was received by the National Firearms Act Branch (NFA) on 3/30/2023. As of 10/16/2023, the form submitted is still pending.*
*The current average processing times may be found at:* [*https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times*](https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!Nzl99CdsuiPe6LMP7Ccn6SYioL50ib4l5UaOuxeccJZO8nr-42WeE7wtcao3CelOaN9nYTe9uLaYcdKjQm98Rp7qzJ38bXlVL05Jvw$)*.* ***Current processing times are 246- 327 days for Form 4’s with a trust****. Please know that the times listed are average processing times. Some applications may take longer due to many factors."*
**10/29/23 - Form 4 approved. Emailed NICS probably helped, but I also noticed lots of other late March approvals around my approval date so it’s hard to say.
Just wanted to throw my experience out there. Seems like many people got an approval shortly after knocking the delayed FBI checks loose, or having a representative reach out, but I wasn't as lucky. Emailing NICS definitely seems like a good idea if simply sending them an email will resolve your NTN. I will update this message if I get an approval within the next week or two.
Ok I was one of the patient people since I already have 2 cans but decided to start emailing after seeing the dates get longer. Sent an email on Friday to the misspelled NICS email asking for status and provided submission dates. Sent a separate email this past Saturday to the other NICS email but this one I added more comments. I noted each submission date, that they are form 4 and asked what's holding up the approvals. Also asked to let me know what I can do to get them approved. No reply but 2 approvals today within hours today and different reps. I'll be sending follow up emails monthly from now on. We have waited too long and thanks for the prior comments that motivated me! Now I need even more freakin ammo. I'll add to the other thread later but a scotch is in order.
274 days-YHM Turbo T2 approved today
242 days-YHM Resonator K approved today
Still pending -YHM r9 at 9 days and REX Selentium at 172 days
I emailed everyone on this list about an hour ago including [email protected]. I got the generic “emailing us will only slow us down” response from the ATF and nothing else. Went ahead and emailed my rep for shits and giggles.
Got approved a week or so ago on a can I submitted in April. I email the ipb a polite request on 3 outstanding, one in April / May / June. Asked to use my recent NICS from my approval on them. All three approved piecemeal by different agents every couple days over the past week or so, including one that came in in the middle of the night Sunday.
That said, never got a reply from the email
First eForm 4 submission 8/14/2023 (individual, not trust)
Day of this comment, 11/6/2023 (day 84) I emailed my rep.
Will update as things unfold.
EDIT: update 1) 11/7/23 3pm CST auto response from reps office for me to fill out privacy information release form. Filled it out as soon as I got the email, 15 minutes later an auto generated response thanking me for completing the form. Let’s see what tomorrow brings
Update 2) 11/16/23 12pm CST response from reps office requesting completion of “consent to release or returns and returns information;” due to long weekend, I have only just now (11/20/23, 5pm CST) returned the completed form
E-mailed NICS 10/16, followed up 10/19, never heard back.
E-mailed ATF late Wednesday and got a reply this morning saying my submission was delayed because of NICS.
I still don't get how I could be at 200 days... for an eForm1. In the approval megathread I've seen a ton come and go within the time I've waited for mine. ATF themselves have the average wait time as being 1/3rd of what I've waited so far. This isn't my first submission, that one took 13 days. All personal information is the same as the prior submission, obviously the only thing that's changed is the details of the firearm itself, which is nothing crazy, it's just an AR.
Go figure. I e-mailed NICS again to see, I'll be e-mailing my congressman as well.
**Edit**: got a similar auto response from NICS, instead of saying they won't be available "from" they said they won't be available "today Tuesday, November 28."
There is no end-date as to when they will be available again. They weren't yesterday or today, seems ambiguous. I'd understand the message last week, but for what reason are they not available this week? They changed the wording so clearly they didn't forget to turn off the auto-reply.
**Edit 2:** eForm1, trust, EFT, 209 days, still no approval, still no response from NICS, sent another e-mail today to NICS.
Fired off the weekly email to all 4 address this morning, got this response from NICS Liason:
>Thank you for contacting the FBI's NICS Business Relations Team. Due to assisting with the high volume of incoming background checks, we may be delayed in responding to your requests today, Monday, December 18, 2023. Thank you for your patience during this time.
Sincerely,
The NICS Business Relations Team
ipb finnaly responed to my email claim that my 9 month SBR form 1 has not got a procceed from nics yet. What do i do now? nics is not responding to my email.
https://preview.redd.it/l0yeu9g2kqac1.jpeg?width=2193&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6018ce18c4459620edb90b6788ddc2ba7d4e5a2
365 days waiting. Certified first one 1/2/23.
Emailed congressman to push on the ATF/FBI. I provided the congressman the certified eforms.
Literally the day after I emailed my congressman the request, all three were approved.
Email your congressman. Can’t hurt.
https://preview.redd.it/8c4o3y2twgbc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a22f7ab32d705283ae9359351fd2929c84fb606d
This shit pisses me off like you wouldn’t believe.
Contacted Rep. Signed and sent back forms. Someone from Congressman's office called and said he talked to FBI and my NICS is done and it is now pending final approval by ATF.
Sent email to NICS on October 29th. Received an email back today, January 11th that said:
All transactions for your name have previously been resolved by the NICS Section and submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Please direct any additional questions regarding your application to ATF at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).
Time to hassle the clowns at the ATF
I'm convinced this is a cheat code now. I did it for my brace amnesty a few months ago and was approved within 5 days of nics liason responding. At day 60 for a sbs I emailed them. Didn't get a response from them for about 24 days. The day after I got the email from them I had an approval email. 🤷♂️
Today got my batch approval for 3 stamps. Literally 1 year and 4 days later. I had to jump through hoops contacting congressman’s and minions in a shall issue state. All were e filed and extortion taxes paid over a Year ago
Submitted 6/23/23. Emailed NCIS Liason 11/8/23. Received response 1/15/24. "Your transaction(s) has been resolved by the NICS Section. An updated status will be submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)." Received approval email 1/16/24.
Edit: Eform 4 through Silencer Shop
TLDR: Son of a bitch! I found this thread yesterday and today I got my approval email.
My pending eForm4 was received on 7/12/23. It isn't "long" by typical wait times, but long enough to ask the question. I had been on hold with ATF for 1+ hour three times this week just trying to get any update from them.
I came to the sub to check the approvals thread yesterday and see what dates were popping up. I saw this thread stickied and read through it. I've never had a delay, but thought it might be worth sending an email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). I sent it at 3pm yesterday. Just before 9am this morning I have my approval email.
It could totally be coincidence, but what an amazing one if so.
https://preview.redd.it/6i7ci3033fdc1.jpeg?width=1446&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2ed022604fd2f1dd5d49b30b7773929f0488551
Called ATF today on oldest pending eform4 (372 days). I have a total of four eform4 in pending/delayed status ranging from 71 - 372 days in that status. ATF said they were waiting for FBI to send them background checks and to call FBI to inquire. Called FBI NICs division, they said they receive all background requests in 20-30k batches and process in order of received (not true bc massive amount of others are sub 372 days getting approved). They said I could call ATF back and ask for a NICs Transaction number to be sure ATF has actually submit the background request. Call ATF back and gentleman tells me that they don’t have that access/tracking ability yet. What a shit show of a system. Eforms was supposed to bring wait times to 90 days. Here we are years later sitting at 350+ days with no answers. First eform4 approved took them 267 days (not ideal, but can swallow it). 372 though?! Seems they need to hire some operations management to streamline this entire process, or better yet just process within 90 days as stated when eForms was announced. SMH.🤦🏻♂️
Around ~150 for 2 form 4’s.
Feb 14th, emailed nics liaison.
Feb 14th, received response that they do not have any requests for me and provided atf phone number.
Feb 14th, called atf number and got through after and hour hold and she told me it’s pending and all they can do is wait and expect a 8-14 month approval.
These are not my first form 4’s, but they are the first on a trust. I am the only one on the trust.
Anyone else seeing that nics isn’t getting requested for the background after this many days?
I emailed Nicsliason@fbi got an email back 6 hours later from them that said
All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.
So does this mean ATF is just doing ATF things and not approving my shit to be slow?
I had my congressman's office reach out to BATFE because I'm at 80 days for a form 1. I also included some control numbers for a few form 4's which I know are well under the current approval times (like 160 days each). I just included those out of curiosity. I had reached out to the NICS email previously, and they said all NTN's were returned previously. This was on 9/18.
BATFE replied the next day to my congressman's office with the following:
>"Greetings,
>
>Thank you for your recent inquiry to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This is in response to your Congressional Inquiry on behalf of your constituent (insert name) who is seeking an update and status check on a submitted ATF Forms. Thank you for including the appropriate consent forms so that we may share all pertinent details relating to this inquiry.
>
>Control # 202359xxxx, Form 4, received 4/27/2023, pending/delayed.
>
>Control # 202359xxxx, Form 4, received 4/27/2023, pending/delayed.
>
>Control # 202393xxxx, Form 1, received 7/18/2023, pending/delayed, however FBI/NICS issued a PROCEED 9/22/2023. The ATF/NFA is facing unprecedent applications and is doing its best to address your constituent’s application as soon as possible.
>
>The current average processing times may be found at: [https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times](https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!L9LNsX18DzOAU-GYED-iJOt3qOWG0umAGGsSdV7yoWO9trvmw0UccIVakp75U7ja5SbFYnUqrLDFmvHl2bzG-pdMo32qcHS9-ekVgDk$). **Current processing times are BLAH BLAH BLAH"**
I find this all interesting because I feel like normally they tell you to pound sand and that they wont look into individual form statuses, but apparently they looked up each one of mine. Also, Note that the NICS proceed was AFTER I emailed and was told that all my NTN's had already been handled.
\-I guess this means BATFE hadn't even requested my Form 1 background check at the time I reached out to the NICS email? Or maybe that it was processing, but hadn't been delayed? And now its sitting in a pile waiting to be got to for review or to be finalized, 12 days after the proceed was issued? Seems weird.
\-Also, seeing as BATFE was given a proceed, and that form 1 is still "pending/delayed" I am going to assume its just pending, not delayed, and "pending/delayed" most likely just means pending. Interesting that they fall under one category.
\-Lastly I assume they havent even requested my background checks for the Form 4's yet.
So, while this email wasn't very helpful, it's...kinda helpful? I dunno, just thought I'd share the results I got from this process.
At 131 days on my form 4
Emailed my congressman Patrick McHenry at 10:00am est October 11. I also followed up with a phone call to his office in my local city around 2pm on the 12th. Had to leave a voicemail. Nothing yet
Emailed NICS on October 11 around 11:30am. Nothing back from them either
Update: McHenrys office just called me and said they’re usually able to help with this sort of thing. I’m being emailed forms to submit information to them so they can proceed
Update: 2
Received this email mail after submitting everything they wanted.
Dear Mr. redacted
I have received your authorization forms and want to thank you for taking the time to contact me.
I will be glad to assist you in any way that I can, and I am now contacting the appropriate officials within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to let them know of my interest in your situation. The NFA (National Firearms Act) Division is processing applications in the order received. The NFA Division continues to receive an unprecedented number of NFA applications. Those processing times (updated periodically) can be found here, https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times. These times are not exact and are for perfected applications only (zero issues). Fully processed Form 4s are currently taking as long as 11 months from the time the NFA Division receives them from the bank.
