Anyone try the Form 4 e-file yet?

[taylorce1]

I'm mainly interested if it is reducing the wait times? I'm considering picking up a couple more suppressors, and my first two due to gov shutdown and COVID took over 18 months to receive.

[USCS]

Submitted 03/25/2022, nothing yet. In fairness, I’m not passed the 90 days that has been advertised. For me, paper form 4s were taking about 5 months.

[Crankylove]

FFL I picked up my last suppressor from (took 54 weeks) said they had starting doing the e-file, and had yet to see one exceed 90 days. This was as of the last week in April.

[Ed4032]

I’m 30 days plus and not looking for it til September if I’m lucky.

[FrankenMauser]

I am waiting to certify. Got the email after hours on Friday. I forgot to call the FFL on Saturday. Now I have to wait until Tuesday.
He says the average eF4 is coming back in 10-14 days for his shop. The quickest was 8 days from certification. The longest was about 45 days.
But I plan on it taking a year. Because this item is cursed and nothing has gone well or moved quickly.

[stagpanther]

gov shutdown and COVID

Organizations and bureaucracies quickly adapted to doing less work in more time and more pay.

[dogtown tom]

USCS Submitted 03/25/2022, nothing yet. In fairness, I’m not passed the 90 days that has been advertised.

Advertised by who?

ATF stated that 90 days was their target for eForm 4 processing. It wasn't a promise, an estimate or even a wild assed guess. It's what they hope to eventually get to. The internet read "Our target is 90 day approvals" as "we'll approve your eForm 4 in 90 days". Thats just a dumb assumption.

"Under promise, over deliver" is never a bad mantra. ATF, Silencer Shop and every FFL/SOT needs to remember that.

For me, paper form 4s were taking about 5 months.

Over the last four years the average processing time for paper Form 4's has never fallen lower than seven months. The last time ATF updated processing time was 9/30/2021..... https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/...ocessing-times

ATF is required to update and publish those processing times every ninety days. Interesting they have not done so IN NINE MONTHS.
I suspect the reason is processing of paper Form 4's has exceeded 12 months and they are embarrassed.

[dogtown tom]

FrankenMauser I am waiting to certify. Got the email after hours on Friday. I forgot to call the FFL on Saturday. Now I have to wait until Tuesday.
He says the average eF4 is coming back in 10-14 days for his shop. The quickest was 8 days from certification. The longest was about 45 days.
But I plan on it taking a year. Because this item is cursed and nothing has gone well or moved quickly.

I think he is pulling your leg.

I've had one eForm 4 approved in less than two weeks, but it was expedited for a member of the military.

I currently have over a hundred pending eForms that are older than 120 days.

[USCS]

Originally Posted by dogtown tom

Advertised by who?

ATF stated that 90 days was their target for eForm 4 processing. It wasn't a promise, an estimate or even a wild assed guess. It's what they hope to eventually get to. The internet read "Our target is 90 day approvals" as "we'll approve your eForm 4 in 90 days". Thats just a dumb assumption.

"Under promise, over deliver" is never a bad mantra. ATF, Silencer Shop and every FFL/SOT needs to remember that.


Over the last four years the average processing time for paper Form 4's has never fallen lower than seven months. The last time ATF updated processing time was 9/30/2021..... https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/...ocessing-times

ATF is required to update and publish those processing times every ninety days. Interesting they have not done so IN NINE MONTHS.
I suspect the reason is processing of paper Form 4's has exceeded 12 months and they are embarrassed.

1. The ATF said 90 days in their publicity for eforms, I consider that advertising.

2. AVERAGE means some come back faster and some take longer, I was on the good end of the average

[dogtown tom]

USCS
1. The ATF said 90 days in their publicity for eforms, I consider that advertising.

No, they didn't say that at all. ATF clearly said "the NFA is committed to our processing goal of 90 days.." in this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMI9Hx3pLAM&t=1775s Exact statement at 29:35

It's a goal, a target, an objective they hop to reach.....not at all a promise or guarantee.

That you think ATF is "advertising" is hysterical.

[USCS]

Originally Posted by dogtown tom

No, they didn't say that at all. ATF clearly said "the NFA is committed to our processing goal of 90 days.." in this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMI9Hx3pLAM&t=1775s Exact statement at 29:35

It's a goal, a target, an objective they hop to reach.....not at all a promise or guarantee.

