Do Tax Stamp Approval Times Vary?
Tax stamp approval times can vary from applicant to applicant, to even the type of tax stamp application being used to apply for the NFA Firearm. If two applicants are applying for the same NFA firearm at the same time, one applicant might receive an approved tax stamp before the other applicant. This is due to many factors some of which are internal ATF factors. However, more consistent are the approval times based on the application type.
ATF eForm 1 - Average approval time of 32 days, with the pending research phase varying from 2 days to 3 weeks.
ATF Form 1 / ATF Form 4 - Average approval time of 6 to 11 months
ATF Form 5 - Average approval time of 1 to 3 months.
For the most up to date approval times, you can view our ATF Application Approval Trackers here.
Other NFA Gun Trust and ATF Related Blog Posts
ATF Proposes to Remove CLEO Notification Under the NFA
Removing CLEO Notification Under the National Firearms Act ATF is proposing to remove the requirement for an applicant to forward to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) of his or her locality ...
ATF Proposes New Fingerprint and Photograph Requirements
View Proposed Rule Here. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) proposes amending regulatory requirements to submit fingerprints and photographs with firearms ap...
Current ATF Processing Times - May 2026
ATF Form Processing Time Paper Application Processing Time eForms ATF Form 1 33 Days 62 Days ATF Form 3 8 Days 1 Days ATF Form 4 63 Days 8 Days ATF Form 4 Trust 25 Days 25 Days AT...