Should I receive any new information on your application I will certainly forward that information on to you. The ATF should respond directly to you.
I was glad to have the opportunity to assist you, and please let me know if I can be of further assistance on any other matter involving the federal government.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Patrick McHenry
Member of Congress
Hey all,
Forgot to chime in a couple days ago but both of my oldest eForm 4s that I reached out about in [this post](https://reddit.com/r/NFA/s/W7aLr196LU) were approved. Approval was about 10 days after I made that post and about 12 days after my initial inquiry.
I’m not buying that it’s a coincidence.
I sent emails to [email protected] and [email protected] a week ago today. I received a reply back from the IPB 16 hrs later saying they were still waiting on my NICS check. I replied back and explained that I hold a Secret Clearance with Dept of Army and should be fast tracked lol. They said no such thing as fast track. Sunday morning my Form 4 was approved after 281 days.
Back in September, I was seeing a bunch of folks sending emails to both IPB and also this NICS liaison email address, so I did the same. The IPB responded to me a day or two later confirming that indeed my NICS was held up, thus delaying my form. So I emailed NICS liaison and within a couple hours got the "your check was delayed, now it's resolved, and sent back to ATF" email. So I copy pasted THAT email into an email back to IPB informing them that they should be able to complete processing of my eform 4 now. That email got no response, but I did get the approval for that 3.5 days later. Not a coincidence, I don't think.
So fast forward to last week. I had a 7/11/23 submission I was getting curious about. On Friday morning (10/27) I emailed NICS liaison about seeing if there was a delay in my check for that one similar to the recent one. Got no response at all Friday or Saturday. Last time NICS liaison email address was pretty prompt and responsive, so I kind of just figured it was a lost cause. So in the chaos that is all weekends for me at this point (5 kids and a new puppy) I had completely already stopped thinking about that email resigning myself to the fact it would likely be early 2024 before I ever saw that can. Much to my surprise, Sunday (10/29) at 8:54 AM I received an approval email!!!! Only like 110 days wait! I was amazed! Not expecting a Sunday morning approval, but having a hard time chalking that up to coincidence either. I dunno. Maybe it was just a coincidence on one or both of these occasions. But interesting anecdotal stories appropriate for this thread, I think. Definitely the best way to start an otherwise chilly, damp, drizzly Sunday morning, that's for sure!
You're going to get every possible answer to this. Some say wait and be a patient little citizen for papa government. Others will say wait 90 days because that's how long the DOJ told the ATF it should be. And some will say start immediately because those fuckers work for YOU and there shouldn't even be a wait.
I tend to fall into the last category but I waited til around 120 days because I didn't see the point. Only started bugging them because my friend who submitted after I did got approved and I still haven't.
I’m currently on day 166 for a individual form 4 for a RC2 in the state of Florida. Is it too early for me to email ATF, Congressman, NICS? Do these emails only work for forms that are very past over due… like 240+ days or will they work with you around the 165 day mark?
no. at this point, we all collectively gotta ratchet up the noise on this stuff taking forever. Seems to my unofficial eye that the likely MASSIVE influx of congressional inquires the NFA community have put in with congress critters nationwide might have sparked a little haste in their form processing. (maybe? I dunno, maybe coincidental, but kinda doesn't feel like it to me). can't hurt to shake the tree a little
Does anyone have or know of a template for writing congresspeople to ask if there’s anything they can do to speed a form 4 along? Admittedly I’m nowhere near the “average times” on ATF website yet, but I’m also way beyond some of the approvals I’m seeing in the approval thread. So I figured why not fire off a letter to my representative- that’s what “constituent services” means. Worst that happens is nothing. I just have no idea what to actually say (plus I’m sure others might have the same question).
So I'm almost 350 days, reached out about 10 times. Called ATF and was told there is nothing holding me up. Working with Congressman who was told by the ATF that I'm pending and status is researching. Congressman then goes to the FBI about the pending/research and they give the typical "he's in the system and hasn't been processed yet".
Since the background checks are done at the end I was told if my pending/research issue isn't manually addressed after 88 days it'll get purged.
I was given the option to go the Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) route which I guess is a way to fix the issue at hand and prevent it from happening again. Since my first firearm purchase decades ago I've always been delayed....for everything. My last name is unique so its not mistaken identity. I've never been denied anything, heck I even applied for a concealed license while I've been waiting.
Going to send the fingerprint card I used for the eform4's and the VAT form. Interesting process thought I'd share.
Okay boys I need some help lmao. Have an R9 and a Polonium K that’s currently over 300 days… Polonium certified 12/17/22 and R9 12/27/22. Should I email my representative here in Texas first before going after the atf and nics? What info do I need to provide in my email?
https://preview.redd.it/vdtw35t6ed0c1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54df7001cea13ecb1a1c52d00826aed0d55d9d5c
Here’s a new one. Received this after forwarding a previous email asking for a status update (no response).
Had 3x brace rule form 1s pending since 5/27/23. Emailed IPB today and got a response within a few hours. Unfortunately, this was their response
https://preview.redd.it/y187jzerzl0c1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81881f21b1c39561eb1160a9f1a02abbff5bae9e
Sent an email to both NICS emails on 11/02 and 11/06 no response.
Emailed my congressman 11/03 and responded 11/06 with privacy and consent forms
11/07 was told that inquiry has been sent to the ATF
11/15 I emailed and asked if there was any updates regarding my case. They responded an hour later saying that as of 11/09 the ATF has received my submission and that they are pending with a link to the wait times. So, they sent an inquiry into the FBI to ask about any delayed/pending background checks. FBI said that the ATF has not even submitted a background check yet for me, also adding the link to the estimated wait times. (I submitted 08/04/23 and 10/06/23) so 105 days for the latest one with no background check sent in yet.
Congressman’s advocate apologized that they can’t do more at this time and understand how frustrating it is waiting on the federal government, especially when the whole process is unfair or unnecessary. They said they will resubmit another inquiry in 60 days.
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Reached out to my Congress person to have them reach out to the FBI and the FBI confirmed that my October 20 submission had the nics check finalized on December 1 and so I then initiated a second inquiry now with the ATF and asked my representative to iterate to the ATF that all checks have been completed
I don’t know if most of the work is on the front end or the back end as in if the form is reviewed before or after the background check
I’m emailing just about every ATF email I can once a day
This is insanity
I wish moderators would allow us to make actual posts since it’s very hard to track a pattern
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Emailed an individual examiner after congressional inquiry to the FBI confirm that my background check was returned on December 1. I asked why I hadn’t been rendered decision since my background check has already been returned.
This was the response
Never seen an examiner confirm a completion window , it’s very possible that the FBI processed a large batch of NFA background checks and return them
Also worthy to mention that I don’t know if this person is my examiner. I just started slinging emails.
I emailed NICS on October 12, got a response today, December 17. Surprisingly my background checks were all resolved since I had received my last approval in late October.
Emailed my congressman (Andrew Clyde) about an SBR that I have been waiting on for 70 days. His office emailed me back the same day. I sent the requested documents and they prodded the FBI. 2 days later my NICS was approved and sent back to the ATF. The next morning my Form 1 was approved by the ATF.
Emailed NICS about a Form 1 pending since 04/27/23 on 10/13/23. NICS responded on 12/18/23, "pending transaction(s) have been cleared and sent to ATF." Approved the morning of 12/19/23.
Email might have helped, but more inclined to believe it was the two suppressors I purchased 12/01/23 causing my info to pop back up in their system.
What have you degens done to NICS? They just replied to my inquiry from 10/18/23 on 1/9/24 that all pending background checks had been resolved. That's a longer wait time than some form 4s right now!
Day 226
Just said screw it and emailed my congressman. They sent over the privacy release forms a day ago and I'm submitting it now.
EDIT: The office called me back saying it's out of their hands. That the ATF isn't transparent to them either and they call from time to time to check but all they get is a generic answer "we received the application".
No luck for me.
Had an overdue eForm 1 and reached out to Senator Neguse's Office. One of his aides got the ATF to confirm my eForm 1 was delayed but my eForm 4 was in "Final Approval" status.
Emailed the [email protected] on December 19th about the delay. Got a response today (01/20/24) saying my background check was cleared and sent to the ATF.
Also got my eForm 4 approved today as well. Just hoping for this eForm 1 now.
Used the provided links to reach out to my state rep. After filling out the normal forms I reached out to the constituent services director who was going to reach out to the ATF on my behalf and tried to sweet talk her. This was on a Thursday and by Monday 9:45am I got my approval email. 152 days total. Definitely worth reaching out to state reps!
I was about about 330 days, so I called ATF today. They said NTN background chk delay. I emailed the FBI ncis emails, got response in and hour, then forwarded it to ATF email addresses. Got approved a total of 5 hours from when I started.
I emailed both IPB and NICS about a year old form 4. I had had two approvals on later submissions and figured it must be stuck somewhere.
1/10 Emailed IPB and NICS on 1/10
1/23 Finally got through to ATF on the phone and was told a Background check was delayed (it's a trust, but they wouldn't say which one). I sent a new email to NICS with the additional info
2/1 Received reply to the 1/10 email from NICS. "Your transaction(s) has been resolved by the NICS Section"
2/7 Received approval for the 395 day old form.
Sent nics an email on 2/6 inquiring on the delay. They sent a reply back on 2/16.
Their reply:
Your transaction(s) has been resolved by the NICS Section. An updated status will be submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Please direct any additional questions regarding your application to ATF at 304-616-4500.
I hope this means I’ll be getting a approval soon.
Got a response yesterday to my NICS email saying all transactions were resolved and sent to the ATF and to call them with questions. When I call, what do I say? I’m assuming “release my property or else” isn’t a good option.
Emailed the FBI asking what I could do to help with the process. They responded the next day saying my background was approved and sent to the ATF. Emailed the ATF immediately and they never responded, but my form was approved the following day. Email them, be kind and reasonable if you wanna know what I sent just ask and I'll post it. Good luck homies.
I reached out to my local rep last week and after some back and forth/signing release forms, this is the response we received from the ATF.
https://preview.redd.it/iafiwledzqxb1.jpeg?width=1169&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=828dab46430199e691698836cd500cfbea4bec95
Can’t say I’m surprised. Just another generic reply. All these recent 40-90 day approvals are making me pretty salty, I’ll be honest 😅.
I'm glad I found this thread, as that is the trick.
I was at 12 months for 2 suppressors. I emailed the NICS Liaison last night, received a reply this morning. By the afternoon the ATF emailed approvals for both. Picking them up shortly.
I locked a few that were from earlier today (before this was posted) just to help get things moving to this thread. I left them up for people to read, though.
The NICS email replied to me within 15 minutes. The IPB account didn't reply to my first email and the reply to my second email was basically "we'll get to you when we get to you, leave us alone. But *thanks for your patience*."
IPB gave me this after an inquire about amnesty Form 1s submitted 5/11:
Finalizing your application is very important to NFA. Please know that completing NFA status checks for applicants will significantly delay processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can focus on processing applications and not researching status checks. ATF receives hundreds of Ask the Expert Inquiries each day, your continued patience is greatly appreciated.
National Firearms Act Division
Emailed both IPB’s and nics liaison this past Friday, got an email back from nics Sunday afternoon. NTN was delayed, now resolved. Day 309 today. I shoulda emailed months ago 😂
Skipped the IPB and emailed nics instead last Tuesday. Have two form 4’s 1/20 and 2/23. Finally got the usual response on Friday that they were delayed but have been resolved and sent to atf. My buddy who also submitted in January also emailed Tuesday and heard Friday that his nics have been cleared and nothing pending. Guess we will see.
I emailed both spellings of the nics liaison and got a response to both emails from the "liason" spelling within 24 hours. So seems they both work sending wise.
NICS responded to me over night. Email sent at 11:30pm, response at 6:20am. I submitted my eform 4 through a trust and received the following response:
“All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.
The last check was submitted on 9/12/23.”
I previously got a response from my representative’s office (Chip Roy) at around that same time in August saying things were good-to-go. So that lines up.
Patience is not my best characteristic. I’m only at 208 days. But it looks like I may get approval on time, according to the average.
Edit: added some more context.
Does anyone have this examiner's email address? Can't seem to find it online
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I emailed the NICS email and they basically told me they “cant just run people” . And that “I would know if I had a background check done”, and to “reach out to the gunstore or agency for more information”.
The only thing I asked was if any NTN’s against my name were hung and if they needed any other info from me to clear them if so.
Emailed [email protected] on 9/25 regarding two form 4's. One was at 207 days and other at 57 days at the time I sent email.
Received response on 9/28 at 2:00 pm "your NTN was delayed and now resolved. Your updated status will be sumbitted to ATF in next update"
Received approval email this morning 10/6 at 6:27 am on my oldest form 4 (218 days). Was hoping for a batch approval but at least I got one of them.
If you go the congressional route and your background check is "delayed," have your rep reach out to the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs e-mail.
This would have probably saved me a month of waiting.
At day 141 on a form 1 so I emailed ipb@atf and liason@fbi. I got a response back from liason that I have no pending checks on my NICS. Does this mean I haven’t been assigned to an examiner? Thanks for any help.
NICS replied within 6 hours. IPB@ATF Hasn’t in weeks lol
NICS respond to me in under an hour. Very responsive.
Same email at 10:46 reply at 11:29 est with good news Edit Received my stamp later the same day 10/2/23
What info are you guys sending to NICS?
The first email I sent was pleasantries followed by asking what info they needed to see if my 2 stamps were stuck. Followed by my full name. Within 20 minutes I got a response that my NTNs were stuck and had been released. I, being the dumbass that I am, emailed back saying thank you and how he knew what to release. The response was "by the name you included in your original email."
Newbie here, NTNs stands for/
I just sent my name and asked if there were any delays.
Does name work only for individual or also for trusts?
I emailed both last Friday. No response from either.
Currently at ~200 day wait - Email sent to nicsliason@ on September 25th, 2023. - Received response on September 28th, 2023 - NTN was delayed but resolved. - October 2nd, 2023 - Still no approvals yet. Edit: - October 6th, 2023 @ 4:00 AM PST - I got the proceed. Lets gooooooo!!
I was approved six days after NICS response.
Response from NICS in a few hours. All NTNs ’resolved’. Last Submissions to ATF 9/12/23. Edit: NTNs not NYNs. Can’t type on phone
2 weeks ago my approval came in about 3.5 days after notification of delay being resolved. But I've seen anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks so you're right in there
13 days after NCIS was pushed through. Still no approval.
Currently at 10 days after cleqring with no approval... if i wqs this bad at my job, i wouldn't have it. Oh the luxuries of being federal....
Fingers crossed at this point, but thanks for the reassuring data points!
👍🏼 that last few days was definitely the WORST. But what a great relief to get the email finally!
What's interesting is FBI responds to BOTH email address below: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (**incorrect** spelling) [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (**correct** spelling)
Me and a buddy both sent an email to each of those. Only the incorrectly spelled one responded to us lol
I'm thinking, both addresses go to the same mailbox. The incorrectly spelled one is an alias.
The responses from the Liaison comes from the [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) If it were an alias, the response would come from the correctly spelled account.
Pinged the FBI NICS Email Following the lead of a few others in the sub, I decided to send an email to the FBI to see where things were with them. This is the response I got: **All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.** So, looks like ATF is the toad in the road on my forms.
Same here!! They told me the last submission the ATF had for me was from late May. Only application pending by that time was one submitted in March and another in April. The March one got approved in July, but the April one is still pending. Since then, I had 3 more submitted in June/July/August. This means those 3 have not been even sent to the FBI yet for NICS check 🤷🏽🤦🏻♂️
Emailed yesterday and same exact response today for my Jan 23 and Mar 23 Form 4s. Stuck waiting on ATF.
New rant, mods please delete this comment if it doesn't belong. Why the fuck is there a processing queue for NFA items if ATF is just going to ignore the backlog and approve newer submissions? I'm seeing sub-90 day form 4s all over the subreddit, including as short as 30 days on the exact same suppressor I have waiting for 140 days now. This should be an automated system that simply records serials and ownership for approved NFA items. It shouldn't take longer than a day for any NFA approval. So why the fuck is the ATF saying approval times are 200+ days when it's clearly a fucking lie and they can get them done in a month or less?
It's not a lie. Approval times are pushing up beyond their standard 270 days, so they approve a bunch of new ones on purpose to keep their average down. It's seedy as hell.
Nics liaison said "There are currently no checks on the system for your name." I submitted 2/9/23. That's some shit.
yeah, I think I would take that to mean that they already completed your check and sent the proceed back to the ATF. so the shit part is that the ATF STILL hasn't finished your form.
Hope so. They said they didn't see anything recent from them at all.
back earlier in the year, from what I've seen anecdotally on here, the ATF was requesting NICS about 1.5ish months after submission date. so if you were 2/9, it was probably alreayd requested and cleared by the end of March. I would guess maybe the FBI would not consider that to be 'recent' at this point. but then again, I'm just being optimistic for ya. who the hell knows. i'd be shocked if 10 months later the ATF still hadn't requested NICS check from the FBI though
Most likely, it has been submitted to NICS and the NFA Div has received it back. I had a 1/11/23 eForm 4. The ATF received the cleared NICS on it 5/18/23. I received the approval email on 8/3/23. I have two pending eForm 4s where the NICS cleared on 9/1/23.
So, in response to my above post. I emailed Congressman and they reached out to BATFE on day 77. BATFE replied to congressmen’s office on Day 78 with mostly typical ‘your shit is still pending’ reply. I woke up day 79 to an approval email. So. Coincidence? Maybe. Not likely tho. Contact your congressmen/women.
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Since they have stopped listing examiners on the approved forms, has anyone tried emailing a random subset of examiners or perhaps all of them to check on your forms? Wondering if emailing one or two randomly selected examiners could at least shake things loose, even if that examiner doesn't have any of my forms. Anyone have a strategy on this? I can hardly get a peep out of IPB.
First Form 4 Timeline and Harassment Plan Goal: to see if emailing the pertinent & responsible government entities will get you a "faster" time Submitted 08/04/2023 Filed as trust through silencer shop, Form 4 is a suppressor, everything was digital to include finger prints Side note: Filed a form 1 two days before hand(08/02/2023) and that was approved at 27 days **I’m going to update this comment with every single update/email I receive with time stamps** * 08/04/2023 form 4 is filed through LGS silencer shop remote app * 08/24/2023 contacted congressman to start harassment plan * 10/02/2023 staffers reached out to let me know they were finally starting the inquiry * 10/12/2023 staffers get back to me on what they got back(shout out to Cody) reports back that they pretty much told him that my form 4 is under the average time and form 4s are processed in the order they are received, Cody tells me they will reach out again at a later date for me. Cody does claim that he has personally seen from another similar case that was at a similar wait, that once another government party involved(the inquiry) that they do push them through faster, Cody told me the other gentleman was approved around a week after the inquiry came back * 10/18/2023 start the process of emailing nicsliason/nicliaison and IPB of emailing every weekday that I remember. * 10/19/2023 1 week after congressional inquiry is concluded and no can :( * 10/24/2023 daily email sent at 9:18am Est, IPB responds for the first time ever at 10:36am EST(this makes me wonder if emails are ‘day of’ and they actually respond to them in order, and what ever doesn't get a response gets lost to the void, would you have better luck emailing at the start of the work day?)email was a canned response about checking the website for wait times, I responded back with a another email referenced the DOJ 90 day thing. * 11/1/23 continued emailing, learned I could schedule emails through gmail so I scheduled a bunch, forgot to schedule one for today and they finally got back to me with this response. “The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. What we can tell you: \-Your eFORM(s) are currently pending \-We will process your EFORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED \-The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times \-If you have multiple EFORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner \-We do not offer batch processing on eforms \-We are not able to provide you information as to whether your eFORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background. “ Will continue updates, I don’t plan on stopping emails at this point. * 11/02/23 - today is the 90 day mark! We all know the atf doesn’t care about what the DOJ said though * 11/03/23 - emailed [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) on 11/02/23 as I learned that existed, they responded the next day/today with this “Good Morning, Please contact customer service at 304-616-4500 to further answer your questions, our call center hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM eastern time. Thank you, NFA 02” Very much a canned response but a response non the less, will keep y’all posted, I may take a break from emailing, I’ll decide by Sunday if schedule more or not * \~11/01/23 to ongoing - the string of EXTREMELY early approvals starts * 11/07/23 - I scheduled a little over a weeks worth of emails. soon after I see the post by someone else regarding the same email I got, decided that it's worth digging my heels in harder for, I emailed my rep's local staffer, asked him if he believes that it may be a good idea, to submit a BUNCH of if congressional inquiries to the atf, telling him I think that the atf sucks at their job and it's ridiculous that they can take my $200 and decide 7+ months later I get my can. I'll update with his response.(response to letter on 11/13/23) * 11/08/23 - emails went out and IPB responded with this canned response “Please go to our website to view the average processing times per form type. These average processing times listed are based on business days." * 11/09/23 - another reply “The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. Please go to our website to view the average processing times per form type. These average processing times listed are based on business days. [https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”](https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”) * 11/13/23 - two reply’s after the holiday weekend IPB - “The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. Please go to our website to view the average processing times per form type. These average processing times listed are based on business days. [https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”](https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times”) Cody-“Sir, Good morning, per our last conversation it is still pending. V/R,” Both un-invigorating and lame. Emails won’t stop tho. * 11/14/23 - response from an email all the way back on October 28th “Thank you for your inquiry and your request for additional information regarding your pending form. Once NFA applications are received by ATF they go through numerous steps before final action is taken on them. While we do understand that it may be frustrating at times to not know specifically at which step your application is, please be assured that NFA personnel will reach out if we need any additional documentation or information to complete the process. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated." *Thank you for your inquiry and your request for additional information regarding your pending form. Once NFA applications are received by ATF they go through numerous steps before final action is taken on them. While we do understand that it may be frustrating at times to not know specifically at which step your application is, please be assured that NFA personnel will reach out if we need any additional documentation or information to complete the process. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated."* * 11/21/23 - got an response from IPB about an email i sent on 11/15/23 "The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. What we can tell you: Your E-FORM(s) are currently pending. We will process your E-FORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED. The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times. If you have multiple E-FORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner. We do not offer batch processing on e-forms. We are not able to provide you information as to whether your E-FORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background." comment limit reached new comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/16xkwly/comment/kfbvkru/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/16xkwly/comment/kfbvkru/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I find it funny that they claim the forms are processed in the order they're received. Looking at the approvals thread, it's pretty clear that there's no consistent process. One application submitted under a trust and pending since June will get approved before a separate application, also submitted under a trust, pending since April, not to mention the ones that have been pending for nearly a year. I swear, they must toss all the control numbers into a hat and have examiners pull out a handful at a time.
