How to Fill Out and Submit ATF Form 5: Tax-Exempt NFA Transfer

ATF Form 5 (formally Form 5320.5) is the application you file to transfer a National Firearms Act firearm without paying the $200 transfer tax. Most people who file it are executors or heirs handling an inherited silencer, short-barreled rifle, machine gun, or other NFA item. Government agencies and people receiving a permanently inoperable firearm also use it. The form goes to the ATF’s NFA Division, and electronic filings currently average about three days to process.

Who Can File a Tax-Exempt Transfer

Form 5 covers three situations. Getting the right one matters because it drives what you attach and who signs.

The first is inheritance. When a registered NFA firearm owner dies, the executor or personal representative files Form 5 to transfer the item to a lawful heir or beneficiary. The governing rule is 27 CFR § 479.90a.¹ The heir pays no transfer tax. If the firearm goes to someone who is not a named beneficiary of the estate, that transfer instead requires Form 4 and the full $200 tax.

The second is transfers to or from a government agency. Federal, state, or local government entities, including law enforcement agencies conducting criminal investigations, qualify under 26 U.S.C. § 5853.²

The third is an unserviceable firearm transferred as a curio or ornament. A firearm permanently rendered incapable of firing, typically by welding, can move tax-free to anyone other than an NFA dealer who has paid the special occupational tax.³ Registration is still required even though the firearm no longer functions.

What to Gather Before You File

Missing documents are the fastest way to get an application returned. What you need depends on whether you are an executor, an individual heir, or a responsible person for a trust or other entity.

Estate Documents

If you are the executor, administrator, or personal representative, 27 CFR § 479.90a(c) requires all of the following:¹

Letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a court order establishing your authority.
A copy of the decedent’s death certificate.
A copy of the will, trust instrument, or other document showing the disposition of the firearm.
Any additional documentation relating to your authority to dispose of estate property or affecting the firearm’s disposition.

Firearm Details

Describe the firearm precisely: type (machine gun, silencer, short-barreled rifle, and so on), manufacturer, model, caliber or gauge, overall length where applicable, barrel length, and serial number.⁴ Copy the information from the markings on the firearm itself or from the prior registration document. A single transposed digit in the serial number will trigger a rejection.

Fingerprints and Photos

Individual applicants must include two FBI Form FD-258 fingerprint cards and two passport-style photographs. The photos are 2 inches by 2 inches, clearly show the full front of your face, and must be taken within the past year.³ Many local law enforcement agencies and commercial fingerprinting services can roll prints onto FD-258 cards.

If a Trust or Legal Entity Is Receiving the Firearm

When the transferee is a trust, corporation, partnership, or other entity, every “responsible person” has extra paperwork. A responsible person is anyone with the power to direct the entity’s management or to receive, possess, or transfer a firearm on its behalf. For a trust, that typically includes the settlor, trustees, and any beneficiary with authority over trust firearms.⁵

Each responsible person completes ATF Form 5320.23 (the Responsible Person Questionnaire) in duplicate, with two FD-258 fingerprint cards and a photograph.⁶ One copy of the completed 5320.23 goes to the ATF with the Form 5; the other goes to that person’s local chief law enforcement officer. Individuals filing Form 5 in their own name do not complete Form 5320.23.

Filling Out the Form

The form is available as a fillable PDF on the ATF website and through the eForms portal. The fields that most often cause problems:

Field 1, Transferor: the name and address of the person or entity transferring the firearm. For an inherited firearm, this is the estate. The executor signs on the decedent’s behalf and shows their title (executor, administrator, or personal representative) and the date.¹
Field 2, Transferee: the name and address of the person or entity receiving the firearm.
Field 4, Firearm description: type, model, overall length, barrel length, caliber or gauge, serial number, and any other identifying marks.
Field 10, Reason for tax exemption: the specific basis, such as “transfer to lawful heir” or “transfer to government agency.”

