UPDATE - Current Pending Research eForm 1 Times

When you apply to make your NFA firearm using the eForm 1 application, your application may require research by the ATF before you will receive your cover letter.  This phase is called the pending research phase.  Before COVID-19, this phase was generally one to three business days.  That has changed now that the ATF examiners are working remotely.  The current pending research phase is now four to eight weeks (more updates below).  This means that after you apply using the eForm 1 application for a silencer, 80% lower, etc you won't receive your cover letter to submit your fingerprint cards to the ATF for two to three weeks.  You can learn more about the pending research phase here - What Does eForm 1 Pending Research Mean? And What to Do... 

More Detailed Updates:

• August 2020 at time of publishing - 2 to 3 weeks for pending research phase. 
• October 2020 - 4 to 8 weeks for pending research phase.
• October 26, 2020 - ATF confirms - 90 days for pending research phase. 
• November 8, 2020 - 90+ days for pending research phase has been confirmed by www.reddit.com/r/NFA/ community. 
• Early December - 120+ days for pending research phase. 
• December 29, 2020 - 150+ days for pending research according to the ATF. 
• March 2021 - Reddit r/NFA users have indicated pending research times have dropped to 30 days to 90 days. 
• April 2021 - Reddit r/NFA users have indicated pending research times have stabilized around 30 days.