Personnel

Special Agents	2,572
Industry Operations Investigators	857
Administrative/professional/technical	1,893
Total full-time employees	5,322

 

Cases and Defendants

Case and defendant data presents a snapshot in time of matters proceeding through the various phases of the judicial process. The typical ATF case recommended for prosecution remains open over a period of approximately 4 years.

Cases and defendants indicted, convicted, and sentenced are not subsets of cases and defendants recommended for prosecution in FY 2024. The snapshot presents actual judicial activity in the fiscal year regardless of the year the matter was recommended for prosecution. For example, “percentage indicted” should not be calculated based upon the presented data, as the case indicted may have been presented in a previous fiscal year.

Cases

Firearms cases initiated	24,208
Arson cases initiated	1,796
Explosives cases initiated	961
Firearms cases recommended for prosecution	7,432
Indicted cases	4,774
Convicted cases	4,126

Defendants

Recommended for prosecution	11,189
Defendants indicted	6,920
Defendants convicted	5,911

The data show an average of 6.48 prior arrests and 1.73 prior felony convictions per defendant recommended for prosecution.

 

Firearms Licensees

As of FY 2024, there were 128,690 active federal firearms licensees (FFLs) and 43,956 firearms licenses issued (to include renewals).

Type 01: Dealer	47,776
Type 02: Pawnbroker	6,149
Type 03: Collector	49,689
Type 06: Manufacturer of Ammunition	1,858
Type 07: Manufacturer of Firearms	20,578
Type 08: Importer	1,698
Type 09: Dealer of Destructive Devices	145
Type 10: Manufacturer of Destructive Devices	496
Type 11: Importer of Destructive Devices	301

 

Inspections

ATF conducted 9,696 firearm compliance inspections in FY 2024.

Firearms compliance inspections resulted in the following recommendations:

No violations	5,207
Report of violations	1,689
Warning letters	721
Warning Conference	214
License surrendered/out of business	1,488
Revocations	195
Other dispositions	182

 

Most Frequently Cited Violations 

27 CFR 478.125(e)	Failure to maintain an accurate/complete/timely acquisition and disposition record of firearms	37,654
27 CFR 478.21(a)	Failure to complete forms as prescribed	32,068
27 CFR 478.124(c)(1)	Failure to obtain a completed ATF F 4473	20,767
27 CFR 478.124(c)(3)(iv)	Failure to record NICS contact information on an ATF F 4473	15,296
27 CFR 478.123(b)	Failure to maintain an accurate/complete/timely licensee disposition record	11,026
27 CFR 478.124(c)(5)	Failure by transferor to sign and/or date an ATF F 4473	10,962
27 CFR 478.123(a)	Failure to maintain an accurate/complete/timely manufacture or acquisition record	9,323
27 CFR 478.124(c)(3)(i)	Failure to verify or record Identification document on ATF F 4473	6,797
27 CFR 478.124(c)(4)	Failure to record firearm information on an ATF F 4473	6,752
27 CFR 478.126a	Failure to report multiple sales or other dispositions of pistols and revolvers	4,772

 

Firearms Application Inspections

ATF conducted 8,815 firearms application inspections. Of those inspections, 6,395 were approved and 37 were denied. The remaining 2,383 application inspections were abandoned or withdrawn.

 

Explosives Licensees

As of FY 2024, there were 9,185 active federal explosives licenses and permits (FEL/FEPs).

Manufacturers	2,036
Importers	579
Dealers licenses (includes black powder)	794
Limited permits	28
User permits	5,748

 

Explosives Inspections

ATF conducted 874 explosives application inspections. Of those inspections, 688 were approved and 2 were denied. The remaining 184 applications were abandoned or withdrawn.

ATF conducted 3,614 explosive compliance inspections resulting in the following recommendations:

No violations	2,867
Report of violations	74
Warning letters	176
Warning conference	38
License surrendered/out of business	437
Revoked	6
Other dispositions	16

 

Top 10 Violations 

27 CFR 555.127	Failure to timely/accurately enter all required explosive inventory identification and quantity information in a daily summary of magazine transaction	1,264
27 CFR 555.124(c)(6)	Failure to record the distributee's license/permit number in the permanent record	163
27 CFR 555.124(c)(2)	Failure to record the (brand) name of manufacturer or name of importer of explosive material(s) in the permanent record	160
27 CFR 555.124(c)(3)	Failure to record the manufacturer's marks of identification of explosive material(s) in the permanent record	123
27 CFR 555.125(b)(3)(ii)	Failure to record the (brand) name of manufacturer of explosive material(s) in the permanent record	94
27 CFR 555.208(b)(1)	Failure to meet general requirements of an indoor type II magazine	67
27 CFR 555.124(b)(6)	Failure to record the name, address and license/permit number of the person from whom explosive material(s) are received in the permanent record	49
27 CFR 555.210(a)(2)	Failure to meet minimum construction requirements of an outdoor type IV magazine	49
27 CFR 555.123(c)	Failure to timely record the distribution of explosive material(s) in a permanent record	46
27 CFR 555.123(b)	Failure to timely record the acquisition/manufacture of explosive material(s) in a permanent record	43

   

National Firearms Act (NFA)

NFA registration applications (and transfer applications) received	1,170,028
NFA registrations processed count of forms	1,373,305
NFA registrations processed (total weapons)/count of weapons	4,731,918
NFA making and transfer tax collected	$145,072,242
NFA special occupation tax collected	$10,438,289

Note: All taxes collected for NFA go to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury Department.       
     

Tracing

ATF’s National Tracing Center (NTC) is the only organization authorized to trace U.S. and foreign manufactured firearms for local, state, federal and international law enforcement agencies. NTC provides critical information that helps domestic and international law enforcement agencies solve firearms crimes, detect firearms trafficking, and track the intrastate, interstate, and international movement of crime guns.

NTC processed more than 639,295 trace requests in FY 2024.
 

National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN)

NIBIN provides local, state and federal law enforcement, forensic science, and prosecutors with an automated ballistic imaging system that will aid their investigations by using digital images of shell casings to link violent crimes involving firearms and subsequently identify firearm users in violent crimes.

NIBIN acquisitions	658,731
NIBIN leads	217,474
NIBIN hits	3,984
NIBIN locations	376

 

Laboratories

In FY 2024, ATF’s laboratories accomplished the following:

ATF laboratory requests for analysis and testing	1,435
ATF laboratory completed analysis requests	1,239
DNA submissions from fired cartridge cases	103
Fire Research Laboratory engineering cases	161
Fire Research Laboratory research experiments	234
Fire Research Laboratory case test experiments	193
Fire Research Laboratory forensic cases analyzed	144
Fire Research Laboratory fire research activities	46

 

Budget

The agency’s FY 2024 enacted budget was approximately $1.6 billion.