That you think ATF is "advertising" is hysterical.

ad·​ver·​tise | \ ˈad-vər-ˌtīz \
advertised; advertising
Definition of advertise
transitive verb
1 : to make something known to : NOTIFY
2a : to make publicly and generally known
advertising their readiness to make concessions
b : to announce publicly especially by a printed notice or a broadcast
a poster advertising forthcoming events
c : to call public attention to especially by emphasizing desirable qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize : PROMOTE

If they put it on YouTube, That sure seems to fit the dictionary definition of advertise.

[FrankenMauser]

I think he is pulling your leg.

I've had one eForm 4 approved in less than two weeks, but it was expedited for a member of the military.

I currently have over a hundred pending eForms that are older than 120 days.

We will find out.

I haven't seen anything about *how* the eF4s are being handled. Although it should be unlikely, it is possible that they're split up regionally, like paper forms used to be.
A couple shop owners that I know in Arizona have said roughly the same thing: about 14 days, overall average; with the odd one here and there taking 30-60 days.

One of my contacts at Dillon had a trust same-day approval last week. He has no idea why. (Through a private shop, not the company.)
Perhaps the eF4s get electronically "shuffled" every day, just to make things more interesting.

[dogtown tom]

USCS If they put it on YouTube, That sure seems to fit the dictionary definition of advertise.

Do you think a particular line of text in a book is advertising?
How about a song lyric or line from a movie?

No, they aren't advertising.

[Willie Lowman]

Well while you argue semantics, I just efiled 2 suppressors yesterday. 6/8/22. I'll let you know when they come in.

[ncdmz]

Submitted eForm 4 on 3/28/22. Contacted ATF on June 9 and the woman I spoke with stated the Form was "pending" and they are still striving for <90-day issuance.

[taylorce1]

I need to get busy, and do the form-1 for an SBR and a couple more suppressors. Might as well start the wait game again ASAP.

[jclayto]

Purchased from SilencerShop in December, they held the app until e-forms went live and then for a few more weeks while they worked out some internal issues with their dealer system. I don't have the exact dates in front of me, but ended up actually submitting the electronic application in the latter part of January and received approval exactly 90 days later.

I understand from the Reddit / NFA post that they seem to be in the 180 day range now.

[FrankenMauser]

Not working out as planned, nor as advertised.
But I did not really anticipate approval before Christmas if things went smoothly (I am always a pessimist when it comes to tax stamps); and June 2023 if this item follows its path heretofore.
So, we wait.

* These dates reflect approvals from the last 7 days, and were updated on 10/26/2022
Submission Type	            Wait Range	              Median Wait
eForm 4 - TRUST:	7 Months through 7 Months	7 Months
eForm 4 - INDIVIDUAL:	6 Months through 7 Months	7 Months
eForm 4 - CORPORATE:	N/A	N/A
Paper Form 4:	       12 Months through 16 Months	12 Months
eForm 3:           	1 Hour through 6 Days	3 Days
Paper Form 3:    	N/A	          N/A

[2wheelwander]

I got lucky. Bought 2 cans 6 months ago. Through my own fault I didn't have something filled out correctly, needed corrected, took me 3 months to realize it and get it done. That was corrected 3 months ago.

The LGS I went through is going through change of ownership. Had 170 Form 4's waiting in the wings to be approved before the seller could take his name off the business.

So, I was able to contact local office and make an inquiry. Friend of a friend thing. in one fell swoop, those forms were done over the weekend. Got to pick mine up on Monday.

Shop did tell me they had been running 6-7 months.

[ncdmz]

Update: Just got notice today that my eForm 4 was approved. Took over eight months. Sigh.

[bacardisteve]

I submitted mine last week for a nomad lt. The wait is going to suck.

[FrankenMauser]

Looks like eF1s are going pretty fast now.
I've seen 8 in the last two weeks that came back in 13 days or less.

[Ed4032]

I’m still waiting since April 2022.

[MarkCO]

I submitted mine in July 2022. Still waiting. Shop tells me probably February.

[DMacLeod]

I just submitted 3 through Silencer Shop.
The feds are telling dealers to say 3 months but I expect it to take 6 or 7.

The last paper one I did last year took over a year.