27 CFR 479.102 How Firearms Must Be Identified

§ 479.93

27 CFR Ch. II (4–1–16 Edition)

required that authorization be obtained from the Director for the transportation in interstate or foreign commerce of a firearm in order to effect
the transfer of a firearm authorized
under the provisions of this subpart.
[T.D. ATF–270, 53 FR 10510, Mar. 31, 1988]

OTHER PROVISIONS
§ 479.93 Transfers of firearms to certain persons.
Where the transfer of a destructive
device, machine gun, short-barreled
shotgun, or short-barreled rifle is to be
made by a person licensed under the
provisions of Title I of the Gun Control
Act of 1968 (82 Stat. 1213) to a person
not so licensed, the sworn statement
required by § 478.98 of this chapter shall
be attached to and accompany the
transfer application required by this
subpart.

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Subpart G—Registration and
Identification of Firearms
§ 479.101 Registration of firearms.
(a) The Director shall maintain a
central registry of all firearms in the
United States which are not in the possession of or under the control of the
United States. This registry shall be
known as the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record and shall
include:
(1) Identification of the firearm as required by this part;
(2) Date of registration; and
(3) Identification and address of person entitled to possession of the firearm as required by this part.
(b) Each manufacturer, importer, and
maker shall register each firearm he
manufactures, imports, or makes in
the manner prescribed by this part.
Each firearm transferred shall be registered to the transferee by the transferor in the manner prescribed by this
part. No firearm may be registered by
a person unlawfully in possession of
the firearm except during an amnesty
period established under section 207 of
the Gun Control Act of 1968 (82 Stat.
1235).
(c) A person shown as possessing firearms by the records maintained by the
Director pursuant to the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. Chapter 53) in force

on October 31, 1968, shall be considered
to have registered the firearms in his
possession which are disclosed by that
record as being in his possession on October 31, 1968.
(d) The National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record shall include
firearms registered to the possessors
thereof under the provisions of section
207 of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
(e) A person possessing a firearm registered to him shall retain proof of registration which shall be made available
to any ATF officer upon request.
(f) A firearm not identified as required by this part shall not be registered.
[36 FR 14256, Aug. 3, 1971. Redesignated at 40
FR 16835, Apr. 15, 1975, and amended by T.D.
ATF–48, 44 FR 55843, Sept. 28, 1979]

§ 479.102 How must firearms be identified?
(a) You, as a manufacturer, importer,
or maker of a firearm, must legibly
identify the firearm as follows:
(1) By engraving, casting, stamping
(impressing), or otherwise conspicuously placing or causing to be engraved, cast, stamped (impressed) or
placed on the frame or receiver thereof
an individual serial number. The serial
number must be placed in a manner
not susceptible of being readily obliterated, altered, or removed, and must not
duplicate any serial number placed by
you on any other firearm. For firearms
manufactured, imported, or made on
and after January 30, 2002, the engraving, casting, or stamping (impressing)
of the serial number must be to a minimum depth of .003 inch and in a print
size no smaller than 1⁄16 inch; and
(2) By engraving, casting, stamping
(impressing), or otherwise conspicuously placing or causing to be engraved, cast, stamped (impressed), or
placed on the frame, receiver, or barrel
thereof certain additional information.
This information must be placed in a
manner not susceptible of being readily
obliterated, altered or removed. For
firearms manufactured, imported, or
made on and after January 30, 2002, the
engraving, casting, or stamping (impressing) of this information must be
to a minimum depth of .003 inch. The
additional information includes:

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Justice
(i) The model, if such designation has
been made;
(ii) The caliber or gauge;
(iii) Your name (or recognized abbreviation) and also, when applicable, the
name of the foreign manufacturer or
maker;
(iv) In the case of a domestically
made firearm, the city and State (or
recognized abbreviation thereof) where
you as the manufacturer maintain
your place of business, or where you, as
the maker, made the firearm; and
(v) In the case of an imported firearm, the name of the country in which
it was manufactured and the city and
State (or recognized abbreviation
thereof) where you as the importer
maintain your place of business. For
additional requirements relating to imported firearms, see Customs regulations at 19 CFR part 134.
(b) The depth of all markings required by this section will be measured
from the flat surface of the metal and
not the peaks or ridges. The height of
serial numbers required by paragraph
(a)(1) of this section will be measured
as the distance between the latitudinal
ends of the character impression bottoms (bases).
(c) The Director may authorize other
means of identification upon receipt of
a letter application from you, submitted in duplicate, showing that such
other identification is reasonable and
will not hinder the effective administration of this part.
(d) In the case of a destructive device, the Director may authorize other
means of identifying that weapon upon
receipt of a letter application from
you, submitted in duplicate, showing
that engraving, casting, or stamping
(impressing) such a weapon would be
dangerous or impracticable.
(e) A firearm frame or receiver that
is not a component part of a complete
weapon at the time it is sold, shipped,
or otherwise disposed of by you must
be identified as required by this section.
(f)(1) Any part defined as a machine
gun, muffler, or silencer for the purposes of this part that is not a component part of a complete firearm at the
time it is sold, shipped, or otherwise
disposed of by you must be identified
as required by this section.

§ 479.103

(2) The Director may authorize other
means of identification of parts defined
as machine guns other than frames or
receivers and parts defined as mufflers
or silencers upon receipt of a letter application from you, submitted in duplicate, showing that such other identification is reasonable and will not
hinder the effective administration of
this part.
(Approved by the Office of Management and
Budget under control number 1140–0050)
[T.D. ATF–461, 66 FR 40601, Aug. 3, 2001, as
amended by T.D. ATF–11F, 73 FR 57242, Oct.
2, 2008]

§ 479.103 Registration of firearms manufactured.
Each manufacturer qualified under
this part shall file with the Director an
accurate notice on Form 2 (Firearms),
Notice of Firearms Manufactured or
Imported, executed under the penalties
of perjury, to show his manufacture of
firearms. The notice shall set forth the
name and address of the manufacturer,
identify his special (occupational) tax
stamp and Federal firearms license,
and show the date of manufacture, the
type, model, length of barrel, overall
length, caliber, gauge or size, serial
numbers, and other marks of identification of the firearms he manufactures, and the place where the manufactured firearms will be kept. All firearms manufactured by him during a
single day shall be included on one notice, Form 2 (Firearms), filed by the
manufacturer no later than the close of
the next business day. The manufacturer shall prepare the notice, Form 2
(Firearms), in duplicate, file the original notice as prescribed herein and
keep the copy with the records required by subpart I of this part at the
premises covered by his special (occupational) tax stamp. Receipt of the notice, Form 2 (Firearms), by the Director shall effectuate the registration of
the firearms listed on that notice. The
requirements of this part relating to
the transfer of a firearm are applicable
to transfers by qualified manufacturers.

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