Codified Regulations
Code of Federal Regulations
ATF regulations are published as Title 27, Chapter II, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by the Government Printing Office. Consult the official legal version of 27 CFR (updated April 1 of each year) and any more recent final/interim rules to learn the requirements that apply to you.
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a currently updated version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Printing Office. The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a daily basis.
Current Regulations
- Title 27 CFR Chapter II, Part 447 — Importation of Arms, Ammunition and Implements of War.
- Title 27 CFR Chapter II, Part 478 — Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition
- Title 27 CFR Chapter II, Part 479 — Machine Guns, Destructive Devices, and Certain Other Firearms
- Title 27 CFR Chapter II, Part 555 — Commerce in Explosives
- Title 27 CFR Chapter II, Part 646 — Contraband Cigarettes
Cross References:
- Title 15 CFR Part 30 — Foreign Trade Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.
- Title 16 CFR Chapter I — Federal Trade Commission.
- Title 19 CFR Chapter I — U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Title 21 CFR Chapter I — Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Title 26 CFR Chapter I & Title 31 CFR Chapter I — Other regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury.
- Title 39 CFR Chapter I — Postal Service.
Portions of Regulations in Part 478 that are no longer effective after 9/13/04
On September 13, 1994, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322. Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 110105 of this Act generally made it unlawful to manufacture, transfer, and possess semiautomatic assault weapons (SAWs) and to transfer and possess large capacity ammunition feeding devices (LCAFDs). The law also required importers and manufacturers to place certain markings on SAWs and LCAFDs, designating they were for export or law enforcement/government use. Significantly, the law provided that it would expire 10 years from the date of enactment. Accordingly, effective 12:01 am on September 13, 2004, the provisions of the law ceased to apply and the following provisions of the regulations in Part 478 no longer apply:
- Section 478.11 — Definitions of the terms “semiautomatic assault weapon” and “large capacity ammunition feeding device”
- Section 478.40 — Entire section
- Section 478.40a — Entire section
- Section 478.57 — Paragraphs (b) and (c)
- Section 478.92 — Paragraph (a)(3) – [Note: Renumbered from paragraph (a)(2) to paragraph (a)(3) by TD ATF – 461 (66 FR 40596) on August 3, 2001]
- Section 478.92 — Paragraph (c)
- Section 478.119 — Entire section – [Note: An import permit is still needed pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act – see 27 CFR 447.41(a)]
- Section 478.132 — Entire section
- Section 478.153 — Entire section
Note: The references to “ammunition feeding device” in section 478.116 are not applicable on or after September 13, 2004.
Note: The references to “semiautomatic assault weapons” in section 478.171 are not applicable on or after September 13, 2004.
How does ATF inform people of proposed and final changes to the regulations?
Like all Federal agencies, ATF publishes official notices of its actions in the Federal Register, a publication of the Government Printing Office. The Federal Register is published Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays), both on paper and online. Here is the address of the Federal Register online: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
When you access the Federal Register online, you can search by subject or use their “Browse Feature,” to view the Table of Contents of any recent issue. Using either of these means, you can view a document as either a text file or as a PDF file, using Adobe Acrobat ®.
In addition, we place a copy of these documents on the ATF web site shortly after the Federal Register makes the documents available through their web site. When you access a notice or advance notice of proposed rulemaking on our website, you will see directions on how to submit a comment to us. You will also be able to view comments submitted to ATF via the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
As part of publishing a document, the Federal Register places a copy of the manuscript “on file” in their office the day before it is printed. Members of the public may view the document at that time. Call the Federal Register for details. Their number is (202) 741-6000.