Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · CFR · Title 27 — Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms · Part 478 · § 478.39a

§ 478.39a. Reporting theft or loss of firearms.

418 words·~2 min read·/us/cfr/t27/s§ 478.39a·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)(1) Each licensee shall report the theft or loss of a firearm from the licensee's inventory (including any firearm which has been transferred from the licensee's inventory to a personal collection and held as a personal firearm for at least 1 year), or from the collection of a licensed collector, within 48 hours after the theft or loss is discovered.
(2)When a firearm is stolen or lost in transit on a common or contract carrier (which for purposes of this paragraph includes the U.S. Postal Service), it is considered stolen or lost from the transferor/sender licensee's inventory for reporting purposes. Therefore, the transferor/sender of the stolen or lost firearm shall report the theft or loss of the firearm within 48 hours after the transferor/sender discovers the theft or loss.
(b)Each licensee shall report the theft or loss by telephoning ATF at 1-888-930-9275 (nationwide toll-free number), and by preparing and submitting to ATF a Federal Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss Report, ATF Form 3310.11, in accordance with the instructions on the form. The original of the report shall be retained by the licensee as part of the licensee's required records.
(c)When a licensee submits to ATF a Federal Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss Report, ATF Form 3310.11, for the theft or loss of a firearm registered under the National Firearms Act, this report also satisfies the notification requirement under § 479.141 of this chapter.
(d)Theft or loss of any firearm shall also be reported to the appropriate local authorities. If the location of the theft or loss is known, the local law enforcement agency at that location would be the appropriate local authority. Otherwise, the report should be made to the local law enforcement authorities at the licensee's location or business premises.
(e)Licensees shall reflect the theft or loss of a firearm as a disposition entry in the Record of Acquisition and Disposition required by subpart H of this part not later than 7 days following discovery of the theft or loss. The disposition entry shall record whether the incident is a theft or loss, the ATF-Issued Incident Number, and the Incident Number provided by the local law enforcement agency.
(f)Licensees who report the theft or loss of a firearm and later discover its whereabouts shall advise ATF at 1-888-930-9275 (nationwide toll-free number) that the firearm has been located, and shall re-enter the firearm in the Record of Acquisition and Disposition as an acquisition or disposition entry as appropriate. \[ATF 40F, 81 FR 1318, Jan. 12, 2016\]
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.