Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Information Collection Request
OMB 1140-0068
Police Check Inquiry - ATF Form 8620.42
Necessity of Information Collection
Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement (MOU) between the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), ATF is authorized to conduct security and suitability background investigations on applicants for, or appointees of, ATF positions. Also, pursuant to Executive Orders 10450 and 13467, ATF has the authority to conduct suitability background investigations on contractors and other non-ATF personnel who need to access ATF information, information technology (IT) systems, and/or facilities. ATF contracts multiple services to private industry, which include, but are not limited to, janitorial and cleaning, maintenance and repair, professional and legal, IT, laboratory, and construction services. Additionally, ATF hires consultants to provide advice in their field of expertise.
In the area of law enforcement, ATF routinely asks members of State and local law enforcement agencies to join in a multi-jurisdictional approach to combating crime. In those instances, State and local law enforcement officers not only share ATF space and facilities, but also have access to ATF computer systems and intelligence apparatus. In the event a contractor or other non-ATF personnel require escorted access to facilities, ATF will perform a police check using the Police Check Inquiry- ATF Form 8620.42. Escorted access to ATF facilities will be unauthorized without a favorably adjudicated inquiry.
Needs and Uses
ATF Form 8620.42 is used to gather preliminary information from an individual requiring escorted access to ATF facilities. The requested information enables ATF to complete and/or initiate a police check, which includes conducting a criminal record search for the non-ATF personnel. This form also collects personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, place of birth, race, sex, any aliases, naturalization information, current and previous addresses, and current and previous employers. To ensure compliance with DOJ’s residency requirement, ATF must review the individual’s home addresses for the last five years. The Department of Justice (DOJ) guidelines also stipulate that an individual who has not resided in the United States for three of the past five years (with a few exceptions) cannot obtain approval to access DOJ information, IT systems, and/or facilities. In addition, employment, and home addresses are required to perform the mandatory police checks in all applicable jurisdictions where the non-ATF personnel resided during the past five years. Non-ATF personnel will be denied escorted access to ATF facilities if ATF determines they have a criminal record or are otherwise ineligible for access.
Use of Information Technology
ATF makes every effort to take advantage of the electronic collection and dissemination capabilities available. The fillable ATF Form 8620.42 is available on the ATF website to download and print. The forms may be submitted to ATF by scanning the completed and electronically/digitally signed document and emailing them to a specific ATF email address indicated on the form. Individuals with disabilities can access this form.
Efforts to Identify Duplication
Similar information is available from another collection source. However, that collection is more burdensome on the respondent than ATF Form 8620.42. For instance, persons requiring access to certain levels of sensitive or classified information must complete either the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF-86) or the Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions (SF-85P) through the Office of Personnel Management’s Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) system. Both the SF-86 and SF-85P require the respondent to supply certain PII, so that the investigating agency may conduct the requisite criminal record searches, security index and credit inquiries, and other background checks related to the respondent. The e-QIP process takes a respondent several hours to complete. However, ATF Form 8620.42 was proposed as a less burdensome alternative for individuals requiring escorted access to ATF facilities. Specifically, this form allows an individual to obtain a quick police inquiry to determine if they meet the basic requirements for access to ATF facilities, without having to complete the SF-86 or SF-85P.
Minimizing Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection (IC) has no effect on small businesses. The information sought is personal in nature and is requested to identify the person undergoing the police check inquiry.
Consequences of Not Conducting or Less Frequent Collection
As an agency upholding the laws of the United States, ATF must ensure ATF employees and non-ATF personnel have the highest degree of integrity and character. ATF personnel must also ensure the safety and security of our government facilities, information, and information technology systems. ATF Form 8620.42 is the primary medium used to gather the PII to conduct police checks for non-ATF personnel requiring escorted access to ATF facilities. ATF would be unable to ensure the safety and security of its resources from non-ATF personnel without this IC.
Special Circumstances
This IC requirement is consistent with the intent of Executive Order 10450. The information sought allows ATF to identify a person seeking escorted or unescorted access to ATF information, IT systems, and facilities. No other circumstance would cause this to be conducted in any other manner such as:
Requiring respondents to report information to ATF more than quarterly;
Requiring respondents to prepare a written response in fewer than 30 days;
Requiring respondents to submit more than an original of any document;
Requiring respondents to retain any records;
Requiring the use of any statistical data;
Requiring any pledge of confidentiality; or
Requiring respondents to submit any proprietary or trade secrets.
Public Comments and Consultations
No comments have been received during the 60-day notice period. However, a 30-day notice will be published in the Federal Register to solicit public comments.
Provision of Payments or Gifts to Respondents
No decision of payment or gift is associated with this collection.
Assurance of Confidentiality
Protection is afforded the respondent pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a). However, the respondent is advised that this IC will be used to identify them so that criminal records searches can be conducted on their behalf at the Federal, State, and local levels. These searches will help ATF to determine if these individuals meet DOJ and ATF basic qualification requirements for access to ATF information, IT systems, and/or facilities. Information collected by the Physical Security Programs Branch (PSPB), Personnel Security Division (PSD), or ATF field division is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 and should not be released to outside parties who do not have a need to know under the routine use clause of the Privacy Act of 1974. The respondent’s information on ATF Form 8620.42 is kept in a secure location at ATF Headquarters within the PSPB and is to be held in reserve for one year or the duration of their tenure at ATF, whichever is longer.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
ATF Form 8620.42 requires respondents to provide their PII including SSN, which is necessary to identify them when conducting criminal record searches. This information collection protects the respondent from erroneous collection of PII information.
Estimate of Respondent’s Burden
Approximately 1,000 respondents complete ATF Form 8620.42 every year. Each respondent will respond once to this IC. Therefore, the total number of responses is 1,000. It is estimated that it takes 4.98 minutes to complete the form. Therefore, the total burden associated with this collection instrument is 83 hours.
Estimate of Cost Burden
There is no new or annualized cost associated with this IC.
Cost to Federal Government
ATF estimates that the cost to the Federal government for this IC is approximately $1,500 per year.
Reason for Change in Burden
There are no adjustments associated with this IC.
Anticipated Publication Plan and Schedule ATF will not publish this information collection.
Display of Expiration Date
ATF is not requesting approval to omit the expiration date for this information collection.
Exception to the Certification Statement
There are no exceptions to the Certification Statement.
None
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | OMB 1140-0068 (Police Check Inquiry - ATF F 8620.42) - 508 |
| Author | ATF |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-04-01 |