27 CFR 478.92 - Identification of Firearms and Armor Piercing Ammunition

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Justice

you as the manufacturer maintain
your place of business; and
(E) 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.
(2) Firearm frames or receivers. 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.
(3) [Reserved]
(4) Exceptions. (i) Alternate means of
identification. 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.
(ii) Destructive devices. 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.
(iii) Machine guns, silencers, and parts.
Any part defined as a machine gun,
firearm muffler, or firearm silencer in
§ 478.11, 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. 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.
(5) Measurement of height and depth of
markings. 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)(i) of this section will be measured

Subpart F—Conduct of Business
§ 478.91

Posting of license.

Any license issued under this part
shall be kept posted and kept available
for inspection on the premises covered
by the license.
§ 478.92 Identification of firearms and
armor piercing ammunition by licensed manufacturers and licensed
importers.

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§ 478.92

(a)(1) Firearms. You, as a licensed
manufacturer or licensed importer of
firearms, must legibly identify each
firearm manufactured or imported as
follows:
(i) 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 or imported 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
(ii) 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 or imported 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:
(A) The model, if such designation
has been made;
(B) The caliber or gauge;
(C) Your name (or recognized abbreviation) and also, when applicable, the
name of the foreign manufacturer;
(D) In the case of a domestically
made firearm, the city and State (or
recognized abbreviation thereof) where

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§ 478.93

27 CFR Ch. II (4–1–19 Edition)

as the distance between the latitudinal
ends of the character impression bottoms (bases).
(b) Armor piercing ammunition—(1)
Marking of ammunition. Each licensed
manufacturer or licensed importer of
armor piercing ammunition shall identify such ammunition by means of
painting, staining or dying the exterior
of the projectile with an opaque black
coloring. This coloring must completely cover the point of the projectile
and at least 50 percent of that portion
of the projectile which is visible when
the projectile is loaded into a cartridge
case.
(2) Labeling of packages. Each licensed
manufacturer or licensed importer of
armor piercing ammunition shall
clearly and conspicuously label each
package in which armor piercing ammunition is contained, e.g., each box,
carton, case, or other container. The
label shall include the words ‘‘ARMOR
PIERCING’’ in block letters at least 1⁄4
inch in height. The lettering shall be
located on the exterior surface of the
package which contains information
concerning the caliber or gauge of the
ammunition. There shall also be placed
on the same surface of the package in
block lettering at least 1⁄8 inch in
height the words ‘‘FOR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES OR EXPORTATION ONLY.’’ The statements required by this subparagraph shall be on
a contrasting background.

any transportation, shipment, or receipt of firearms other than curios or
relics in interstate or foreign commerce, and (b) any transaction with a
nonlicensee involving any firearm
other than a curio or relic. (See also
§ 478.50.) A collectors license is not necessary to receive or dispose of ammunition, and a licensed collector is not
precluded by law from receiving or disposing of armor piercing ammunition.
However, a licensed collector may not
dispose of any ammunition to a person
prohibited from receiving or possessing
ammunition (see § 478.99(c)). Any licensed collector who disposes of armor
piercing ammunition must record the
disposition as required by § 478.125 (a)
and (b).
[T.D. ATF–270, 53 FR 10496, Mar. 31, 1988]

§ 478.94 Sales or deliveries between licensees.
A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer selling or
otherwise disposing of firearms, and a
licensed collector selling or otherwise
disposing of curios or relics, to another
licensee shall verify the identity and
licensed status of the transferee prior
to
making
the
transaction.
Verification shall be established by the
transferee furnishing to the transferor
a certified copy of the transferee’s license and by such other means as the
transferor deems necessary: Provided,
That it shall not be required (a) for a
transferee who has furnished a certified
copy of its license to a transferor to
again furnish such certified copy to
that transferor during the term of the
transferee’s current license, (b) for a licensee to furnish a certified copy of its
license to another licensee if a firearm
is being returned either directly or
through another licensee to such licensee and (c) for licensees of multilicensed business organizations to furnish certified copies of their licenses to
other licensed locations operated by
such organization: Provided further,
That a multilicensed business organization may furnish to a transferor, in
lieu of a certified copy of each license,
a list, certified to be true, correct and
complete, containing the name, address, license number, and the date of
license expiration of each licensed location operated by such organization,

(Approved by the Office of Management and
Budget under control number 1140–0050)

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[T.D. ATF–270, 53 FR 10496, Mar. 31, 1988, as
amended by T.D. ATF–363, 60 FR 17454, Apr.
6, 1995; T.D. ATF–383, 61 FR 39321, July 29,
1996; T.D. ATF–396, 63 FR 12646, Mar. 16, 1998;
T.D. ATF–461, 66 FR 40600, Aug. 3, 2001; ATF–
11F, 73 FR 57241, Oct. 2, 2008; ATF 2014R–42, 84
FR 12094, Apr. 1, 2019]

§ 478.93 Authorized operations by a licensed collector.
The license issued to a collector of
curios or relics under the provisions of
this part shall cover only transactions
by the licensed collector in curios and
relics. The collector’s license is of no
force or effect and a licensed collector
is of the same status under the Act and
this part as a nonlicensee with respect
to (a) any acquisition or disposition of
firearms other than curios or relics, or

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