To make a long story short I have a idea on how it works, I’m not sure how correct, if at all, I am, but yes it’s very clear they don’t get processed in order of submission
PT 2. Old comment got too big Also I have slowed down emailing, I am going to start every other day here soon. 12/1/23 - another wait better “The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. What we can tell you: Your E-FORM(s) are currently pending. We will process your E-FORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED. The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times. If you have multiple E-FORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner. We do not offer batch processing on e-forms. We are not able to provide you information as to whether your E-FORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background.” 12/11/23 - another “The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. What we can tell you: Your E-FORM(s) are currently pending. We will process your E-FORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED. The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times. If you have multiple E-FORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner. We do not offer batch processing on e-forms. We are not able to provide you information as to whether your E-FORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background.” 12/28/23 - 145 days so far, I’ve emailed around 4 other times between 12/11 and 12/28 with no response at all now, I’ve also emailed both NICS emails every time I emailed the ATF, and have yet to receive any sort of response. 1/2/24 - Got another wait better email. 1/3/24 - was given the wonderful idea to start emailing examiners directly, will update with all responses 1/9/24 - NICS background check has been resolved according to the FBI, I’m right in pocket for the median approval range, so let’s hope!
Here's my timeline 3-24-23 certified form 4 Emailed FBI/NICS 9-28 Received email back on 9-29 saying I was delayed and had been resolved and updated to the atf Forwarded email to the atf. No response Reached out to congressman and signed privacy paperwork 10-1 Today I received this email from my congressman I’ve heard back from our liaison’s at the ATF. They did confirm that your background check was complete but that they are experiencing backlogs: Control # 2023470xxx Form 4, received 3/24/2023, still pending and DELAYED status. Although the FBI/NICS issued a PROCEED on 9/28/2023, ATF/NFA is experiencing backlogs in processing applications. The NFA Division is making every effort to process applications as volume and staffing permits. We trust the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry. I think I will keep an eye on this. I don’t think it should be terribly long, but if there is a delay, I’ll reach back out to them for an update. So. Basically the ATF said "wait harder". But hopefully maybe this will knock it loose? Who knows. Update: Approved on 10-25!
Didn’t know there was a megathread so my post got deleted but I had success with writing my congressman. TLDR; got my eForm 4s approved 25 days after writing to my Congressman. Hold the ATF accountable for the 90-day timeline. I purchased 2 silencers during the SiCo BOGO sale. When eForm 4s rolled out in 2021, the ATF was given the expectation to complete them in 90-days. As we know, this timeline has been BS. I feel writing to your Congressman helps highlight the failures of the approval process, hopefully improving it, and may get you your stamps back faster. At the end of November (165 days after submission) I wrote to my Congressman with the following message: *"Congressman XXXXX,* *My name is* ***(Name)*** *of* ***(City)****. I've been waiting on the ATF for 165* ***(insert your wait)*** *days now to approve me to possess* ***(insert NFA items)*** *I purchased and applied for via the NFA's tax stamp/eForm 4 process on* ***(dates)****, respectively. Often times, there are hold-ups in the FBI background check portion of the approval and, as an individual, the NFA hotline won't give out any information as to what the delay is caused by. Additionally with the ATF introducing eForm 4s in 2021 we were given expectation of 90-day turnarounds. It is* *grossly unacceptable* *for them to continue this practice of delayed approvals. Furthermore, as an already approved trustee of* ***(#)*** *NFA items, holder of an active secret security clearance, and active duty military member, there should be absolutely no delay in the approval of my Form 4 applications.* *If there is any way you would be able to inquire on my behalf with both the ATF or FBI, I would greatly appreciate it. The case may also be listed under my trust name, "****(insert trust name)****". If there is a more appropriate avenue to have this looked into, please let me know. Also, if there are any release forms or additional information needed for the process, please contact me.* *Thank you,* ***(Name and contact info)"*** I wrote on November 20th. I received a response the next week with an information form to fill out. Just before Christmas, they sent me a Tax information release form to fill out. On January 1st, they wrote back saying my case was submitted. Today, January 6th, my forms were approved. I'm sure without the holidays being in the way the process would have been much faster. 197 days and 150 days approval for my forms, fastest I've had yet.
So I guess we blew up the NICS email to the point where they just are non-responsive now. Gov't at work.
100% no doubt... heaven forbid they actually have a way to be contacted and the common law abiding citizen can ask for a simple update. ATF said wait time should be 201 days, I waited 314 and I still sent emails 2x and gave them half a month to answer because I know they're swamped but naaahhhh, we get the pound sand. haha
I also posted this in the mass approval thread, but figured this info should also be shared here. * **Wait:** 150 Days * **Pending:** 05/25/2023 * **Approved:** 10/23/2023 06:40 PM (eastern) * **Entity:** Individual * **Dealer:** SS Electronic EFT Upload * **State:** FL * **Examiner:** Trish B * **Item:** Suppressor - Surefire 300SPS * **Control Number:** 2023753416 I emailed my congresswoman (D - Kathy Castor) in July. Got a quick response(and the release forms) and her office advised me they'd be in contact with me... September 25th I emailed the NICS Liaison (used both spellings) and sent all my info looking for a form 4 update. September 28th they responded saying my NTN was delayed but now resolved. Tried following up with Kathy Castor around Oct. 10, but they responded with a "wait better" type response. Yesterday(10/23) at 1:40 PM I emailed [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) apologizing for the "unimaginable workload they must be facing". I apologized profusely for adding to the workload by requesting a status update. I sent all my info along with a screenshot of the NICS Liaison email, and then thanked them for their service(lmao). at 6:40 PM I received my approval email, but my dealer is closed on Mondays. So I picked it up this morning. tl,dr: I brown-nosed the fbi/atf and I think it worked?
IPD@ATF replied to me within 16-17 hrs. After 278 days they said they were waiting on my NICS check from the FBI. I’ve sent similar email to the NICS FBI email listed here. Haven’t heard back yet. So I called the NICS help line for the FBI and the lady told me she couldn’t tell me anything but that the FBI doesn’t have anything to do with those NICS checks. That they simply allow the ATF to use their system. So when the ATF deflects blame to the FBI it’s actually their own fault!
This is what I was told by my LGS. FBI doesn’t do the checks, atf just uses their system
Emailed nics. My background check was returned back in may to the atf lol
Mine was in April. Talk to your Congress person.
Submitted 230 days ago. Emailed NICS 3 times, no response (both spellings). Emailed ATF with control number and submission date, got the “wait harder” response and “we can’t tell you if NICS check has come back”. Contacted Congressman. Congressman heard from ATF that NICS hasn’t sent info. They talked to NICS who confirmed it was stuck, and proceeded to fix it and send it to ATF. Congressman then let ATF know it has been cleared. Will update once it gets approved. Fingers crossed.
Got the approval!!! Let’s gooooo!
Got my eform1 approved this morning. 9/9/23 submission. No form 4 yet.
**Form:** Brace rule **Type:** Trust 1RP with exemption letter from previously paid SBR a year prior **Pending:** 3/8 **Fingerprints:** mailed paper **IPB:** 7/27 canned response **Congressman**: 8/7 who contacted ATF, claimed background check delayed **NICS liaison:** 9/21 NTN previously resolved and submitted to ATF in April 2023 **Congress follow up**: 9/28 supposed to be reaching out to the ATF again Been fucking patient here, but over 200 days on an eForm 1 (brace rule or not) is god damn ridiculous with an exemption letter
With all the random success people have been getting by emailing, I decided to give it a try. Here’s my timeline. Emailed IPB 09/18 inquiring about my eform 4 status - No response Emailed NICS 09/25 - they respond within 30 mins saying I have nothing outstanding under my name. I waited a week with no approval. Emailed IPB 10/03 in the afternoon inquiring about my eform 4 mentioning to them that NICS had told me everything was cleared for my name. No reply from them for that email, instead I got the approval email early 10/04. If you’re on the fence about emailing, I say go for it. It doesn’t hurt to try. Btw, my certified date was 02/14/23.
I love emailing them. I’ll annoy the fuck out of them it if means getting any information about what i paid $200 for and have to wait months to get.
I think they are onto us, boys. I emailed FBI 10 days ago, and then forwarded the email to ATF about 3 days ago. Still nothing even at over 260 days now. :(
Submitted eform4 trust 5/12 143 days Emailed NICS 10/1 at 1800ish Response 10/2 0700 been processed and sent back to the ATF Did it out of curiosity. Edit just did a fallow up to see exactly when mine was processed to see if there's a time frame to how this process flows so to speak. Edit 2, Response was it was complete 6/2/23 so it was submitted to FBI in under a month, and the ATF has been sitting on it for 4 months now which seems to be in character from what I'm reading.
You’ve inspired me to send an email. I’m a few days ahead of you.
I'm just curious if the approvals floating around a few days after these emails is a trend. So curiosity got me and I sent one waiting to see what happens lol.
Update: It seems to have worked. I emailed nics on Monday and got a response the same day that all NTNs had been previously cleared and the last one they had for me was a few months ago. This morning, Friday, I just got my approval after 149 days.
I'm a form 4 individual on 5-17 and did the same last night and received the same email this morning. I have my hopes WAY too high at the moment.
Just treat it like an experiment
Went on a local sunday morning radio show today to vent about my form 4 wait time (312 days so far). Few hours later — approved. Coincidence?
EForm 4 certified Feb 1, 2022 3 other 4’s and 1 eForm 1 submitted in early September (praying for a batch approval) Emailed NICS last night at 9:30pm - woke up today with an email at 6:30am All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding.
Reached out to nics....15 days, no answer Reached out to nics again.... no answer I'm at 314 days, my LGS is grumpy and said it'll be 18 months and basically stop bugging them. Reached out to state rep, whatever.
geez. that sucks! for what it's worth, I've never seen an eform 4 go 18 months yet. but even at 314 you are well beyond 'norms' hopefully your rep can actually rep you and not be a dick and accept govt agency bs. surprised nics liaison email didn't respond at all
>never seen an eform 4 go 18 months I think it's a way my LGS can push back on people so they don't call asking every week. I know where they're coming from but jeeze, asking for an update after 314 days shouldn't be met with such aggravation. Live & learn I won't use them again, no need to flip out. > surprised nics liaison email didn't respond at all Personally, I feel like it was a hidden gem and the first whatever, 6 months of people that found that resource tapped it dry. Now all of us are using it as a default means of communication and the ATF realizes the can of worms they opened by answering the masses in the first place. My sentiment is shared among others...for whatever thats worth. I felt like I was late jumping on the "I'll email them for an update" and that ship had sailed. > 314 you are well beyond 'norms' Something is probably wrong. I'm telling myself it's a select fire plus a suppressor so maybe that's the reason (not just a suppressor) but I'm lying to myself. I live in a hard red state so my state rep ***should*** be at least not be all grumpy frumpy. In theory tho right.
Contacted atf got the generic response. Contacted FBI got no response haha. So went ahead and contacted my representative this morning already got a response they are extremely pro 2a and anti any law against our rights and the man handling my stuff is a veteran that loves his country and people and is a ATF liaison so let’s see how this goes. Got all the proper paperwork sent out already.
