Justification for 1140-0046 Final

Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Information Collection Request
Supporting Statement
OMB 1140-0046
Certification on Agency Letterhead Authorizing Purchase of Firearm for Official Duties
of Law Enforcement Officer
A. Justification
1. Public Law 104-208, Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997
(OCA), amended the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968, making it unlawful
for individuals who have been convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of
domestic violence,” to ship, transport, receive or possess firearms and
ammunition. It also prohibits sales or other dispositions of firearms and
ammunition to such individuals. Prior to the passage of the OCA, Federal
and State agencies and political subdivisions thereof, were exempt from the
provisions of the GCA. The OCA, however, did not extend this GCA
exemption to persons prohibited as a result of a conviction for misdemeanor
crimes of domestic violence. This prohibition applies to all persons,
including law enforcement officers. No Federal or State employees are
exempt.
2. Prior to the change to the GCA, which was discussed in item 1 above, law
enforcement officers could purchase a firearm for official duties, from a
dealer licensed under the GCA, without submitting information normally
required of other persons. To complete such a purchase, however, the law
enforcement officer was required to provide the dealer with a letter from
his/her superior officer, stating that the firearm would be used for his /her
official duties. Due to recent GCA updates, law enforcement officers
purchasing firearms for use in official duties, must now supply information
certifying that he/she has not been convicted of a crime of domestic
violence. To address this change, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives (ATF) added a new section to its regulations
(Section 478.134), which provides that a law enforcement officer may use a
supervisor certification letter to purchase official duty firearms, subject to
the following requirements: The letter must be printed on agency
letterhead, signed by a person in authority with the agency
(other than the officer purchasing the firearm), state that the firearm is to be
used in official duties, and certify that a records check reveals that the
purchasing officer has no conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic
violence. With this letter, the law enforcement officer will take possession

of the firearm from the licensee and will not fill out or sign any forms.
The disposition will be documented in the licensee’s records and the
certification letter will be retained in the licensee’s files for five years.
3. This information collection (IC) does not involve the use of any automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques. This is
due to the fact that the certification letter is written by an individual who
has sufficient authority to certify that a law enforcement officer is
purchasing firearm(s) that will be used during the performance of official
duties. The letter must be submitted at the time the law enforcement officer
purchases the firearm. The letter template for this IC cannot be made
electronic because as Federal firearm licensees (FFLs) are not permitted
under the regulation to accept electronic copies of this form, nor are law
enforcement agencies authorized to transmit the form to FFLs by electronic
means.
4. ATF uses a uniform subject classification system for various types of ATF
documents. This system is used to identify duplication and to ensure that
any similar information cannot be used or modified for use for the purpose
of this information collection.
5. This collection does not impact small business or other small entities.
6. The consequences of not conducting this information collection would
result in public harm. Law enforcement officers who have been convicted
of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence could obtain firearms from
licensees, and could use such firearms for other purposes than their official
duties.
7. There are no special circumstances regarding this information collection.
8. No public comments were received during either the 60-day or the 30-day
Federal Register Notice periods.
9. No payment or gift to respondents is associated with this collection.
10. The certification letter is retained in the licensee’s files in a secured
location. Confidentially is not assured.

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11. No questions of a sensitive nature are asked. The letter does state that the
officer has not been convicted of any crimes of domestic violence.
12. The number of law enforcement officers purchasing firearms directly from
a licensee for use in their official duties is estimated to be 50,000 per year.
The total annual responses associated with this IC is 50,000. It takes
approximately eight (8) minutes to respond once to this IC, based on inhouse tests. This involves the combined time taken for the superior officer
to do an electronic background check, complete a certification letter using
the provided template, and also sign and submit the completed letter to
purchasing officer for retention in their records. Therefore the total hourly
burden for this IC is 6,667 hours, which can be calculated as follows:
50,000 (# of responses) * 1 (# of responses per respondent) * .133333 (8
minutes).The burden on the licensee is to file and retain the letter; this
burden is excluded because it is customary and usual business practice.
13. There is no annual cost burden to the respondents or record-keepers
resulting from the collection of information.
14. There is no cost to the Federal government.
15. There are no changes or adjustments associated with this information
collection.
16. The results of this information collection will not be published.
17. ATF does not request approval to not display the expiration date for OMB
approval of the information for this collection.
18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
None.

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