Industry Circular

Number: 83-9

Date: June 29, 1983

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

Washington, DC 20226

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THREE YEAR FIREARMS LICENSES

To Firearms and Ammunition Manufacturers, Importers, Dealers, Collectors and Others Concerned:

PURPOSE: The purpose of this circular is to inform you of a Treasury decision effective August 1, 1983, T.D. ATF - 135(48 FR 24065), implementing a three year firearms license.

The license period of an original license and for a license renewal has been one year since implementation of the Gun Control Act of 1968. On November 30, 1982, ATF published a notice of proposed rulemaking, Notice No. 437, in the FEDERAL REGISTER (47 FR 53929) proposing a three year firearms license for manufacturers, importers, dealers, and collectors. Comment letters from the public and firearms industry members were strongly in favor because the three year license would reduce their paperwork burden.

Under 27 CFR 178.49 as amended, all original licenses issued on or after August 1, 1983, will be for a three year period. However, original applica- tions, ATF Form 7, received at the IRS Service Center prior to October 1, 1983 using existing application forms and with a one year fee will be accepted and processed as one year licenses. Thereafter, all applications must be processed for a three year term and the appropriate fee must be submitted to avoid unnecessary delays.

Since there are currently more than 200,000 licensees, the new three year license term will be phased in over a one year period starting with the renewal for August 1, 1983. Each month as license renewal forms are processed each form will be randomly assigned a license term of one, two or three years. Following this one year period all firearms licenses will be renewed for a three year period.

Each license renewal, ATF Form 8 Part II, will indicate in item 6 the selected renewal period and the appropriate fee to be paid. The fees shown in item 4 should be disregarded.

Those licensees with multiple license premises who have applied for and received a common expiration date on all their licenses will continue to receive a common expiration date and the term of all of their licenses will be either one, two or three years.

INQUIRIES: Inquiries concerning this circular should be addressed to your Regional Regulatory Administrator.

Director