What is the ATF NFA NFRTR?

According to 26 U.S.C § 5841, the NFRTR is:

“the central registry of all NFA firearms in the U.S. which are not in the possession or under the control of the U.S. Government. The registry includes (1) the identification of the firearm, (2) date of registration, and (3) identification and address of the person entitled to possession of the firearm (the person to whom the firearm is registered).”

What does the NFRTR look like?

The NFRTR is a data table (or “central registry” as referenced in the above statute) which contains information about the possessor, transferees and the NFA device itself.  It is populated by ATF personnel upon submission of an NFA related e-Form or a paper-based Form 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 or 5320.20.

Information relevant to each possessor’s NFRTR record can be found in the table and plain language description as shown below.

• Last Name – The last name of the ‘person’ who is said to possess the NFA device. This may be an actual person or a licensee. For example, the Last Name might read “John Doe’s NFA Manufacturing Co.”
• First Name – The first name of the person.
• Trade Name – Trade name of the commercial entity, if applicable.
• City and State – The City and State in which the possessor exists.
• FFL – The Federal Firearms License number of the possessor.
• EIN – The nine-digit Federal Employment Identification Number provided by the IRS.
• Form Type – The type of ATF Form (e.g., Form 2) which was used to post the last transaction to the NFRTR.
• Status Date – A date field that changes during the processing of the application.  The “Status Date” starts as the date the application was entered and ultimately becomes the Approval or Disapproval date.
• Serial Number – The serial number engraved on the NFA device.
• Mfg, Model and Caliber – The product specific markings as engraved on the device which, in all practical purposes should match the physical characteristics of the device unless they have been altered after-the-fact.
• Barrel and Overall – The registered length of the barrel and overall length of the device.