View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 1140-0020	ICR Reference No: 202302-1140-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202301-1140-001
Agency/Subagency: DOJ/ATF	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Firearms Transaction Record/Registro de Transacción de Armas de Fuego
Type of Information Collection: No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 11/18/2022
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 02/22/2023
	Date Received in OIRA: 02/08/2023
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	06/30/2023	06/30/2023	06/30/2023
Responses	17,189,101	0	17,189,101
Time Burden (Hours)	8,594,551	0	8,594,551
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: The Firearms Transaction Record/Registro de Transacción de Armas de Fuego allows Federal firearms licensees to determine the eligibility of persons purchasing firearms. It also alerts buyers to certain restrictions on the receipt and possession of firearms.

Emergency Justfication: ATF is requesting an expedited/emergency clearance for the Firearms Transaction Record/Registro de Transacción de Armas de Fuego (ATF Form 4473) (OMB 1140-0020). Prospective firearm buyers complete the Form 4473, and the Federal firearms licensee (FFL) relays that information to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) electronically or by phone. NICS staff performs a background check on the buyer. That background check verifies the buyer is not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm. As a result, it is critical that the form remain updated to include instructions, questions, and spaces for the specific information the purchasers are required to provide and to remind licensees and prospective purchasers of legal obligations and requirements. It also serves as a deterrent to prohibited purchases by identifying penalties, including criminal ones, for violating the requirements. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (the Act) was signed into law and became effective on June 25, 2022. Among the changes enacted by the Act were a requirement for FFLs to note when a purchaser is under the age of 21 and to meet additional background check steps and timelines for mental health adjudication checks before an FFL may sell to certain purchasers. The Act also included new requirements that FFLs stop a transaction if they have any reason to believe the person is prohibited to receive or possess a firearm, prohibits a licensee from transferring a firearm to a person who intends to use the firearm in trafficking or who is impermissibly acquiring it for another person, and establishes new criminal penalties for such purchases. The Act also changed the scope of individuals prohibited from receiving a firearm due to domestic abuse convictions to include ‘boyfriends,’ and changed the scope of entities who must have a license to purchase firearms for resale. The provisions increase public safety by better identifying people who present a high danger or risk of misuse if they own a firearm, preventing sale to them and for trafficking purposes, and deterring certain subterfuge purchases that enable people who are prohibited or who intend to engage in prohibited actions to receive firearms. These statutory and regulatory requirements are not reflected on the existing Form 4473. This creates a risk to public safety. The Form 4473 helps to prevent firearms from being sold to people Congress has determined are too dangerous and helps to deter crimes committed with ‘ghost guns’ that cannot be traced. NICS has now updated its system and will begin implementing the changes indicated above beginning November 14, 2022. The Form 4473 has been updated and translated into an updated Spanish version. As a result, it is urgent that the updated form be provided to licensees as soon as possible to protect public safety. The majority of changes to the form directly implement the statutory and regulatory items outlined above; the remaining changes to the form are minor administrative items, such as renumbering. We therefore are requesting expedited review of the revised ATF Form 4473, including waiving both notice periods and faster OIRA review. We understand that an expedited approval would be good for only up to six months, and that we must renew the revised form through a full PRA clearance process before then to continue using it thereafter.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 18 USC 923 Name of Law: Licensing
US Code: 18 USC 922 Name of Law: Unlawful acts

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Firearms Transaction Record/Registro de Transacción de Armas de Fuego	ATF Form 4473 (5300.9A), ATF Form 4473 (5300.9A), ATF F 4473 (5300.9), ATF F 4473 (5300.9)	, , ,

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved
Annual Number of Responses	17,189,101	17,189,101
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	8,594,551	8,594,551
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement:

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $1,500,000

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Jason Gluck 202 648-7405

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion