How to Fill Out ATF Form 5400.13/5400.16: Explosives License or Permit

ATF Form 5400.13/5400.16 is the federal application for a license or permit to import, manufacture, deal in, or use explosive materials, and you file it by mailing the completed package — form, fingerprint cards, photographs, employee questionnaires, storage information, and fee — to the ATF lockbox in Portland, Oregon. The Federal Explosives Licensing Center (FELC) aims to approve or deny a complete application within about 90 days of receiving it.¹

Which License or Permit to Apply For

Before you touch the form, decide which of the five authorizations fits your operation. Licenses cover businesses that sell, manufacture, or import; permits cover end users. A permit does not authorize you to engage in the business of importing, manufacturing, or distributing explosives.

Manufacturer’s License — manufacture explosive materials for sale, distribution, or your own business use. Valid three years. $200 to apply, $100 to renew.
Importer’s License — bring explosive materials into the United States for sale or distribution. Valid three years. $200 to apply, $100 to renew.
Dealer’s License — wholesale or retail distribution of explosive materials. Valid three years. $200 to apply, $100 to renew.
User Permit — acquire explosives for your own use from a licensee or permittee in another state or from a foreign country, and transport them in interstate or foreign commerce. Valid three years. $100 to apply, $50 to renew.
Limited Permit — receive explosive materials on no more than six separate occasions during a 12-month period, only from in-state licensees or permittees. No interstate or foreign commerce. Valid one year. $25 to apply, $12 to renew.

The statutory caps sit at $200 for any license or permit application, $50 for a limited permit, and half the original fee for renewals under 18 U.S.C. 843.² ATF’s actual fees fall at or below those ceilings.¹

Who Can Be Listed on the Application

The application asks you to name every “responsible person” in the business — anyone with power to direct the company’s management and policies regarding explosive materials.³ For a sole proprietor, that’s the owner. For a corporation, it’s officers, directors, and anyone with operational control over the explosives side. Each responsible person goes through a federal background check, and any one of them failing kills the entire application.

Under 18 U.S.C. 842(i), the following individuals cannot ship, transport, receive, or possess explosive materials:⁴

Anyone under indictment for, or convicted of, a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment.
Fugitives from justice.
Unlawful users of, or anyone addicted to, a controlled substance.
Anyone adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution.
Non-citizens who are not lawful permanent residents, unless they fall into a specific exempted category (foreign law enforcement, NATO personnel, certain corporate managers of licensed entities).
Anyone dishonorably discharged from the armed forces.
Former U.S. citizens who have renounced citizenship.

If a responsible person falls into one of these categories, that individual may separately apply to ATF for relief from explosives disabilities before you file.

What to Gather Before You Start

The FELC won’t begin processing until it has every required piece. Assemble these first:

A completed FD-258 Fingerprint Card for each responsible person. Impressions must be clear and legible; smudged prints are a common reason packages come back. Local law enforcement will usually roll prints.
One recent 2″ × 2″ photograph for each responsible person.⁵
ATF Form 5400.28 (Employee Possessor Questionnaire) for every employee who will have actual or constructive possession of explosives but is not a responsible person. Each employee completes and signs their own form, and ATF runs background checks on them.⁶
Payment in the correct amount. Check, money order, or credit card authorization, payable to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Cash is not accepted.⁵
Storage facility details for every location where explosives will be kept: addresses, magazine types, construction, and distances from inhabited buildings.

Filling Out the Form

The form asks for the legal name of the applying entity, its business structure (sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or LLC), and the specific license or permit type. Item 11 is where you list every responsible person with name, date of birth, Social Security number, and title. Limited permit applicants also certify they will not receive explosive materials on more than six separate occasions during the 12-month permit period.⁷

Give the storage section real attention. ATF needs the type of each magazine (Type 1 through Type 5), its construction details, and its distance from the nearest inhabited building, public road, and other magazines. Errors here don’t just delay the paperwork; the field inspector will find them during the on-site visit, and you’ll have to fix them before approval.

Storage Magazine Types

Federal regulations at 27 CFR Part 555, Subpart K set five magazine categories, each with its own construction and use rules:⁸

Type 1: Permanent magazines for high explosives. May also store other classes.
Type 2: Mobile or portable indoor and outdoor magazines for high explosives. Type 2 detonator boxes hold a maximum of 100 detonators.
Type 3: Portable outdoor magazines for temporary storage of high explosives while attended (a “day box”). Explosives cannot be left unattended in a Type 3; they must be moved to another magazine type overnight.
Type 4: Magazines for low explosives, non-mass-detonating detonators, and blasting agents.
Type 5: Magazines for blasting agents only.

Lock Requirements

Each door on a Type 1, 2, 4, or 5 magazine must have one of the following: two mortise locks, a dual-key mortise lock, two padlocks on separate hasps and staples, a mortise lock combined with a padlock, or a three-point lock. Padlocks must have at least five tumblers and a case-hardened shackle at least ⅜ inch thick, protected by a steel hood at least ¼ inch thick to prevent cutting or prying.⁸

Where to Send It

Mail the complete package — form, fingerprint cards, photographs, employee questionnaires, and payment — to the ATF lockbox operated by U.S. Bank:⁹

Federal Explosives Licensing Center (ATF Form 5400.13/16)
P.O. Box 6200-18
Portland, OR 97228-6200

The bank deposits the fee and forwards the file to the Federal Explosives Licensing Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia.⁵ There is no online or electronic submission option; this form goes by mail only.

What Happens After You File

The FELC targets a 90-day decision on a properly completed application, though certain factors can stretch that timeline.¹ The center first verifies the information on the form, processes fingerprint cards, and runs background checks on every responsible person and employee possessor. If anything is incomplete or unclear, the FELC contacts you, and the clock effectively pauses until you respond.

The file then moves to the ATF field office nearest your business. An Industry Operations Investigator (IOI) contacts you to schedule an interview and on-site inspection. The interview covers federal explosives regulations and confirms what you submitted. The physical inspection covers your storage magazines: locks, construction, weatherproofing, distance from inhabited structures, and compliance with the Subpart K standards you described on the form. If storage checks out and background checks come back clean, the IOI recommends approval and the FELC issues the license or permit.

Common Reasons Applications Get Held Up

ATF flags several recurring problems:⁵

Incomplete forms: unanswered questions, missing signatures, or blank storage information.
Missing attachments: no fingerprint cards, photographs, employee questionnaires, or correct fee.
Noncompliance with state or local law. Your proposed operations have to comply with state and local rules too. If your locality prohibits the storage you’ve described, ATF will deny the application.
Evidence of prior violations of the Safe Explosives Act.
Any false statement, which is grounds for denial and can lead to criminal prosecution.

Renewals and Changes to Your License

A federal explosives license runs three years; a limited permit runs one. Around three months before expiration, the FELC automatically mails you a renewal application — ATF Form 5400.14/5400.15 Part III — so you don’t need to request it.¹⁰ To keep operating while renewal is pending, postmark the completed form before your current license expires. If you do, the FELC issues a Letter of Authorization allowing you to operate for up to six months during processing.

On renewal, you only submit new fingerprint cards and photographs for responsible persons who weren’t included in a prior application. Employees who previously submitted Form 5400.28 can initial their prior answers, re-sign, and re-date the form, as long as nothing has changed.¹⁰

During your license term, if the people who control the business change (stock sale, new officers, any shift in management), notify the Chief of the Federal Explosives Licensing Center in writing within 30 days, under penalty of perjury.¹¹ Any new responsible person goes through the same fingerprint, photograph, and background check process as the original filing.

1
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Explosives Licenses and Permits
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 843 – Licenses and User Permits
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 841 – Definitions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 842 – Unlawful Acts
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Apply for a License
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Explosives Employee Possessor Questionnaire – ATF Form 5400.28
7
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application for Explosives License or Permit
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Explosives Storage Requirements
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. New Mailing Addresses for Many ATF Registration Forms
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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Licensees
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eRegulations. 27 CFR 555.57 – Change of Control, Change in Responsible Persons, and Change of Employees