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Import Firearms, Ammunition, and Implements of War

An Application and Permit for Importation of Firearms, Ammunition and Implements of War is generally needed to import defense articles into the United States. The most recent PDF, non-fillable version of the ATF Form 6 Part I import permit application may be found on our website at http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-5330.3a.pdf. You may also search our website at www.atf.gov under Forms or contact our ATF Distribution Center to order a year’s supply of any of our forms and publications.

It generally takes the Firearms and Explosives Imports Branch (FEIB) personnel approximately four-to-six weeks to process a properly completed ATF Form 6. To assist us with the timely processing of your forms, we ask that you ensure:

• The form contains accurate and complete information.

• Item 1 contains your complete and valid 15-digit Federal firearms license number and your expiration date (located in the box directly to the right of the FFL box), especially the 7^th and 8^th digits which identifies your type of license. The 9^th digit of your FFL number indicates the year your license expires, and the 10^th digit indicates the month.

  Code	Month
  A	January
  B	February
  C	March
  D	April
  E	May
  F	June
  G	July
  H	August
  J	September
  K	October
  L	November
  N	December

  Remember: If you are a Federal firearms licensee Type “08” or “11” but you have not registered as an importer under the Arms Export Control Act, you are restricted to importing sporting shotguns, sporting shotgun ammunition, and sporting shotgun parts for resale.

• Item 2 contains your business and fax telephone numbers. Please note the letter B next to your business telephone number, and F next to your fax telephone number.
• Item 3 contains the name of the country the firearm is being exported from. Pursuant to 27 CFR §447.52, be advised that ATF is precluded from approving applications to import articles that were manufactured in, or being exported from a proscribed country.
• Item 5 contains your name and address, not the name and address of the person you may be importing the articles on behalf of.
• Item 6 contains the foreign seller’s name and address.
• Item 7 contains the foreign shipper’s name and address. If this information is identical to the information in item 6, you may note the words “See item 6.”
• Items 8a–k requires you to provide a specific detailed description of the defense article you wish to import. You may complete one Form 6 to import numerous defense articles but list only the articles that correspond with that Form 6. If the space provided in Items 8a–k is not sufficient to list all the articles you wish to import, please note only the words “see attachment” on the face of the ATF Form 6, under the Firearms, Ammunition, or Implements of War category, whichever is applicable. Use a separate sheet of paper to precisely describe and itemize the articles you wish to import, following the identical format in items 8a–k on the Form 6. This information is needed to determine the import status of the articles. List firearm component parts, (which do not include a firearm frame or receiver) under the Implement of War (IOW) category. IOWs include magazines, grips, barrels, mounts, scopes, and night visions, etc. Note the magazine capacity as well as the type and model designation of the firearm associated with the parts. When importing IOW, you must complete items 8a–f and list additional information under Description of the IOW category.
• Item 8a contains the name, address and/or country where the firearm was manufactured. Pursuant to 27 CFR §447.52, be advised that ATF is precluded from approving applications to import articles that were manufactured in, or being exported from, a proscribed country.

• Item 8b contains only the acronyms:

  Code	Description
  SG	shotgun
  RI	rifle
  PI	pistol
  RE	revolver
  DD	destructive device
  SI	silencer
  SR	short-barreled rifle
  SS	short-barreled shotgun
  MG	machinegun
  AW	any other weapon (Marble Game Getters, pen and cane guns, etc.)

  Any information you can provide to further identify articles may be noted in item 8b. For example, if you know the firearm is an assault, non-sporting, or NFA weapon, you may note this information separately, directly under columns item 8b–d, after you have already described the articles in items d 8a–k.

• Item 8c contains the firearm’s caliber and gauge. If you are importing articles of various calibers and gauges, you must itemize and specifically identify the caliber and gauge of each article.
• Item 8d contains the quantity. If you are importing articles of various models, you must itemize and specifically identify each article by its model designation.
• Item 8e contains the unit cost.
• Item 8f contains the US MIL Category of the article to be imported that corresponds to the categories of defense articles enumerated under 27 CFR §447.21. For example, firearms and firearms components=Category/Roman numeral I and ammunition=Category/Roman numeral III.
• Item 8g contains the firearm’s exact model designation. If you are unable to determine the model designation, please attach close-up photographs and/or scaled tracings (for handguns only) together with a listing of all markings appearing on the firearm and the location of these markings. This information will assist us in determining the import status of the firearm, and it should be attached to the completed Form 6.

• Items 8h–i note the firearm’s barrel and overall length. Please provide inches instead of centimeters or millimeters.

  Remember: the barrel and overall length are not the only criteria used to determine the import status of firearms. To meet the sporting criteria and qualify for importation under the law at section 925(d)(3): (1) rifles must have a barrel length of 16 inches or more and overall length 26-inches or more; (2) shotguns must have a barrel length of 18 inches or more and overall length of 26-inches or more; (3) pistols must have an overall length of 6 inches and achieve a minimum score of 75 points on ATF F 5330.5, Factoring Criteria for Weapons; and, (4) revolvers must have a minimum barrel length of 3 inches or more, pass the safety test and achieve a minimum score of 45 points on ATF F 5330.5, Factoring Criteria for Weapons.

• Item 8j contains the firearm’s serial number.
• Item 8k notes the condition of the firearm: N=new and U=used.
• Item 9 b or c is checked only if the items to be imported are U.S. origin military defense articles and not commercially manufactured goods. If the U.S. military defense articles “contain U.S. manufactured parts or components and/or foreign manufactured parts or components that were manufactured with U.S. technical data or assistance,” you must first obtain written retransfer authorization from the U.S. Department of State, Office of Defense Trade Controls, Political Military (PM/DTC), Room 1200 SA-1, 241 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037, (202) 663-1282, http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/, to be attached to the initial completed Form 6. New production of U.S. military defense articles would still require retransfer authorization to qualify for importation into the United States.
• Item 10 contains the specific purpose of importation, such as Gun Show, personal use, “on behalf of”, demonstration, or resale, etc. If importing NFA and non-sporting weapons, please ensure an official government contract, purchase order, or letter typed on official law enforcement and/or government letterhead, bearing the original signature of the chief law enforcement official having jurisdiction over that area, is attached to the completed Form 6.
• Item 11 must be checked “yes” or “no.” In order to engage in the business of importing articles on the U.S. Munitions Import List, other than sporting shotguns, shotgun parts, or shotgun shells, for resale, you must be registered as an importer under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). ATF Form 4587 (5330.4), Application to Register as an Importer of U.S. Munitions Import List Articles, may be found on our website.
• Item 12 contains your 10-digit AECA number which was issued by this office when you completed Form 4587.
• Item 13 contains your original signature.
• Item 14 contains your title, such as Importer, CEO, or President.