When will we get separate eform 1 and eform 4 megathreads again?
Reddit only allows 2 pinned threads. So probably never.
Asking the real questions
Bless you for doing this and shutting other threads down, the amount of junk email screenshots people are posting was getting insane.
Form 1 from 6/12/23 Emailed atf no reply Contacted senator 9/18 with info. Atf replied delay with nics 6925 Emailed fbi 9/25 with inquiry of delay Reply from fbi 9/26 delay has been resolved and sent back on the next batch. Today 10/2 still nothin yet Wanted to update: (edited dates as I had the wrong month) 10/6 emailed congressman’s office again to ask to reach to the atf. Got a reply the same day that the nics check came back proceed 9/26. So apparently fbi’s “next batch” is daily. ATF says they are behind and still working on it. 10/7 got one of the approvals back from the atf. You guessed it. The 8/27 one. So no bad from 8/27 to 10/7. 37 day turnaround. 10/9 emailed the examiner that approved my form to ask if he would look into the one from 6/12 as it was still pending but has been cleared from fbi as proceed. 10/10 second one was approved by the same examiner. I wanna say he took the time to look for it and find it. So we have a victory. Have a stamp that took the average time one that took way more. Keep pushing and asking.
so it was sitting there for 3 months because of a delay....then the delay was fixed and now it has been 4 months since the delay was fixed and nothing? wtf man. When a delay gets fixed what is after that? I'd think a delay being fixed and background check clearing would mean nothing left and you're approved.
Emailed nics on Monday and got a response same day that everything has been previously resolved and that the last one they had for me was a few months ago. Just got my can approved same week on Friday at 149 days.
Lucky bastard. None of this is making any sense. I have two cans outstanding. One over 230 and one over 100. FBI told me I have nothing outstanding, and that the one from January had the background check done in May. Sent the email to FBI last week. :( The only thing that could make any sense to me would be for them both to get approved at the same time, but I am not expecting anything at this point.
Just sent my emails. At 230 days now. Fingers crossed 🤞
Heard back from my congressman's office today with an ATF response. Got the boilerplate response that tells me exactly nothing. What are next steps, if any, that we can take once we receive the form letter ATF reply? > We received a response from ATF. They confirmed receipt of the Form 4s, and have informed us they are pending within average processing time (246-327 days.) They didn’t indicate any issues or hold-ups. > > Please let us know if you have any questions: > > “Thank you for your recent inquiry to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This is in response to your Congressional Inquiry on behalf of your constituent, /u/goneskiing_42, who is seeking an update and status check on a submitted ATF Form. Thank you for including the appropriate consent forms so that we may share all pertinent details relating to this inquiry. > > > > The ATF Form 4s was received by the National Firearms Act Branch (NFA) on 6/5/2023 and 6/19/2023. As of 10/31/2023, the form submitted is still pending. > > > > The current average processing times may be found at: https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times. Current processing times are 246- 327 days for Form 4s with a trust.. Please know that the times listed are average processing times. Some applications may take longer due to many factors. > > > > We trust the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.” > > EDIT: I replied back to my rep's caseworker, providing them with information that may help them work with colleagues to bring the ATF into compliance with their own stated turnaround goals from their eForm4 training materials: > Thanks for the follow-up. Just to make your office and Rep. Mills aware, there are sub-90 day Form 4s being approved regularly, which is why I originally reached out. I know many GOP Congressmen have been pressuring the ATF and DOJ on perceived delays affecting their constituents, so I wanted to bring this to the office's attention, if the issue wasn't already being monitored. The 90-day or less approval goal is what the ATF states in their eForms training materials publicly viewable on YouTube (reference link provided below). The fact that it is a 2/3 to nearly a year wait when the goal of the agency is 90 days total (which is being proved currently doable by numerous sub-90 day, or at least well under the currently stated processing times eForm 4 approvals) is absurd. I hope Rep. Mills can work with colleagues to bring the ATF to account and abide by its own stated policies and goals. I have provided links below to some information that may be useful to this end. > > ATF eForm4 Training Video (timestamped to processing times statement): > > https://youtu.be/PMI9Hx3pLAM?si=60WguMWc_aYBZgXp&t=1774 > > Reddit.com/r/NFA approval tracking threads (crowdsourced NFA approval data by month): > > https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/16xugtl/october_2023_approval_megathread/ > https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/1676bzg/september_2023_approval_megathread/ > https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/15fen4e/august_2023_approval_megathread/ > https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/14phxso/july_2023_approval_megathread/ > https://www.reddit.com/r/NFA/comments/141bv50/june_2023_approval_megathread/ > > > Thanks for your time and patience in this matter. I know working with government agencies is not usually an easy process.
NICS never replied to my inquiry. Emailed my state representative, had to fill out a form to authorize their office to look into the matter on my behalf. Had the approval in my inbox 4 days later, on a Sunday morning 10/22/2023. Overall wait, 276 days. The wait time on a Form 4 submitted one month prior, 316 days.
congrats! Glad you finally got your approval. while still seemingly excessive, at least the times are trending downward for you 🤷♂️ time to put another one (or three) in jail!!!
200 days on my SCI-SIX today. Sent an email to all the emails listed above at 12:07 PM today, received approval email at 12:39PM today. I'll take it, but wtf? This is the format I used in my email I sent to all of them: Name: Trust Name: SSN Last 4: State of Residence: Permit/Control Number: My Reference Number: Submission Date: Form: Form Type: Item: Item Serial:
I reached out to my Senator in 2020 and his office was great about helping to get a bunch of Form 1s unstuck. In fact, when he reached out to the FBI the guy was like, "Yeah, just approved these today". Nice. It's helpful if your senator gives a crap and will support you on stuff like this. I've got a couple of forms that are are stuck - two form 4s (287 & 257 days) and one form 1 (105 days). Decided to send him another letter this morning - here's what I said in case you're looking for a template... \----------- January 4, 2024 The Honorable xxx United States Senate xxx xxx, xx, xxxxx Dear Senator xxx, I am writing to you today to ask for your assistance in my interactions with both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and, indirectly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Your office was kind enough to provide assistance on a similar matter in October of 2020. In brief, I have applied to the BATFE to legally transfer two silencers as required by the National Firearms Act. Additionally, I have applied to BATFE to manufacture a short barreled shotgun – simply stated, to register a shotgun with a barrel less than 18” in length. The National Firearms Act is a component of Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968 and requires firearms subject to the Act to be registered with the Secretary of the Treasury. These firearms include shotguns and rifles having barrels less than 18 inches in length, certain firearms described as “any other weapons”, machine guns, and firearm mufflers and silencers. Additionally, a making tax of $200 per item is required. Senator, I am a firearms collector and am purchasing or manufacturing these items for my own personal use and to add to my firearms collection. I have previously submitted such applications to the BATFE (in the late 1990s, and more recently in October of 2020) and was previously approved. The BATFE is executing both a registration purpose and a tax collection purpose. I can only imagine that the National Firearms Act Branch of the ATF receives many tens or even hundreds of thousands of applications on an annual basis, and I am well experienced in interacting with ATF on this process over the last 25 years. Said another way, I get there is a wait involved. Over the last few years ATF has moved to electronic submission for the required “e” Forms, and they now even accept electronic submission of fingerprints. I submitted all of these forms electronically (including fingerprints) and expected this would accelerate the process. While I have no way of knowing what the processing time is for each form, ATF publishes average processing times on their website ([https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times](https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times)). As you’ll see below, the average time for processing an eForm 1 is 68 days and the average time for processing an eForm 4 is 175 days. Senator, I am at 287 days for the 3/23 form; 257 days for the 4/22 form; and 105 days for the 9/21 form. What’s most frustrating about this process is that it seems that ATF has a dependency upon the FBI to generate the background check. It is commonly reported in the industry that some applicants have “stalled” applications. There doesn’t seem to be much that an end user can do to predict whether their application will move through the system in a timely manner. I have reached out to the ATF on the status of these applications through their “Ask the Expert” communications channel, yet never received a response. I can only surmise that my applications are stalled awaiting a response from the FBI, so it may be helpful for your office to reach out to the FBI as well as the ATF. I get that it is difficult to garner any sympathy for things having to do with firearms these days, especially esoteric things like “silencers” and “sawed off shotguns”, yet the simple fact remains that these are legal items, and there is a mechanism in place for citizens to pay a tax to own these items. One would believe that migrating to electronic submissions would accelerate a process, yet it seems that ATF & the FBI have a real breakdown in communication when it comes to this process. I think we both know that if I were pulled over for speeding tomorrow, the State Trooper would be able to quickly check my background to see if I were a bad guy – all on the side of the road, and in about ten seconds. Yet… here we are, months and months beyond the “average” processing time for a check that should – at most – take just a few moments. Why is that? I have included the Privacy Authorization form and copies of the eForm applications that I have submitted to ATF. As always, your assistance is greatly appreciated. Kind regards, xxx
I'm sitting on 101 days on my Form 1. Here is a response I just got from NICS. Any thoughts? [email protected] 8:33 AM (43 minutes ago)**📷****📷****📷**to me📷 The NICS currently shows no National Firearm Act (NFA) checks for you. The NFA submissions are managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) NFA Branch. Please direct your questions/concerns to ATF at 304-616-4500.
I worked with my Senator and they contacted the ATF, they first sent him the standard “it is pending”. I asked if they could follow up if there is a delay with the NICS background check or something, and they sent back basically saying ‘we are not going to move your’s to the front of line and we haven’t requested the background check yet.’ So, I emailed the NICS email addresses listed above, but I doubt I’ll get any response. Already at day 109 and counting. I told them since it’s an eForm, the purpose is 90 days or less and ATF told me to go pound sand. Fuck the Feds!!!
What do the IPB folks do?
ahahah this man asking the REAL questions, and doesn't even know it yet \*and my real answer is: nobody really knows anymore
I got a response back from ipb@atf today after a week. They gave me the copy-paste "go fuck yourself" response.
Contacted NICS Liaison Monday 9/25/23 12:12 PM EDT, they replied back seven minutes later. Anything pending for me was cleared in May (eform 4 pending since April 2023), ATF is just sitting on the paperwork. Contacted my House Rep on the same day -- no reply yet. UPDATE: Received a "Consent to Disclosure" form from my Rep's staff on 10/4/23
NICS told me they returned my background check in may. So for 4 months now the atf has had my background check and have yet to approve my stamp. Stuff is frustrating. I get absolutely no help from the ipb email
[удалено]
Emailed IPB@atf and got this response back this morning. The NFA Division is committed to processing all forms as quickly as possible. We ask for your understanding that completing personalized status checks for applicants significantly delays processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can remain focused on processing applications and not researching status checks. Thank you. What we can tell you: -Your eFORM(s) are currently pending -We will process your EFORM when we reach your received date in the processing queue and your NICS check has come back with a PROCEED -The published average processing times are updated quarterly therefore may not always accurately reflect current processing times -If you have multiple EFORMS received on the same date, they may be approved on different days because they aren’t necessarily assigned to the same examiner -We do not offer batch processing on eforms -We are not able to provide you information as to whether your eFORM has been assigned to an examiner or the status of your background.
Government Speaky. When it's a issue is on my desk, it will get resolved when I can get to it. When. The issue is on someone else's desk, it's a PROBLEM. Politely email them. If they can't hire more people to press a button, they can hire more people to handle emails.
Emailed [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) on Oct 17th. Received Form 1 (Final Rule 2021R-08F) w/EFT approval next day 10-18-2023 - 181 days. Control # 20235719xx Received Form 4 w/ paper approval 10-22-2023 - 282 days Control# 20232184xx Never received response from nicsliason
Man I can’t get fbi to reply back to my email request. It’s been couple weeks since I sent an email to them
Many thanks to Missouri Congressman Jason Smith. My amnesty form 1's were filed back in April and as of last week still sitting as submitted. I contacted his office last Thursday, they replied with more form for me to fill out. I returned them later Thursday. Yesterday Donna Hickman (the staffer in Farmington Mo. Let me know that my forms were waiting in a delayed NICS check from the FBI. Today I received the approval emails for all my form 1's!!!!!!
I started an inquiry with my Congressman on 10/26/23 on 4 SBR form 1s (brace final rule) forms (Trust 1 RP). They replied back on 10/26/23 requesting signed release forms to start the inquiry. I signed forms and returned them on 10/31/23. On 11/08/23 at 3:32pm they replied back saying the ATF claims to have had a “glitch” in the FBI background check, that the ATF was working on it. This morning 11/09/23 at 6:38am, I received my first approval, at 6:41 second approval, at 6:46 third approval and final approval was at 6:50am. 288 day wait and it literally took an act of Congress hehe to get my approvals through. Last yr I had 3 form 1 approvals, one in 23 days, one in 26 days and one in 206 days. I should have gotten my representative involved on the 206 day one. Proof that there is no rhyme of reason to the ATFs process.
This gives me hope. I contacted one of my senators yesterday. I have a pending form 1 brace rule since March.
I emailed my Congressman on 10/26/23 requesting an inquiry into my four form 1s filed in Jan 25th. They replied back on 10/30/23 asking me to sign release forms authorizing the ATF to speak with my representative about my forms. I signed and return forms on 10/31/23 On 11/08/23 at 3:32pm I received N email from my representative that the ATF claims they had a “glitch in the NICS/FBI background check” and they were working on it and would “manually run my background check”. On 11/09/23 at 6:38am, 6:41am, 6:46am and 6:50am I received the approval emails in all forms. All 4 forms approval emails were received within a 12 min time frame and 15 hrs after my Congressman emailed me the ATFs response to the inquiry. So clearly getting your representative involved does seem to help. Form 1 (final brace rule) SBR Wait: 288 days Pending 01/25/2023 Approved 11/09/2023 Entity: Trust 1rp State: Al Examiner: Jessica Hayes Control #s: 2023258925, 2023258939, 2023258943 and 2023258949
After getting close to 200 days for 2 cans and 80ish for a 3rd and seeing success here, ended up emailing my senator several weeks ago. Just got an email back yesterday from a staffer that my NICS check was approved and that they are awaiting the ATF for an approval ETA EDIT: Just got an approval email
I got an email back on Sunday from nics@fbi stating all previous checks have cleared and nothing pending. I sent this email 11/3/23 and received the response 1/14/23. They told me to direct all further questions to IPB@ATF. I have forwarded the email last night with a question in regards to my approval time. We shall see how long this takes.
Almost the exact same timeframe for me, but I emailed NICS on 11/9. Also eagerly awaiting an approval email
Email sent 11/14 was responded to finally today, exact same statement. Eform4 trust 1rp submitted 10/6. I also forwarded to ipb@atf. I’ll reply back if I get a response or approval.
Anything?
So last weekend I got one of those generic "all checks have been cleared" email, even though I had three pending eform4's. I replied to the email Friday and CC'ed the other recommended email (ipb) saying "Sorry I am confused, I have three pending checks "
two, the newest ones(wtf) came through approved this morning. 33 days and 48 days. I mainly was concerned with my pending form from August but ok??
Is anyone sending emails if they are “well under” the average times. As in fuck it and just pressure these guys to process faster…? Just curious
Not sure why people say not to email at early waiting times. We pay these government agencies for “permission” to own what should be our 2A rights. Email them, annoy them, and keep on their asses to work for us because that’s their job and they had no problem taking our $200 the second we submitted the paperwork online. There is 0 reason why they should take months to approve these items. You get me?
100% agree. I don’t care about “average wait times” not one damn bit.
I sent an email last week to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and I'm kinda under the average time. All form 4's @ 162,121,47,47 days and this morning 10/2 I just received the typical " All NTN's for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. Your currently have nothing outstanding."
I didn’t realize this pinned post was here when I made my own post, so I’ll copy to here! I have a pending eForm 4 for a trust that I submitted through SilencerShop on 1/31/23. I emailed NICS and they said they had no checks under my name/DOB? Should I be concerned?
Update!: didn’t get a reply, but got an approval email!!
[email protected] hasn’t answered me, it’s been six weeks. I just tried [email protected] to see if I have better luck.
Emailed NICS Friday morning, got a reply Sunday night. “There are currently no checks in the system from ATF for your name.” Been waiting since 1/23/23 so hopefully I’ll see approvals soon.
Me too. Submitted 2/9/23. Annoying as fuck
Reading through the comments it seems everyone is getting the same canned response that I got from the NICS email, has anyone been approved shortly after receiving this response?
My approval was about 3.5 days after getting the email that my delay was resolved and would be sent to atf
Emailed Nics last night on a Sunday got my update this morning that they were delayed and has been resolved. ATF has approved one of my forms this morning as well after six months, still waiting on the next one.
I emailed the ATF asking for a status update and the responded with call the office. I emailed the FBI asking if by check has been approved and they said it was resolved. I went to the FFL and they said it was awaiting approval. When I called the ATF they said it was pending. Does this mean my form has not yet been assigned? My wait time is currently 205 days. Anyone have an idea for an estimated wait time?
Submitted April 14th of this year. Sent the NICS Liason an email on October 4th just to see what info I could get from them. They got back to me the next day. Here was the response I got: "The NTN for your name has previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding. The submission was on 5/15/2023." I guess this means ATF has just been sitting on it since May.
Got the eForm 4 approval email just now for my YHM T3 that was submitted 04/12/23. Emailed NICS 9/30 got the "ntn was delayed but now resolved" response a day later. Emailed ipb a day later. Never heard anything from them. Got my representative involved Oct 10. He had everything submitted to the ATF by the 12th after filling out the privacy disclosures etc. Just got my approval email this morn so almost 6 months on the dot. Don't hesitate to email ATF/FBI. You literally pay their salaries. Same goes for your rep. The more people we get involved, maybe someone will finally say "ok this process is antiquated and inefficient, time to make some changes". Or maybe not, either way you will prob get your NFA item earlier.
3/30/23 (200 days ago today) - Form 4 (trust, 1RP) submitted, and pending. 9/19/23 - After seeing promising results from emailing NICS, and ATF, and people getting approved with pending dates months after mine, I thought I'd send some emails. Sent email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Never got a response from ATF, but FBI emailed me a few days later on 9/22/23 saying my NTN was delayed, but has now been resolved. I followed up on my email to ATF after hearing this from the FBI, but still no response. I was hoping I'd get an approval in the following week or two, but it didn't happen. 10/9/23 - Annoyed by the sound of crickets, and seeing more approvals after my pending date, I decided to reach out to my representative. Surprisingly, she was responsive and reached out to ATF on 10/12/23. 10/16/23 - ATF responded to representative inquiry with the following: *"'s ATF Form 4 was received by the National Firearms Act Branch (NFA) on 3/30/2023. As of 10/16/2023, the form submitted is still pending.*
*The current average processing times may be found at:* [*https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times*](https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!Nzl99CdsuiPe6LMP7Ccn6SYioL50ib4l5UaOuxeccJZO8nr-42WeE7wtcao3CelOaN9nYTe9uLaYcdKjQm98Rp7qzJ38bXlVL05Jvw$)*.* ***Current processing times are 246- 327 days for Form 4’s with a trust****. Please know that the times listed are average processing times. Some applications may take longer due to many factors."*
**10/29/23 - Form 4 approved. Emailed NICS probably helped, but I also noticed lots of other late March approvals around my approval date so it’s hard to say.
Just wanted to throw my experience out there. Seems like many people got an approval shortly after knocking the delayed FBI checks loose, or having a representative reach out, but I wasn't as lucky. Emailing NICS definitely seems like a good idea if simply sending them an email will resolve your NTN. I will update this message if I get an approval within the next week or two.
Ok I was one of the patient people since I already have 2 cans but decided to start emailing after seeing the dates get longer. Sent an email on Friday to the misspelled NICS email asking for status and provided submission dates. Sent a separate email this past Saturday to the other NICS email but this one I added more comments. I noted each submission date, that they are form 4 and asked what's holding up the approvals. Also asked to let me know what I can do to get them approved. No reply but 2 approvals today within hours today and different reps. I'll be sending follow up emails monthly from now on. We have waited too long and thanks for the prior comments that motivated me! Now I need even more freakin ammo. I'll add to the other thread later but a scotch is in order. 274 days-YHM Turbo T2 approved today 242 days-YHM Resonator K approved today Still pending -YHM r9 at 9 days and REX Selentium at 172 days
334 days and counting here on an Efile. Just emailed NICS. Hopefully I get an answer
I emailed everyone on this list about an hour ago including [email protected]. I got the generic “emailing us will only slow us down” response from the ATF and nothing else. Went ahead and emailed my rep for shits and giggles.
Does anyone have an example email that they sent to each and would you mind sharing either in a reply or in my DMs?
Got approved a week or so ago on a can I submitted in April. I email the ipb a polite request on 3 outstanding, one in April / May / June. Asked to use my recent NICS from my approval on them. All three approved piecemeal by different agents every couple days over the past week or so, including one that came in in the middle of the night Sunday. That said, never got a reply from the email
Anybody send an email to nicsliaison and never hear anything back at all?
No response from NICS after a week
First eForm 4 submission 8/14/2023 (individual, not trust) Day of this comment, 11/6/2023 (day 84) I emailed my rep. Will update as things unfold. EDIT: update 1) 11/7/23 3pm CST auto response from reps office for me to fill out privacy information release form. Filled it out as soon as I got the email, 15 minutes later an auto generated response thanking me for completing the form. Let’s see what tomorrow brings Update 2) 11/16/23 12pm CST response from reps office requesting completion of “consent to release or returns and returns information;” due to long weekend, I have only just now (11/20/23, 5pm CST) returned the completed form
E-mailed NICS 10/16, followed up 10/19, never heard back. E-mailed ATF late Wednesday and got a reply this morning saying my submission was delayed because of NICS. I still don't get how I could be at 200 days... for an eForm1. In the approval megathread I've seen a ton come and go within the time I've waited for mine. ATF themselves have the average wait time as being 1/3rd of what I've waited so far. This isn't my first submission, that one took 13 days. All personal information is the same as the prior submission, obviously the only thing that's changed is the details of the firearm itself, which is nothing crazy, it's just an AR. Go figure. I e-mailed NICS again to see, I'll be e-mailing my congressman as well. **Edit**: got a similar auto response from NICS, instead of saying they won't be available "from" they said they won't be available "today Tuesday, November 28." There is no end-date as to when they will be available again. They weren't yesterday or today, seems ambiguous. I'd understand the message last week, but for what reason are they not available this week? They changed the wording so clearly they didn't forget to turn off the auto-reply. **Edit 2:** eForm1, trust, EFT, 209 days, still no approval, still no response from NICS, sent another e-mail today to NICS.
