Despite the undisputed sex appeal of SBRs, the extraneous red tape required to get one is more than a little intimidating at times. In a rare stroke of common sense, the ATF has established an electronic system for filing some of their NFA-related forms, including the Form 1 “Application to Make and Register a Firearm.” This is the form to use when you are making an SBR yourself. If you’re purchasing a factory-configured SBR, you’ll need to file a Form 4, which is a separate process. It should be noted that “making” a firearm doesn’t require a professional assembly line or QC shop. Slapping a store-bought 10.5-inch AR upper on a lower you already own counts as “making” a firearm. In this case, you’d simply file a Form 1 to get the lower approved to take shorty uppers.

In an SBR Rifles case, for Massachusetts specifically and in many other states. The foundation of these rifles has passed through a standard 4473 as a receiver. An e-filed Form 1 for that receiver is then completed before building out. The e-file process itself is surprisingly user-friendly. The website does run a little slow and sometimes requires multiple clicks on something to get it to work. But it does run. Here’s what you have to do to your Form 1 into the pipeline:

1. Create user profile on the ATF eForms portal

In order to access ATF’s new eForm system, you will need to create an ATF eForm account. All you need to do is open the new eForm system by clicking the following URL: eForms.atf.gov and it should take you to ATF eForm login/registration page.

You can skip the registration step if you are an existing user of the ATF eForm system and follow the next steps to continue your eForm 1 NFA tax stamp process. If you have not created an ATF eForms account yet, simply scroll down and click the Register button located at the bottom of the page in order to register yourself and create an account. On clicking the URL provided above.

 

2. Log in to eForms and select the appropriate form to file

To begin a new eForm 1 process, select the ATF form 1 icon on the screen. Going forward, the process is more or less similar to the eForm 1’s paper version, i.e. you will see an electronic version of the ATF Form 1 paper form and you can fill different items by selecting corresponding fields, boxes, buttons, and dropdowns.

 

3. Select applicant type

In this step, you get to select what type of applicant you are – an individual or an NFA gun trust. If you are applying as an individual, you will need to fill out details such as your county sheriff’s name & address, and some details of the NFA item you are going to build/modify. You will also have to upload a digital photo (up to 3MB) in JPG and JPEG or GIF format.

In case you are filing as an NFA gun trust, you will need to fill out and upload Responsible Party Forms (ATF Form 5320.23). You will also have to upload a digital photo (of not more than 3 MB) of each responsible party (trustee).

4. Indicate the type of application

In this step, you get to indicate the type of application. The type of application will determine your tax liability. Most application types will be tax paid and will have to pay $200 through tax stamp. Government entities, however, can apply as tax-exempt. To apply as tax-exempt, you will need to use the ATF 5320.5 eForm.

5. Filing as an Individual

The applicant page is where you will indicate your information as an individual applicant and the makers’ questions that are normally located on page two of the paper ATF Form 1 application. Your first name, middle initial, last name, and address should populate automatically. If you’re making a firearm at a different address than what is indicated, you can type that in here as well.

You may need to indicate your cadence if applicable. The title of the submitter of the application for an individual applicant will simply be owner or maker. After that box is completed, you can scroll down to answer the makers’ questions. You will answer each question by selecting the answer from the drop-down menu located next to each question. The options are either yes or no.

If you are filing as a gun trust, additional information needs to be submitted. The applicant page is where you will indicate your information as a gun trust applicant. The title of the submitter of the application for a gun trust applicant will be Trustee, Settlor/Grantor, etc.

Depending on your gun trust, the trust name will need to be your gun trust name. Your country address line one and line two zip code plus four for the zip code, city, county, state telephone, and email address should all be automatically completed. If you’re making a firearm at a different address than what is indicated you can type that in here as well.

6. Chief law enforcement officers

On this screen, you get to provide your CLEO(Chief Law Enforcement Officers) information. The agency or department name is the CLEO’sagency name or department. For example, in Cooper County Sheriff’s Office, the name of the agency official will be the CLEO’sname. The title of agency official is the CLEO’stitle in our example, this will be Sheriff, we will lastly fill in the mailing address of the CLEO.

CLEO Notification: There’s no longer a requirement for the applicant to get permission from their respective chief law enforcement officer (CLEO), but you do have to send a copy to your CLEO for the purpose of notification.

7. Line Item – Adding the Firearm

The line item page is where we will add the firearm that you’re going to make. For example, for a silencer, you will start by clicking the Add firearm button located above the table and to the left. This will load a new window where the information from the firearm will be added to the Form 1 application. We will start by selecting to search by manufacturer code.

After filling in the manufacturer details, click Verify manufacturer. Once your manufacturer has been validated successfully, you can click OK in the new window to proceed. We will then select the manufacturer or country and click Next. The second screen will load the firearm details, we will click the product type drop-down and select silencer. Once selected, this will then load the available models.

Once the drop-down is loaded, you can select a model name and caliber from the already manufactured list of available model numbers and caliber options. If you’re looking for a specific model name, you can scroll through the list. You can also skip some scrolling if you type the first letter of the name.

If you want to make your own model name and caliber that isn’t available in the dropdown. Then you can select my item description that is not in the list to create a new item but know when this box is selected. Your application will go into the pending research phase and will need to be manually reviewed by the ATF, which can extend the timeline for your application.

8. Include attachments

ATF now accepts digital submissions in which you can send your fingerprint EFT file for your FD-258 fingerprint cards, digital photograph, and the CLEO copy of your ATF form 5320.1 by attaching them with an email. The uploaded EFT file must meet the FBI specifications and the file extension must be “EFT”. The file size should not exceed 12 megabytes.