On Friday, November 28, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) under the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a rule in the Federal Register that would make it easier to transport National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms across state lines.
Currently, to travel with an NFA item such as machine guns, short barreled rifles (SBRs), short barreled shotguns (SBSs), or destructive devices (DDs), a gun owner must fill out an ATF Form 5320.20, Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms (“Form 20”) well in advance of the dates of travel. It can be used for a single trip or multiple trips to the exact same location. The approval is valid for only one year at a time. Suppressors and any other weapons (AOWs) are exempt from the regulations.
Currently, the form must be filled out in duplicate and submitted to the ATF for processing. The forms must be filled out by hand and sent to the ATF via the United States Postal Service (USPS), by fax, or via email. While most other NFA functions have moved to the eForms system, the ATF Form 5320.20 has remained under the old manual system. The new proposed rule would change that, streamlining the process of transporting NFA items.
The old system was error-prone and required much more manual intervention than the eForms system, slowing the process to a crawl. The proposed rule will move 5320.20 into eForms, drastically speeding up the process by eliminating multiple manual steps. The ATF is also proposing to remove the requirement to complete duplicate forms, as the eForms system will automatically complete them. According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the time required to complete the forms will be cut in half, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. The changes will save Americans who wish to transport their NFA items beyond their state an estimated 4,516 hours per year.
The notice reads: “ATF is revising this information collection, OMB control number 1140-0010, to make the form electronically fillable and allow it to be submitted by email. In addition, ATF will have made the form part of its online eForms platform by the time this ICR completes the renewal process, both of which result in full electronic submission. In the process of these changes, ATF has also made the second copy automatically auto-fill, when it was previously completed by the respondent in addition to the primary form. ATF also made some additional small edits to the form to make it easier to read and made a slight revision to the title to clarify the type of transportation covered.”
“The changes to the form due to updated technology have decreased the time necessary to complete the form, which was previously 20 minutes (ten minutes were attributed to addressing and mailing) and has now decreased to ten minutes. In addition, respondents no longer incur mailing time and costs. There has also been a decrease in the number of respondents per year, from 20,000 respondents during the last renewal to 12,878 during this renewal, a decrease of 7,122 respondents. These combined changes have resulted in a decrease in total annual burden hours from 6,667 hours to 2,151, a decrease of 4,516 hours, and a corresponding decrease in the monetized time value for this ICR.”
The comment period will run for 60 days, ending at midnight on January 27, 2026. Those wishing to comment should reach out to Meghan Tisserand, Division Staff, National Firearms Act Division, either by mail at National Firearms Act Division; Division Staff Office; 244 Needy Road; Martinsburg, WV 25405, by email at [email protected], or by telephone at 304.616.3219. Gun owners should be prepared to reference OMB control number 1140-0010.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