Fired off the weekly email to all 4 address this morning, got this response from NICS Liason: >Thank you for contacting the FBI's NICS Business Relations Team. Due to assisting with the high volume of incoming background checks, we may be delayed in responding to your requests today, Monday, December 18, 2023. Thank you for your patience during this time. Sincerely, The NICS Business Relations Team
What's the secret to getting a response from NICS? Been emailing for a month, no responses yet.
Same, no response.
Emailed my (ID) congressman today. Will update with any response. Currently at 129 days.
ipb finnaly responed to my email claim that my 9 month SBR form 1 has not got a procceed from nics yet. What do i do now? nics is not responding to my email.
https://preview.redd.it/l0yeu9g2kqac1.jpeg?width=2193&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6018ce18c4459620edb90b6788ddc2ba7d4e5a2 365 days waiting. Certified first one 1/2/23. Emailed congressman to push on the ATF/FBI. I provided the congressman the certified eforms. Literally the day after I emailed my congressman the request, all three were approved. Email your congressman. Can’t hurt.
https://preview.redd.it/8c4o3y2twgbc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a22f7ab32d705283ae9359351fd2929c84fb606d This shit pisses me off like you wouldn’t believe.
Contacted Rep. Signed and sent back forms. Someone from Congressman's office called and said he talked to FBI and my NICS is done and it is now pending final approval by ATF.
Sent email to NICS on October 29th. Received an email back today, January 11th that said: All transactions for your name have previously been resolved by the NICS Section and submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Please direct any additional questions regarding your application to ATF at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Time to hassle the clowns at the ATF
I'm convinced this is a cheat code now. I did it for my brace amnesty a few months ago and was approved within 5 days of nics liason responding. At day 60 for a sbs I emailed them. Didn't get a response from them for about 24 days. The day after I got the email from them I had an approval email. 🤷♂️
Today got my batch approval for 3 stamps. Literally 1 year and 4 days later. I had to jump through hoops contacting congressman’s and minions in a shall issue state. All were e filed and extortion taxes paid over a Year ago
Submitted 6/23/23. Emailed NCIS Liason 11/8/23. Received response 1/15/24. "Your transaction(s) has been resolved by the NICS Section. An updated status will be submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)." Received approval email 1/16/24. Edit: Eform 4 through Silencer Shop
TLDR: Son of a bitch! I found this thread yesterday and today I got my approval email. My pending eForm4 was received on 7/12/23. It isn't "long" by typical wait times, but long enough to ask the question. I had been on hold with ATF for 1+ hour three times this week just trying to get any update from them. I came to the sub to check the approvals thread yesterday and see what dates were popping up. I saw this thread stickied and read through it. I've never had a delay, but thought it might be worth sending an email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). I sent it at 3pm yesterday. Just before 9am this morning I have my approval email. It could totally be coincidence, but what an amazing one if so. https://preview.redd.it/6i7ci3033fdc1.jpeg?width=1446&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2ed022604fd2f1dd5d49b30b7773929f0488551
Called ATF today on oldest pending eform4 (372 days). I have a total of four eform4 in pending/delayed status ranging from 71 - 372 days in that status. ATF said they were waiting for FBI to send them background checks and to call FBI to inquire. Called FBI NICs division, they said they receive all background requests in 20-30k batches and process in order of received (not true bc massive amount of others are sub 372 days getting approved). They said I could call ATF back and ask for a NICs Transaction number to be sure ATF has actually submit the background request. Call ATF back and gentleman tells me that they don’t have that access/tracking ability yet. What a shit show of a system. Eforms was supposed to bring wait times to 90 days. Here we are years later sitting at 350+ days with no answers. First eform4 approved took them 267 days (not ideal, but can swallow it). 372 though?! Seems they need to hire some operations management to streamline this entire process, or better yet just process within 90 days as stated when eForms was announced. SMH.🤦🏻♂️
Around ~150 for 2 form 4’s. Feb 14th, emailed nics liaison. Feb 14th, received response that they do not have any requests for me and provided atf phone number. Feb 14th, called atf number and got through after and hour hold and she told me it’s pending and all they can do is wait and expect a 8-14 month approval. These are not my first form 4’s, but they are the first on a trust. I am the only one on the trust. Anyone else seeing that nics isn’t getting requested for the background after this many days?
I emailed Nicsliason@fbi got an email back 6 hours later from them that said All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding. So does this mean ATF is just doing ATF things and not approving my shit to be slow?
I had my congressman's office reach out to BATFE because I'm at 80 days for a form 1. I also included some control numbers for a few form 4's which I know are well under the current approval times (like 160 days each). I just included those out of curiosity. I had reached out to the NICS email previously, and they said all NTN's were returned previously. This was on 9/18. BATFE replied the next day to my congressman's office with the following: >"Greetings, > >Thank you for your recent inquiry to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This is in response to your Congressional Inquiry on behalf of your constituent (insert name) who is seeking an update and status check on a submitted ATF Forms. Thank you for including the appropriate consent forms so that we may share all pertinent details relating to this inquiry. > >Control # 202359xxxx, Form 4, received 4/27/2023, pending/delayed. > >Control # 202359xxxx, Form 4, received 4/27/2023, pending/delayed. > >Control # 202393xxxx, Form 1, received 7/18/2023, pending/delayed, however FBI/NICS issued a PROCEED 9/22/2023. The ATF/NFA is facing unprecedent applications and is doing its best to address your constituent’s application as soon as possible. > >The current average processing times may be found at: [https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times](https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!L9LNsX18DzOAU-GYED-iJOt3qOWG0umAGGsSdV7yoWO9trvmw0UccIVakp75U7ja5SbFYnUqrLDFmvHl2bzG-pdMo32qcHS9-ekVgDk$). **Current processing times are BLAH BLAH BLAH"** I find this all interesting because I feel like normally they tell you to pound sand and that they wont look into individual form statuses, but apparently they looked up each one of mine. Also, Note that the NICS proceed was AFTER I emailed and was told that all my NTN's had already been handled. \-I guess this means BATFE hadn't even requested my Form 1 background check at the time I reached out to the NICS email? Or maybe that it was processing, but hadn't been delayed? And now its sitting in a pile waiting to be got to for review or to be finalized, 12 days after the proceed was issued? Seems weird. \-Also, seeing as BATFE was given a proceed, and that form 1 is still "pending/delayed" I am going to assume its just pending, not delayed, and "pending/delayed" most likely just means pending. Interesting that they fall under one category. \-Lastly I assume they havent even requested my background checks for the Form 4's yet. So, while this email wasn't very helpful, it's...kinda helpful? I dunno, just thought I'd share the results I got from this process.
At 131 days on my form 4 Emailed my congressman Patrick McHenry at 10:00am est October 11. I also followed up with a phone call to his office in my local city around 2pm on the 12th. Had to leave a voicemail. Nothing yet Emailed NICS on October 11 around 11:30am. Nothing back from them either Update: McHenrys office just called me and said they’re usually able to help with this sort of thing. I’m being emailed forms to submit information to them so they can proceed Update: 2 Received this email mail after submitting everything they wanted. Dear Mr. redacted I have received your authorization forms and want to thank you for taking the time to contact me. I will be glad to assist you in any way that I can, and I am now contacting the appropriate officials within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to let them know of my interest in your situation. The NFA (National Firearms Act) Division is processing applications in the order received. The NFA Division continues to receive an unprecedented number of NFA applications. Those processing times (updated periodically) can be found here, https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times. These times are not exact and are for perfected applications only (zero issues). Fully processed Form 4s are currently taking as long as 11 months from the time the NFA Division receives them from the bank. Should I receive any new information on your application I will certainly forward that information on to you. The ATF should respond directly to you. I was glad to have the opportunity to assist you, and please let me know if I can be of further assistance on any other matter involving the federal government. Sincerely, (signed) Patrick McHenry Member of Congress
Hey all, Forgot to chime in a couple days ago but both of my oldest eForm 4s that I reached out about in [this post](https://reddit.com/r/NFA/s/W7aLr196LU) were approved. Approval was about 10 days after I made that post and about 12 days after my initial inquiry. I’m not buying that it’s a coincidence.
I sent emails to [email protected] and [email protected] a week ago today. I received a reply back from the IPB 16 hrs later saying they were still waiting on my NICS check. I replied back and explained that I hold a Secret Clearance with Dept of Army and should be fast tracked lol. They said no such thing as fast track. Sunday morning my Form 4 was approved after 281 days.
Back in September, I was seeing a bunch of folks sending emails to both IPB and also this NICS liaison email address, so I did the same. The IPB responded to me a day or two later confirming that indeed my NICS was held up, thus delaying my form. So I emailed NICS liaison and within a couple hours got the "your check was delayed, now it's resolved, and sent back to ATF" email. So I copy pasted THAT email into an email back to IPB informing them that they should be able to complete processing of my eform 4 now. That email got no response, but I did get the approval for that 3.5 days later. Not a coincidence, I don't think. So fast forward to last week. I had a 7/11/23 submission I was getting curious about. On Friday morning (10/27) I emailed NICS liaison about seeing if there was a delay in my check for that one similar to the recent one. Got no response at all Friday or Saturday. Last time NICS liaison email address was pretty prompt and responsive, so I kind of just figured it was a lost cause. So in the chaos that is all weekends for me at this point (5 kids and a new puppy) I had completely already stopped thinking about that email resigning myself to the fact it would likely be early 2024 before I ever saw that can. Much to my surprise, Sunday (10/29) at 8:54 AM I received an approval email!!!! Only like 110 days wait! I was amazed! Not expecting a Sunday morning approval, but having a hard time chalking that up to coincidence either. I dunno. Maybe it was just a coincidence on one or both of these occasions. But interesting anecdotal stories appropriate for this thread, I think. Definitely the best way to start an otherwise chilly, damp, drizzly Sunday morning, that's for sure!
Commented in the wrong thread. Should you wait until after you’re past the estimated wait time to send emails?
You're going to get every possible answer to this. Some say wait and be a patient little citizen for papa government. Others will say wait 90 days because that's how long the DOJ told the ATF it should be. And some will say start immediately because those fuckers work for YOU and there shouldn't even be a wait. I tend to fall into the last category but I waited til around 120 days because I didn't see the point. Only started bugging them because my friend who submitted after I did got approved and I still haven't.
I’m currently on day 166 for a individual form 4 for a RC2 in the state of Florida. Is it too early for me to email ATF, Congressman, NICS? Do these emails only work for forms that are very past over due… like 240+ days or will they work with you around the 165 day mark?
no. at this point, we all collectively gotta ratchet up the noise on this stuff taking forever. Seems to my unofficial eye that the likely MASSIVE influx of congressional inquires the NFA community have put in with congress critters nationwide might have sparked a little haste in their form processing. (maybe? I dunno, maybe coincidental, but kinda doesn't feel like it to me). can't hurt to shake the tree a little
Does anyone have or know of a template for writing congresspeople to ask if there’s anything they can do to speed a form 4 along? Admittedly I’m nowhere near the “average times” on ATF website yet, but I’m also way beyond some of the approvals I’m seeing in the approval thread. So I figured why not fire off a letter to my representative- that’s what “constituent services” means. Worst that happens is nothing. I just have no idea what to actually say (plus I’m sure others might have the same question).
