Pro 2A Groups Applaud ATF For Stepping On Gas To Fast-Track Notoriously Slow Form Processing Times

Pro-Second Amendment organizations praised the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after he touted a major decline in the average time it took the agency to process various forms Monday.

ATF Director Robert Cekada said in a Monday post on X that the average processing time for the four most commonly filed ATF forms had dropped to 18 days since fiscal year 2021. Cekada noted that in one case, the wait had been reduced by roughly 80%, from 150 days to 18 days, drawing praise from pro-Second Amendment organizations.

“This chart tells a story I’m proud to share. The white line represents the average processing times across the four ATF forms Americans submit most often,” Cekada said. “It shows just how far we have come. Thanks to dedication of our employees, the average time has dropped from 73 days in FY21 to just 18 days today. Form 4 processing has fallen from 150 days to approximately 18 days.”

Form 4 is used for transfers of items covered under the National Firearms Act (NFA), including machine guns, silencers, short-barreled shotguns and rifles and “destructive devices.” Two versions exist, according to the ATF website, one for a trust, one for individuals, with the latter being processed in six days, while the former takes 26 days.

The reconciliation bill signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025 contained provisions that reduced the taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and guns described as “any other weapon” to $0 after the Senate Parliamentarian struck language that removed those items from any coverage of the NFA.

The average time to process the electronic version of Form 1, used to gain permission to manufacture a NFA item, was 59 days according to the ATF website, while the paper version took 29 days.

Pro-Second Amendment groups praised the progress made when contacted by the Daily Caller News Foundation for comment.

“Law-abiding Americans should not have to wait months to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford told the DCNF. “While no citizen should have to wait any amount of time to procure their lawfully purchased firearms and firearm products, the reduction in ATF Form 4 processing times from roughly 150 days to around 18 days today is a meaningful improvement that benefits lawful gun owners who simply want to take possession of lawfully purchased NFA items.”

The Second Amendment Foundation, which is engaged in litigation with the Trump administration over its enforcement of the registration provisions regarding silencers and other NFA items where the tax was reduced to $0, also praised the progress.

“Having been through the NFA process many times, beginning when the only way to submit a form was physical and a wait time of approximately 3 months, through the spike in wait times up to 18 months for processing forms, it is encouraging to see that the average time to process a form is less than three weeks,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said. “As ATF continues to take advantage of technological advances, we are optimistic that wait times will continue to be reduced so that those who purchase NFA firearms may retrieve them from their dealers quickly.”

“With our pending lawsuits challenging the continued inclusion of short-barreled rifles and silencers in the NFA since there is no longer a tax on those items, it is possible that in the near future there may be relief as it relates to wait times for some of the most popular NFA items, if a court finds there is no longer a reason to retain the registration scheme,” Kraut continued. “Of course, we would prefer to see NFA items, regardless of what happens with our litigation, with no wait times associated, no different than the purchase of ordinary handguns, rifles, and shotguns.”

Gun Owners of America also appreciated the reduction in wait times, but also said there was more work to do.

“GOA lobbied for Public Law 118-42, which directed ATF to reduce the outrageously long NFA paperwork processing times and was signed into law in 2024,” GOA Director of Federal Affairs Aidan Johnston told the DCNF. “GOA is pleased to hear that ATF Director Cekada is carrying out the law successfully and has streamlined the NFA approval process internally.”

“Of course, GOA remains committed, both in court and in Congress, to a full repeal of the unconstitutional NFA paperwork and registration process,” Johnston continued.

In a follow-up post, Cekada noted that even as wait times had decreased, the volume of forms being filed with the agency had gone up from under 485,700 in fiscal year 2021 to over 1.84 million through three-quarters of fiscal year 2026. Cekada also took time to respond on X to one person asking about the status of his ATF Form 1, which had been filed 57 days prior to the posts.

42 minutes after his initial inquiry, the X user posted that ATF issued approval Friday while looking up the control number in response to Cekada’s reply.