Since 1985, the federal regulations required Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) to keep 4473s for no less than twenty (20) years after the date of sale or disposition. In cases where the sale, delivery, or transfer of the firearm was not made, FFLs were required to keep those records for a period of no less than five (5) years.

Of course, for dealers who conducted business with any kind of volume, storage of these records could become quite onerous. In addition to the massive amount of physical space these records could fill, FFLs were also required to keep the records in a systematized order, to ensure the ease of finding specific records during an audit. As one can imagine, creating a system where records are kept in an orderly fashion for a period of twenty (20) years could become quite taxing.

In 2008, after multiple inquiries from industry members, ATF released ATF Rule 2008-3, which authorized FFLs to use an electronic version of the 4473, provided certain conditions were met. Further, the 2008 ruling required that “[t]he licensee staples the printed pages together and retains the complete package, including all Notices, Instructions, and Definitions for ATF Form 4473, at his/her licensed premises in accordance with law and regulations.”

While computers were used to input the information onto the 4473, at the end of the day, there remained a physical copy that had to be signed by the buyer or transferee.

Eight years later, ATF released ATF Rule 2016-2, which continued to require that “[t]he licensee []retain the printed ATF Forms 4473 at the licensed premises in accordance with 27 CFR 478.124(b) and 129.”

In April of 2022, pursuant to ATF 2021R-05F, the federal regulations relating to the storage of ATF Form 4473 (4473) was amended. In the pertinent part, the rule increased the duration that a licensee would need to retain records (from 20 years until business or the licensed activity was discontinued). Additionally, licensees were now given the option to store records older than 20 years at a separate warehouse (to be considered part of the licensed premises and subject to inspection) or electronically.

Later that year, in August, the agency published ATF Rule 2022-01, which was directed at the electronic storage of the 4473 and superseded all prior approved alternate methods and procedures as it relates to the electronic storage of 4473s. The agency acknowledged that “using an electronic system to retain completed Forms 4473 saves space, time, and money in recordkeeping and auditing expenses for members of the regulated firearms industry,” and “Electronic storage of Forms 4473 is convenient for FFLs, improves firearms tracing efforts, and promotes efficient ATF compliance inspections.” ATF further noted that the records would be more secure from environmental damage, loss, or destruction, easier to review, and mitigate storage concerns for both FFLs and ATF’s National Tracing Center (where all the out of business records go).

All FFLs may now take advantage of the electronically completed 4473 provided a variety of requirements are met. For the purposes of this article, only several will be highlighted but they are all found in ATF Rule 2022-01. It is your responsibility to ensure you understand the various requirements before implementing an electronic storage system to ensure compliance with the GCA and security of your license.

To begin, licensees must notify their ATF Industry Operations Area Office in writing 60 days prior to implementing an electronic storage system. During this 60-day period, FFLs may store new 4473s electronically, but are also required to keep paper copies of forms during that time period.The forms must be saved in an unalterable format (see the Rule for more information on corrections). ATF must be provided access to the database to facilitate compliance inspections during the FFL’s business hours.

Additionally, the retention system must allow for printing of any record upon request from ATF. As with the paper filing system, the electronic system must retain the records in alphabetical, chronological, or numerical order. In the event there is an interruption with the electronic system (failure or otherwise), licensees may revert to paper 4473s and retain those unless they are later scanned in accordance with the rule.

Perhaps most interesting is that when a licensee discontinues business, all of the electronic records must be delivered to the National Tracing Center (consistent with what was previously required of paper forms), however, if submitted in a PDF or TIFF format, the licensee must ensure that “Optical Character Recognition and Intelligent Character Recognition are turned off/disabled, and images are flattened and not electronically searchable.”

Lifetime record retention for shops that do any amount of volume can result in the financial burden associated with having to find additional storage to keep the records, not to mention having to ensure that all the records are physically there and in order. Electronic storage eliminates the need to potentially acquire additional space and alleviates concerns as to whether a record is there/in order.

As ATF acknowledges digital storage saves FFLs time money and space, 2025 is the year to fully digital. 4473 Cloud is not only the industry’s leading digital storage solution, but the only one that is system agnostic and attorney backed compliant! Get started (add sign up link) today and say goodbye to paper in 2025!