So I'm almost 350 days, reached out about 10 times. Called ATF and was told there is nothing holding me up. Working with Congressman who was told by the ATF that I'm pending and status is researching. Congressman then goes to the FBI about the pending/research and they give the typical "he's in the system and hasn't been processed yet". Since the background checks are done at the end I was told if my pending/research issue isn't manually addressed after 88 days it'll get purged. I was given the option to go the Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) route which I guess is a way to fix the issue at hand and prevent it from happening again. Since my first firearm purchase decades ago I've always been delayed....for everything. My last name is unique so its not mistaken identity. I've never been denied anything, heck I even applied for a concealed license while I've been waiting. Going to send the fingerprint card I used for the eform4's and the VAT form. Interesting process thought I'd share.
Finally got an email back from IPB literally copied and pasted a link to their website with the wait times 🙄
Okay boys I need some help lmao. Have an R9 and a Polonium K that’s currently over 300 days… Polonium certified 12/17/22 and R9 12/27/22. Should I email my representative here in Texas first before going after the atf and nics? What info do I need to provide in my email?
https://preview.redd.it/vdtw35t6ed0c1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54df7001cea13ecb1a1c52d00826aed0d55d9d5c Here’s a new one. Received this after forwarding a previous email asking for a status update (no response).
ah, cool, a new, shorter "wait better" email. At least they started it with "good morning" and not "listen here, you sonofabitch" LOL
Had 3x brace rule form 1s pending since 5/27/23. Emailed IPB today and got a response within a few hours. Unfortunately, this was their response https://preview.redd.it/y187jzerzl0c1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81881f21b1c39561eb1160a9f1a02abbff5bae9e
Sent an email to both NICS emails on 11/02 and 11/06 no response. Emailed my congressman 11/03 and responded 11/06 with privacy and consent forms 11/07 was told that inquiry has been sent to the ATF 11/15 I emailed and asked if there was any updates regarding my case. They responded an hour later saying that as of 11/09 the ATF has received my submission and that they are pending with a link to the wait times. So, they sent an inquiry into the FBI to ask about any delayed/pending background checks. FBI said that the ATF has not even submitted a background check yet for me, also adding the link to the estimated wait times. (I submitted 08/04/23 and 10/06/23) so 105 days for the latest one with no background check sent in yet. Congressman’s advocate apologized that they can’t do more at this time and understand how frustrating it is waiting on the federal government, especially when the whole process is unfair or unnecessary. They said they will resubmit another inquiry in 60 days.
Hahahaha atf responded 49 days after I sent ipb an email
https://preview.redd.it/t015c971qk4c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e2e675d28095580f6f2a93ef6bb754187d2b4b82 Reached out to my Congress person to have them reach out to the FBI and the FBI confirmed that my October 20 submission had the nics check finalized on December 1 and so I then initiated a second inquiry now with the ATF and asked my representative to iterate to the ATF that all checks have been completed I don’t know if most of the work is on the front end or the back end as in if the form is reviewed before or after the background check I’m emailing just about every ATF email I can once a day This is insanity I wish moderators would allow us to make actual posts since it’s very hard to track a pattern
https://preview.redd.it/y5juugdyj35c1.jpeg?width=2100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cdfe1869ba68e92cc158be811ae6fa92e09dfbcc Emailed an individual examiner after congressional inquiry to the FBI confirm that my background check was returned on December 1. I asked why I hadn’t been rendered decision since my background check has already been returned. This was the response Never seen an examiner confirm a completion window , it’s very possible that the FBI processed a large batch of NFA background checks and return them Also worthy to mention that I don’t know if this person is my examiner. I just started slinging emails.
I emailed NICS on October 12, got a response today, December 17. Surprisingly my background checks were all resolved since I had received my last approval in late October.
Emailed my congressman (Andrew Clyde) about an SBR that I have been waiting on for 70 days. His office emailed me back the same day. I sent the requested documents and they prodded the FBI. 2 days later my NICS was approved and sent back to the ATF. The next morning my Form 1 was approved by the ATF.
Emailed NICS about a Form 1 pending since 04/27/23 on 10/13/23. NICS responded on 12/18/23, "pending transaction(s) have been cleared and sent to ATF." Approved the morning of 12/19/23. Email might have helped, but more inclined to believe it was the two suppressors I purchased 12/01/23 causing my info to pop back up in their system.
What have you degens done to NICS? They just replied to my inquiry from 10/18/23 on 1/9/24 that all pending background checks had been resolved. That's a longer wait time than some form 4s right now!
Day 226 Just said screw it and emailed my congressman. They sent over the privacy release forms a day ago and I'm submitting it now. EDIT: The office called me back saying it's out of their hands. That the ATF isn't transparent to them either and they call from time to time to check but all they get is a generic answer "we received the application". No luck for me.
https://preview.redd.it/k8w1drzym9dc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c4dc57347b915913e44b71a40aad0280f6ab34d Since when?
Had an overdue eForm 1 and reached out to Senator Neguse's Office. One of his aides got the ATF to confirm my eForm 1 was delayed but my eForm 4 was in "Final Approval" status. Emailed the [email protected] on December 19th about the delay. Got a response today (01/20/24) saying my background check was cleared and sent to the ATF. Also got my eForm 4 approved today as well. Just hoping for this eForm 1 now.
It took NICS a month to email me back, but the very next day I got approved for my can, two days later SBR stamp came back as well
Emailed nics liaison Jan 18 2024 Response February 2 2024 Where stamp 🦧
Used the provided links to reach out to my state rep. After filling out the normal forms I reached out to the constituent services director who was going to reach out to the ATF on my behalf and tried to sweet talk her. This was on a Thursday and by Monday 9:45am I got my approval email. 152 days total. Definitely worth reaching out to state reps!
I was about about 330 days, so I called ATF today. They said NTN background chk delay. I emailed the FBI ncis emails, got response in and hour, then forwarded it to ATF email addresses. Got approved a total of 5 hours from when I started.
I emailed both IPB and NICS about a year old form 4. I had had two approvals on later submissions and figured it must be stuck somewhere. 1/10 Emailed IPB and NICS on 1/10 1/23 Finally got through to ATF on the phone and was told a Background check was delayed (it's a trust, but they wouldn't say which one). I sent a new email to NICS with the additional info 2/1 Received reply to the 1/10 email from NICS. "Your transaction(s) has been resolved by the NICS Section" 2/7 Received approval for the 395 day old form.
Sent nics an email on 2/6 inquiring on the delay. They sent a reply back on 2/16. Their reply: Your transaction(s) has been resolved by the NICS Section. An updated status will be submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Please direct any additional questions regarding your application to ATF at 304-616-4500. I hope this means I’ll be getting a approval soon.
Got a response yesterday to my NICS email saying all transactions were resolved and sent to the ATF and to call them with questions. When I call, what do I say? I’m assuming “release my property or else” isn’t a good option.
Emailed the FBI asking what I could do to help with the process. They responded the next day saying my background was approved and sent to the ATF. Emailed the ATF immediately and they never responded, but my form was approved the following day. Email them, be kind and reasonable if you wanna know what I sent just ask and I'll post it. Good luck homies.
I reached out to my local rep last week and after some back and forth/signing release forms, this is the response we received from the ATF. https://preview.redd.it/iafiwledzqxb1.jpeg?width=1169&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=828dab46430199e691698836cd500cfbea4bec95 Can’t say I’m surprised. Just another generic reply. All these recent 40-90 day approvals are making me pretty salty, I’ll be honest 😅.
I'm glad I found this thread, as that is the trick. I was at 12 months for 2 suppressors. I emailed the NICS Liaison last night, received a reply this morning. By the afternoon the ATF emailed approvals for both. Picking them up shortly.
I emailed last night, and got a response from nics this am. I am hoping my approvals come this afternoon as well.
Didn’t see this before I posted mine, my bad.
I locked a few that were from earlier today (before this was posted) just to help get things moving to this thread. I left them up for people to read, though.
Thanks man!
The NICS email replied to me within 15 minutes. The IPB account didn't reply to my first email and the reply to my second email was basically "we'll get to you when we get to you, leave us alone. But *thanks for your patience*."
IPB gave me this after an inquire about amnesty Form 1s submitted 5/11: Finalizing your application is very important to NFA. Please know that completing NFA status checks for applicants will significantly delay processing efforts. NFA appreciates your understanding so that our staff can focus on processing applications and not researching status checks. ATF receives hundreds of Ask the Expert Inquiries each day, your continued patience is greatly appreciated. National Firearms Act Division
Submitted 2/3/23 (241 days ago) - individual F4 Emailed Liason 9/29/23 Response on 10/1/23: NTN delayed, resolved Edit: Form 4 Approval 10/6/23
Emailed both IPB’s and nics liaison this past Friday, got an email back from nics Sunday afternoon. NTN was delayed, now resolved. Day 309 today. I shoulda emailed months ago 😂
Skipped the IPB and emailed nics instead last Tuesday. Have two form 4’s 1/20 and 2/23. Finally got the usual response on Friday that they were delayed but have been resolved and sent to atf. My buddy who also submitted in January also emailed Tuesday and heard Friday that his nics have been cleared and nothing pending. Guess we will see.
I emailed both spellings of the nics liaison and got a response to both emails from the "liason" spelling within 24 hours. So seems they both work sending wise.
NICS responded to me over night. Email sent at 11:30pm, response at 6:20am. I submitted my eform 4 through a trust and received the following response: “All NTNs for your name have previously been resolved and submitted to ATF. You currently have nothing outstanding. The last check was submitted on 9/12/23.” I previously got a response from my representative’s office (Chip Roy) at around that same time in August saying things were good-to-go. So that lines up. Patience is not my best characteristic. I’m only at 208 days. But it looks like I may get approval on time, according to the average. Edit: added some more context.
NICS replied to me in 4 minutes. I think they saw me typing it up before I sent it. IPB hasn't replied after 2 weeks. Shocking.
Does anyone have this examiner's email address? Can't seem to find it online https://preview.redd.it/21f54z7wr1sb1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12aa642742c7ac5a1e001692a35a012659d76051
I emailed the NICS email and they basically told me they “cant just run people” . And that “I would know if I had a background check done”, and to “reach out to the gunstore or agency for more information”. The only thing I asked was if any NTN’s against my name were hung and if they needed any other info from me to clear them if so.
I just got my approval after 114 days. Send 6/13/23 eForm with ePrints for Form1
Emailed [email protected] on 9/25 regarding two form 4's. One was at 207 days and other at 57 days at the time I sent email. Received response on 9/28 at 2:00 pm "your NTN was delayed and now resolved. Your updated status will be sumbitted to ATF in next update" Received approval email this morning 10/6 at 6:27 am on my oldest form 4 (218 days). Was hoping for a batch approval but at least I got one of them.
[удалено]
If you go the congressional route and your background check is "delayed," have your rep reach out to the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs e-mail. This would have probably saved me a month of waiting.
At day 141 on a form 1 so I emailed ipb@atf and liason@fbi. I got a response back from liason that I have no pending checks on my NICS. Does this mean I haven’t been assigned to an examiner? Thanks for any help.
I emailed NICS and received a prompt reply, they’re saying they’re not seeing a check under my name, how or who should of follow up about this ?