[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 27, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 27CFR478.129]

[Page 116]
 
            TITLE 27--ALCOHOL, TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND FIREARMS
 
   CHAPTER II--BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES, 
                          DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 478_COMMERCE IN FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION--Table of Contents
 
                            Subpart H_Records
 
Sec. 478.129  Record retention.

    (a) Records prior to Act. Licensed importers and licensed 
manufacturers may dispose of records of sale or other disposition of 
firearms prior to December 16, 1968. Licensed dealers and licensed 
collectors may dispose of all records of firearms transactions that 
occurred prior to December 16, 1968.
    (b) Firearms transaction record. Licensees shall retain each Form 
4473 and Form 4473(LV) for a period of not less than 20 years after the 
date of sale or disposition. Where a licensee has initiated a NICS check 
for a proposed firearms transaction, but the sale, delivery, or transfer 
of the firearm is not made, the licensee shall record any transaction 
number on the Form 4473, and retain the Form 4473 for a period of not 
less than 5 years after the date of the NICS inquiry. Forms 4473 shall 
be retained in the licensee's records as provided in Sec. 478.124(b): 
Provided, That Forms 4473 with respect to which a sale, delivery or 
transfer did not take place shall be separately retained in alphabetical 
(by name of transferee) or chronological (by date of transferee's 
certification) order.
    (c) Statement of intent to obtain a handgun, reports of multiple 
sales or other disposition of pistols and revolvers, and reports of 
theft or loss of firearms. Licensees shall retain each Form 5300.35 
(Statement of Intent to Obtain a Handgun(s)) for a period of not less 
than 5 years after notice of the intent to obtain the handgun was 
forwarded to the chief law enforcement officer, as defined in Sec. 
478.150(c). Licensees shall retain each copy of Form 3310.4 (Report of 
Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Pistols and Revolvers) for a 
period of not less than 5 years after the date of sale or other 
disposition. Licensees shall retain each copy of Form 3310.11 (Federal 
Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss Report) for a period of not less than 5 
years after the date the theft or loss was reported to ATF.
    (d) Records of importation and manufacture. Licensees will maintain 
permanent records of the importation, manufacture, or other acquisition 
of firearms, including ATF Forms 6 and 6A as required by subpart G of 
this part. Licensed importers' records and licensed manufacturers' 
records of the sale or other disposition of firearms after December 15, 
1968, shall be retained through December 15, 1988, after which records 
of transactions over 20 years of age may be discarded.
    (e) Records of dealers and collectors under the Act. The records 
prepared by licensed dealers and licensed collectors under the Act of 
the sale or other disposition of firearms and the corresponding record 
of receipt of such firearms shall be retained through December 15, 1988, 
after which records of transactions over 20 years of age may be 
discarded.
    (f) Retention of records of transactions in semiautomatic assault 
weapons. The documentation required by Sec. Sec. 478.40(c) and 478.132 
shall be retained in the licensee's permanent records for a period of 
not less than 5 years after the date of sale or other disposition.

(Paragraph (b) approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 
control number 1512-0544; Paragraph (c) approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget under control numbers 1512-0520, 1512-0006, and 
1512-0524; Paragraph (f) approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
under control number 1512-0526; all other recordkeeping approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget under control number 1512-0129)

[T.D. ATF-208, 50 FR 26704, June 28, 1985 and correctly designated at 50 
FR 35081, Aug. 29, 1985, as amended by T.D. ATF-273, 53 FR 24687, June 
30, 1988; T.D. ATF-361, 60 FR 10787, Feb. 27, 1995; T.D. ATF-363, 60 FR 
17455, Apr. 6, 1995; T.D. ATF-415, 63 FR 58280, Oct. 29, 1998; T.D. ATF-
426, 65 FR 38201, June 20, 2000]

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