ATF Compliant FD-258 Fingerprint Cards - Walk-Through Guide
How to guide and walk-through guide for the ATF Compliant FD-258 Fingerprint Cards
Any applications for a ATF 5320.1 - Form 1, ATF 5320.4 - Form 4, or ATF 5320.5 - Form 5 postmarked on or after July 13, 2016 must also include Fingerprint cards and passport photos to the application. You can purchase ATF Compliant FD-258 Fingerprint cards from us that ship same business day if ordered before 3:30pm MST with tracking information here - ATF Compliant FD-258 Paper Fingerprinting Packet/Cards for ATF NFA Paperwork or you can order them from the ATF Distribution Center here - ATF Distribution Center Order Form. Below is our walk-through guide for the required FD-258 fingerprint card.
The FD-258 fingerprint card doesn't have reference and box numbers for each box. Please see the above FD-258 box identification guide to use with the below box numbers.
Step by Step Walk-Through Guide for the ATF FD-258 Fingerprint Cards.
Section 2. - Date Fingerprinted | Signature of Official Taking Fingerprints | CTZ - Citizenship | SEX - Sex | RAC - Race | HGT - Height | WGT - Weight | EYES - Eyes | HAI - Hair | POB - Place of Birth |
NAM - Name. Enter the name obtained from the subject in this field. Abbreviations are not to be used for any part of the name. This format is last name followed by a comma (,) first and middle name, if any. Suffixes denoting seniority (i.e. Jr., Sr., III, etc.) should follow the middle or first name. If you have no middle name, you can write "NMN" under the middle name section. Do not obstruct this area by using stamps, labels, holes or staples where the name has been printed.
Signature and residence of Person Fingerprinted Block. Obtain the signature of the person being fingerprinted, in ink. Also, enter the residential address of the person being fingerprinted.
Aliases (AKA) Block. Enter other names used by the subject that are different than the name entered in the “NAM” block #1. Also list the signature name as an AKA if different than the name that appears in the “NAM” block. Maiden names and all previous married names of females should be entered in the AKA field, if known.
Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) Block. If the ORI number is not preprinted by the FBI/ATF, enter the ORI number, agency name, city and state. The ORI for the ATF is WVATF0800, ATF-NATL TRA CTR, MARTINSBURG, WV or WVATF0900, ATF-NATL TRA CTR, MARTINSBURG, WV.
Date of Birth (DOB) Block. Enter the DOB in month, day, year format (i.e. MM DD YYYY).
Section 2. - Date Fingerprinted | Signature of Official Taking Fingerprints | CTZ - Citizenship | SEX - Sex | RAC - Race | HGT - Height | WGT - Weight | EYES - Eyes | HAI - Hair | POB - Place of Birth |
Date Fingerprinted Block. Enter the date the subject was fingerprinted in month, day, year format (i.e. MM/DD/YYYY).
Citizenship (CTZ) Block. Enter “USA” if the subject is a citizen of the United States; otherwise, enter the appropriate country. Use the correct abbreviation for foreign countries or correctly spell the name of the country. “YES” or “NO” responses are not acceptable.
Sex (SEX) Block. Sex must be indicated by one of the below codes, for example “F” (female), “M” (male), etc.
RACE CODE TABLE
| External Code | Literal | Description (If Subject Is) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Asian or Pacific Islander | Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Polynesian, Indian, Indonesian, Asian Indian, Samoan, or other Pacific Islander. |
| B | Black | A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. |
| I | American Indian or Alaskan Native | American Indian, Eskimo, or Alaskan Native, or a person having origins in any of the 48 contiguous states of the United States or Alaska who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community. recognition |
| U | Unknown | Of Indeterminable Race. |
| W | White | Caucasian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. |
Height (HGT) Block. Height must be expressed in feet and inches. Fractions of an inch should be rounded off to the nearest inch. Inches less than ten should be preceded by a zero. For example, five feet four inches should be submitted as “504” and six feet even would be “600”.
Weight (WGT) Block. Weight must be expressed in pounds. Fractions of a pound should be rounded off to the nearest pound.
HAIR COLOR CODE TABLE
| Hair Color Literal | External Code |
|---|---|
| Bald | BLD |
| Black | BLK |
| Blond (or strawberry) | BLN |
| Blue | BLU |
| Brown | BRO |
| Green | GRN |
| Gray (or partially gray) | GRY |
| Orange | ONG |
| Purple | PLE |
| Pink | PNK |
| Red (or auburn) | RED |
| Sandy | SDY |
| White | WHI |
| Unknown | XXX |
Employer and Address Block. This box can be left blank if you are using your FD-258 fingerprint cards for a tax stamp application.
Miscellaneous Number (MNU) Block. If applicable, generally this is left blank. The MNU is an identifying number associated with the subject such as U.S. Military Service Number, Passport Number, etc.
Once you have completed the top portion of the fingerprint cards, you can move down to add your fingerprints to the card itself. The fingerprinting section is broken up in to three sections: right hand, left hand and both the left hand and the right hand. We will explain each section below.
