How to Fill Out the Firearm Transfer Form (ATF Form 4473)

ATF Form 4473, the Firearms Transaction Record, is the federal form a licensed dealer hands you before selling you a gun. To fill out ATF Form 4473, you bring a valid government-issued photo ID, complete Section B with your personal information and truthful yes-or-no answers to the eligibility questions, and sign the certification under penalty of perjury. The dealer handles the rest, including running your background check through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. You never file the form yourself; the dealer keeps it.¹

Bring the Right ID

You need a valid, government-issued photo ID that shows your full legal name, current home address, date of birth, and photograph. A state driver’s license or ID card reflecting your current address covers all four in one document.² A U.S. passport usually will not work on its own because it does not list a residential address.

If your license still shows an old address, pair it with a second government-issued document proving where you live now. ATF has accepted a vehicle registration, a state-issued hunting or fishing license, a voter identification card, or a property tax bill, so long as the document was issued by a government agency and is still valid.² A cable bill or bank statement does not qualify because those come from private companies.

Who Fills Out Which Section

The form is divided into lettered sections. The dealer completes Section A first, recording the firearm’s manufacturer, model, serial number, type, and caliber or gauge, then hands the form to you.³ You complete Section B. After the background check, the dealer finishes Sections C through E. Your job begins and ends with Section B.

Personal Information Fields

Section B opens with identification fields: full legal name, home address, city, state, ZIP code, place of birth (city and state, or foreign country), height, weight, sex, and date of birth. Write your name exactly as it appears on your ID, including middle names. A mismatch between the form and your ID can delay or halt the transaction.

Two fields cause more errors than the rest combined. The first is the ethnicity and race section, questions 10.a and 10.b. These are two separate questions and you must answer both. Skipping one is consistently among the top compliance errors ATF finds during dealer inspections.⁴ They appear because federal record-keeping standards require them, not because they affect your eligibility.

The second is your Social Security number. Providing it is optional, but doing so helps the FBI distinguish you from other people who share your name during the background check.³ If you have a common name, leaving it blank raises the odds of a false-positive delay.

The Eligibility Questions

The heart of Section B is a series of yes-or-no questions in the 21.x range designed to screen out people federally prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). They ask whether you have been:

Convicted of a felony or any crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment
A fugitive from justice
An unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
Adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
Discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions
Subject to a court restraining order involving an intimate partner or that partner’s child
Convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

Additional questions cover citizenship and immigration status. Non-citizens lawfully present must provide an alien admission number or other qualifying documentation.⁵ A single disqualifying “yes” ends the transaction. The dealer cannot proceed with the sale.

Are You the Actual Buyer?

Question 21.a asks whether you are the actual buyer of the firearm. This is the government’s main tool for catching straw purchases, where a person who can pass a background check buys a gun for someone who cannot. Falsely answering “yes” is a felony, and the form warns that certain Gun Control Act violations carry up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.⁶

Buying a firearm as a genuine gift for someone who is legally eligible to own one? You are still the actual buyer. Answer “yes.” You only answer “no” if the other person is giving you the money and directing you to buy a specific gun on their behalf. Misunderstanding this question is one of the most frequent Form 4473 errors.

The Marijuana Question

Question 21.f asks whether you are an unlawful user of or addicted to marijuana or any other controlled substance. The form includes a blunt warning: marijuana use remains unlawful under federal law regardless of whether your state has legalized it for medical or recreational purposes.³ Answering “yes” stops the sale. Answering “no” while actively using marijuana is a federal felony, specifically a false statement in connection with a firearm acquisition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6), punishable by up to ten years in prison.⁷

Signing the Certification

After every field is filled and every box checked, you sign and date the certification at the bottom of Section B. Your signature attests, under penalty of perjury, that all your answers are truthful. The dealer will verify your ID at this point, matching the name, photo, date of birth, and address on your identification against what you wrote. A middle name that does not appear on your ID, or an address that does not match, can delay or halt the process.

What Happens After You Sign

The dealer contacts NICS by phone or electronically.⁸ The system returns one of three responses:

Proceed: no disqualifying records found; the dealer can complete the sale immediately.
Delayed: a potential match needs further FBI investigation.
Denied: a disqualifying record exists and the sale is stopped.

Most checks come back within minutes. If the check comes back “Delayed,” the FBI has three business days to issue a final proceed or deny. If those three business days pass without a definitive denial, the dealer has the legal option to transfer the firearm, though many wait for a final answer.⁹¹⁰¹¹

Some states also impose a mandatory waiting period between completing the form and taking possession of the firearm, even after a “Proceed” response.

If You Are Denied

A denial can result from a records error, mistaken identity, or outdated information. Start by requesting the reason from the FBI through the NICS appeals portal or by mail. You will need the NICS Transaction Number (the dealer should have it), your full name, address, and phone number.¹² The FBI responds by mail, not by phone.¹³

If you believe the denial is wrong, submit a formal challenge to the same office. Including rolled fingerprint impressions prepared by a law enforcement agency or authorized fingerprinting service is not required, but the FBI strongly recommends it, because many denials stem from identity confusion that fingerprints resolve quickly. Send challenges to: FBI NICS Section, Attention: Appeal Services Team, P.O. Box 4278, Clarksburg, WV 26302-9922.¹²

When Form 4473 Applies

You complete Form 4473 any time a federally licensed dealer is involved in the transfer, whether you are buying new inventory at a shop, picking up an online purchase shipped to a dealer, or using a dealer to facilitate a private-party sale. Federal law does not currently require private sellers who are not licensed dealers to use Form 4473 for sales between individuals. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act broadened the definition of who counts as “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms, meaning more frequent sellers may now need a license and, with it, the obligation to use Form 4473 for every sale.¹⁴ A number of states also require all private sales to go through a licensed dealer, which triggers the Form 4473 process. Check your state’s rules before completing a private transaction.

1
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record Revisions
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Rul. 2001-5
3
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record Revisions
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
8
Federal Bureau of Investigation. NICS Overview Brochure
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 27 CFR Parts 178 and 179 – Implementation of Public Law 103-159, Relating to the Permanent Provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
10
United States Department of Justice. Fact Sheet – Two Years of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
11
Congress.gov. Text – 117th Congress (2021-2022) – Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
12
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Deny Delay – NICS Resolution Card
13
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Challenges / Appeals
14
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Final Rule – Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms