2026 Form 1 Guide

Huge thanks to Uberclay and MichiganGunGuy for the assistance in putting this together.

With the recent change eliminating the ATF filing fee for Form 1 submissions, many people who previously hesitated are now taking a closer look at the process. While the form itself hasn’t become simpler, the lack of a financial barrier has made accuracy and understanding more important than ever—mistakes still cause delays or denials, even when the cost is $0. This guide is written to walk you through Form 1 clearly and methodically, explaining what the ATF is actually asking for, how to avoid common errors, and how to submit your application confidently and correctly under the current rules.

A note on trusts: Under the current regulations, submitting Form 1s through a trust is generally no longer advantageous for most people. The primary remaining benefit is when multiple individuals who do not reside with you need to take possession of the NFA items held by the trust—for example, if your brother-in-law wants to borrow your suppressor for a hunt. However, this comes with a significant tradeoff: every responsible person on the trust must submit fingerprints, photographs, and identifying information for each NFA item added to the trust. For many applicants, this added complexity outweighs the limited benefits.

There are two routes to filing this form, a digital and paper form. Regardless of which route you take you will need.

Things You Need

• A government ID
  • Remember to always use your full legal name for all subsequent paperwork, forms or additional submissions. I go by Alex by my full name is Alexander, as it appears on my ID. I got a digital fingerprint file under Alex and it caused a lot of problems with my submissions. So much so that I had to go back and get another fingerprint file.
• Fingerprints – Digital or Paper
  • Paper fingerprint cards can be requested from the ATF for free via – https://www.atf.gov/distribution-center-order-form
  • Digital fingerprint files can be obtained via most UPS stores. I used a service called PrintScan (https://printscan.com/Agencies/ATF). Since they are specialists in this it was much easier than explaining what I needed compared to the clerk at the UPS store who’s eyes glazed over as soon as I mentioned it.
• Passport-style photo
  • You can take these yourself. For U.S. passports, the standard photo size is 2×2 inches (51×51 mm), with your head measuring 1 to 1 3/8 inches from chin to crown, centered, facing forward, with a neutral expression, eyes open, on a plain white/off-white background, printed on quality paper, and taken within the last 6 months. 
• Chief Law Enforcement Officer contact information 
  • I like using my sheriff but you can choose any of the following – local chief of police, sheriff of the county, head of the state police, or state or local district attorney or prosecutor are acceptable.
    https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/who-may-qualify-certifying-official-atf-form-1-or-atf-form-4-making-or-transfer-nfa
• NFA Marking Information – This one is confusing so pay attention.
  • Maker/Manufactrer vs Original Manufacturer
    • If your firearm does not have a serial number (3d Printed, 80% build, any other DIY build) you are the Original Manufacturer. 
    • If your firearm does have a serial number (Firearm purchased from FFL/shop/transfer, etc.) You are the Maker, not the ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER.
  • Manufacturer
    • This is you. Regardless of whether you purchased a rifle or handgun and are converting it or if you make it from scratch. You are making it into an NFA regulated item, so you are the Manufacturer.
  • Location
    • City and state where the firearm is being made. This should be your house generally speaking.
  • Model
    • If you are the Original Manufacturer on a diy build this can be whatever you decide. It doesn’t necessarily need to follow the naming for the project file that was downloaded. If you are the Maker you should use the model designation from the Original Manufacturer.
  • Caliber
    • The caliber(s) accepted by this firearm. DO NOT USE MULTI-CAL or any derivation of that. (this does not mean you cant use a different caliber in it, just that it can be returned to this configuration and should not be permanently modified. The government has not caught up to the fact that multi-caliber firearms exist.)
  • Serial Number
    • If you are the Original Manufacturer you get to make this up using any number of Roman letters (A-Z, a-z), Arabic numerals (0-9), and a hyphen (-). No wingdings or kanji. You know who you are. And yes you can do 8008135 and similar. An additional caveat the ATF has written that you should not use just a name (like Brian) but instead use something numerical like Brian-1.

Filling out the Eform

The E forms are by far the most convenient and generally faster than filling out the paper forms, so we will start there.

Step 1 – Create your Eforms account

Like with all digital services you need to create an account. Head to https://eforms.atf.gov/ and click register. Login if you’ve already done this. The information required is nothing invasive here. Just be sure to always use your full legal name as it appears on your ID and not any nicknames or informal names.

Step 2 – Create your form 1

Once logged in select ATF Form 1 (5320.1)

Afrirm the popup box.

Select Individual or trust based on your circumstance.

Read the following informational page and click next.

This next screen is the first substantial change to the Form 1. In the case of an individual submission it is preselected. I also suggest putting the serial number of the firearm you intend to make in the Internal Control Number field. This will make things easier to sort and track later. Click Next.

Applicant Information

This next section is filled out very similarly to the 4473. Since this is an individual form ensure the No FFL box is selected. Complete all fields and click next.

Responsible Person Information

You will see the next page with a red triange in the status column. Click the pencil icon to edit your responsible person information. (if you are doing this as a trust you will need to edit the information for each party in the trust.

This next page shows a lot of PII so I’m only going to show you the unique part. This is where you attache the digital fingerprint etf file and your passport photos. The digital fingerprints are optional and if you do not have a file you can mail the physical card in after you submit the form. Click Save & Close.

CLEO Information

The next section is for CLEO (Chief Law Enforcement Information). I like using my sheriff. They’re usually a large enough jurisdiction to not care about this paperwork and toss it immediately without any questions. More Info. :https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/who-may-qualify-certifying-official-atf-form-1-or-atf-form-4-making-or-transfer-nfa Click Next.

Firearm Infomation (Line item)

This next section is where you add your firearm information. Click “Add Firearm”.

In the popup box type in the name of the original manufacturer (i.e. STRUM RUGER) and select it from the drop down box. Alternatively if you are the ORIGINAL MANNUFACTURER as we discussed before, you would type in Form 1 Registration (code FMI) and select it from the drop down box. Click Verify Manufacturer and select the country in which the firearm was ORIGINALLY MANUFACTURED. Click Next.

Select your product type (SBR, Silencer, etc,etc)

If you are the ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER, you can select from the preset models or check the “My item description is not in the list” box they type in your own. At this point most DIY projects will have some sort of corresponding project already but if you want to name it something else its your prerogative to do so. This will trigger the “Additional Research” flag which may delay your form processing a little and may lead to some followup questions from ATF. Be prepared for this and monitor your email.

Barrel length is determined from the end of the muzzle with any removable muzzle devices detached to the bolt face.

Overall lenght is measured from the muzzle with any detachable device removed to the rearmost point of the stock with the stock fully extended.

Description can be left blank but it may help, if you are customizing the model and caliber to add additional information here.

In the intent box put in “All lawful purposes”

If you have an existing firearm with a serial number you are converting, attach a photo of the engravings. Click Finish.

Electronic Documents

You can skip this page, nothing should be needed here. Click Next.

Verify

This page contains a lot of PII so im not going to show it. Read through it, verify it and click next.

Certify

If you have a red box, like below, you have errors in your form. If this box is yellow, no thing needs to be done on your end but ATF needs to do something like additional research.

Click Sign & Submit. Then put in your pin.

Informational popup

Congrats, your form is submitted. Now you wait.

Post Submission Process

Check your email

You should get an email from ATF containing the following. Save it. Continue waiting. (The CLEO notification happens at this point and if you did the eform it happens automatically)

Days or months later you will get another email containing followup questions or one of the following.

If denied, start over and try your application again. It should contain some explanation of why your form was rejected.

If approved, proceed to make your gizmo, gadget, or contraption.

Finish

Run your gun

Take your new toy out into the world. Display it under the sun. Show it to your friends and family. Take it to a match. Tell your friends about this guide and have them make their own toys.