Section 1 - Right Hand - Boxes 1 through 5:
The fingerprint card requires you to add your fingerprints to the first section. Most commonly the section is completed left to right, starting with your right thumb moving from finger to finger ending up with your right little finger. If you are using a fingerprint card holder, you can lift the arm of the fingerprint card holder, align the FD-258 fingerprint using the guides and close the arm on the first section. Starting with your right thumb you will apply ink to the right thumb by placing your finger on the ink-less fingerprint pad. Ensure that you have ink on your entire right thumb. You will place your right thumb over Box 1. R. THUMB. With even pressure, press your right thumb against the card and roll the right thumb side to side or nail to nail. Once complete lift your right thumb quickly and in a continuous manner as to not smudge the print. This process will be repeated for Box 2. R. INDEX, Box 3. R. MIDDLE, Box 4. R. RING, and lastly Box 5. R. LITTLE.
Section 2 - Left Hand - Boxes 6 through 10:
The fingerprint card requires you to add your fingerprints to the second section. Most commonly the section is completed left to right, starting with your left thumb moving from finger to finger ending up with your left little finger. If you are using a fingerprint card holder, you can lift the arm of the fingerprint card holder, adjust the card so that the second section is visible and close the arm on the second section. Starting with your left thumb you will apply ink to the left thumb by placing your finger on the ink-less fingerprint pad. Ensure that you have ink on your entire left thumb. You will place your left thumb over Box 6. L. THUMB. With even pressure, press your left thumb against the card and roll the left thumb side to side or nail to nail. Once complete lift your left thumb quickly and in a continuous manner as to not smudge the print. This process will be repeated for Box 7. L. INDEX, Box 8. L. MIDDLE, Box 9. L. RING, and lastly Box 10. L. LITTLE.
Section 3 - Left Four Fingers Taken Simultaneously
The fingerprint card requires you to add your fingerprints to the third section. This section will start with your L. LITTLE, L. RING, L. MIDDLE, L. INDEX, fingers placed simultaneously. If you are using a fingerprint card holder, you can lift the arm of the fingerprint card holder, adjust the card so that the third section is visible and close the arm on the third section. You will apply ink to the left little finger, left ring finger, left middle finger and left index finger by placing your fingers on the ink-less fingerprint pad. Ensure that you have ink on your entire left little finger, left ring finger, left middle finger and left index finger. You will place your left little finger, left ring finger, left middle finger and left index finger over the box labeled LEFT FOUR FINGERS TAKEN SIMULTANEOUSLY. With even pressure, press your left little finger, left ring finger, left middle finger and left index finger against the card. Once complete lift your left little finger, left ring finger, left middle finger and left index finger quickly and in a continuous manner as to not smudge the print.
Section 3 - Left Thumb and Right Thumb:
With your left thumb you will apply ink to the left thumb by placing your finger on the ink-less fingerprint pad. Ensure that you have ink our entire left thumb. You will place your left thumb over L. THUMB. With even pressure, press your left thumb against the card and roll the left thumb side to side or nail to nail. Once complete lift your left thumb quickly and in a continuous manner as to not smudge the print. With your right thumb you will apply ink to the right thumb by placing your finger on the ink-less fingerprint pad. Ensure that you have ink our entire right thumb. You will place your right thumb over R. THUMB. With even pressure, press your right thumb against the card and roll the right thumb side to side or nail to nail. Once complete lift your right thumb quickly and in a continuous manner as to not smudge the print.
Section 3 - Right Four Fingers Taken Simultaneously:
This section will be your R. INDEX, R. MIDDLE, R. RING, R. LITTLE, fingers placed simultaneously. You will apply ink to the right index finger, right middle finger, right ring finger and right little finger by placing your fingers on the ink-less fingerprint pad. Ensure that you have ink on your entire right index finger, right middle finger, right ring finger and right little finger. You will place your right index finger, right middle finger, right ring finger and right little finger over the box labeled RIGHT FOUR FINGERS TAKEN SIMULTANEOUSLY. With even pressure, press your right index finger, right middle finger, right ring finger and right little finger against the card. Once complete lift your right index finger, right middle finger, right ring finger and right little finger quickly and in a continuous manner as to not smudge the print.
You can purchase ATF Compliant FD-258 Fingerprint cards from us that ship same business day - ATF Compliant FD-258 Paper Fingerprinting Packet/Cards for ATF NFA Paperwork or you can order them from the ATF Distribution Center here - ATF Distribution Center Order Form. Please note that ATF Distribution Center orders can up to a month to be delivered.Portions of this walk-through guide are taken from the, "Guidelines for Preparation of Fingerprint Cards and Associated Criminal History Information", issued by the U.S. Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Criminal Justice Information Services Division: Updated 9/30/2016.
Information located within this article is current as of March 2021 Information located within this article is an original guide created by National Gun Trusts and not to be cited or used without the written permission of National Gun Trusts.
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