The transferee section also collects your full legal name, residential address, and Social Security number. Names and addresses must match your identification and estate documents exactly. Mismatches are a common reason applications come back.³

How to Submit

Electronic Filing

The ATF’s eForms portal at eforms.atf.gov is the faster option by a wide margin. Create an account, select Form 5, and complete it on screen. Supporting documents such as the death certificate, letters testamentary, and photographs upload digitally.⁷ For status inquiries after submission, contact the Industry Processing Branch at ipb@atf.gov.

Paper Filing

To file on paper, mail the completed application package, fingerprint cards, photographs, and all supporting estate or entity documents to:

National Firearms Act Division
244 Needy Road
Martinsburg, WV 25405⁸

CLEO Notification

Under the 41F rule that took effect in July 2016, the old requirement for a Chief Law Enforcement Officer to certify the application was replaced with a simple notification: the transferee forwards a completed copy of the application to the chief law enforcement officer in their locality.⁵ The ATF has announced that the updated Form 5 removes the CLEO notification requirement entirely.⁹ Check the version you are filing: if the form still has CLEO copy fields, send the notification; if it doesn’t, you don’t.

Processing Times and Approval

ATF processes eForms Form 5 applications in an average of three days. Paper applications average about six days. Both figures are averages; volume spikes and additional research on a specific application can stretch the timeline.¹⁰ Compared with Form 4 transfers, which can run months, Form 5 processing is fast.

Once approved, the ATF returns the form with a tax-exempt stamp affixed. That stamped document is your legal proof that the firearm is registered to you in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Keep it with the firearm or in a secure, accessible location; you may need to produce it if asked by law enforcement. You do not legally possess the firearm until the approved form is in your hands. The heir should not take physical possession before that point.¹¹

Who Can Hold the Firearm During Probate

An executor, administrator, or personal representative may possess a registered NFA firearm during the term of probate without that possession counting as a transfer.¹ The executor does not need to register the firearm to themselves before passing it to the heir. The ATF expects Form 5 to be filed as soon as reasonably possible and generally before probate closes, and distributions to heirs should wait until the approved form comes back.¹¹

One warning. If you discover an NFA firearm in an estate that was never registered to the decedent, that firearm is contraband. Do not attempt to register or transfer it. Contact your local ATF field office to arrange for its disposal.

If the Heir Cannot Legally Receive It

The ATF will not approve a Form 5 if any federal, state, or local law prohibits the heir from receiving or possessing the firearm.¹² That covers people with felony convictions, domestic violence misdemeanor convictions, and anyone else in the federal prohibited-person categories. Some states also ban NFA items such as machine guns or silencers regardless of the recipient’s personal eligibility.

If no beneficiary is willing or able to take the firearm, the executor has two paths. One is transferring it to someone outside the estate, such as a non-beneficiary buyer or dealer, using ATF Form 4 with the $200 tax.¹ The other is surrendering it to the ATF for destruction. Either way, the executor must act before probate closes.

Why You Cannot Skip This

Possessing an NFA firearm that is not registered to you in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record is a federal felony under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).¹³ The penalty is up to ten years in prison, a fine up to $10,000 under the NFA itself, or both.¹⁴ The general federal sentencing statute raises the maximum fine for any felony to $250,000.¹⁵ An inherited silencer sitting in a gun safe without an approved Form 5 is, legally, an unregistered NFA firearm in your possession. The fact that a family member owned it lawfully does not protect you.

1
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 27 CFR 479.90a – Estates
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 5853 – Transfer and Making Tax Exemption Available to Certain Governmental Entities
3
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm – ATF Form 5 (5320.5)
4
eCFR. 27 CFR 479.90 – Certain Government Entities
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Background Checks for Responsible Persons (Final Rule 41F)
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Responsible Person Questionnaire
7
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. eForms Applications
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm (Tax-Exempt)
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Handbook – Chapter 9 – Transfers of NFA Firearms
12
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Transfers of National Firearms Act Firearms in Decedents’ Estates
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5861 – Prohibited Acts
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5871 – Penalties
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine