Form 4473 contains the purchaser’s name, address, date of birth, government-issued photo ID, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check transaction number, and a short affidavit stating that the purchaser is eligible to purchase firearms under federal law. It also contains the make, model, or serial numbering the firearm. Lying on the form is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison[2] in addition to fines, even if the transaction is denied by the NICS. Prosecutions are rare in the absence of a felony committed with the gun purchased.[citation needed] Of 556,496 denied transactions between FY 2008 and FY 2015, federal prosecutors prosecuted an average of under 32 cases per year, including 24 in FY 2013, 15 in FY 2014 and 20 in FY 2015.[3][4]
If a person purchases a firearm from a private individual who is not a FFL licensed dealer, the purchaser is not required in most states to complete a Form 4473. All purchases of small arms (handguns) from private individuals from another state are required to have a Form 4473 completed before sale.[citation needed] Some states (such as California, Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington) require individual sellers to sell through dealers.
These forms are given the same status as a tax return under the Privacy Act of 1974 and cannot be disclosed by the government to private parties or other government officials except in accordance with the Privacy Act. Individual dealers possessing a copy of the form are not subject to the Privacy Act's restrictions on disclosure. Dealers are required to maintain completed forms for 20 years in the case of completed sales, and for 5 years where the sale was disapproved as a result of the NICS check.
eForm 4473
In response to the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA),[5] and based upon requests from the firearms industry, the ATF has developed the e-Form 4473 to assist in the proper completion of the Federal Firearms Transaction Record (ATF Form 4473). The ATF eForm 4473 is designed to help eliminate errors in completing Form 4473 for both the firearm purchaser and the licensed seller. The eForm 4473 is provided to the public, including major retailers, free of charge via the ATF eForm web site. ATF eForm 4473 is a downloadable application that runs locally on the seller's computer and supports both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. (See "External links" section below.)
Acquisition and Disposition Log
The firearm dealer is required to record some information from the Form 4473 into a "bound-book", called an "Acquisition and Disposition Log”.[6] The dealer must keep the Form 4473 on file for the lifetime of the FFL, and is required to surrender the log book to the ATF upon retirement from the firearms business.
The ATF is allowed to inspect, as well as request a copy of, the Form 4473 from the dealer during the course of a criminal investigation. In addition, the sale of two or more handguns to a person in a five-day period must be reported to the ATF on Form 3310.4.
Revisions
2016
In 2016, the ATF made several changes to the form, including adding a warning statement that the use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where the transferee/buyer resides.[7][8]
2020
In 2020, the ATF made further changes to the form, including adding a warning that "any person who exports a firearm without a proper authorization from either the Department of Commerce or the Department of State, as applicable, is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000,000 and up to 20 years imprisonment." As of November 1, 2020, all FFL holders were required to transition to the new revision.[9]
Relocating questions relating to the manufacturer, importer, model, serial number, type, caliber or gauge, and number of firearms to be transferred to a new Section A at the beginning of the form. These questions were previously located in Section D.
New options for questions relating to personal information, such as the option to select Non-binary as a Sex, the option to include an Appeals Management Database Identification (AMD ID) as a Unique Personal Identification Number, and two new immigration-based questions.
Additional criminal history questions, relating to dealings with a military court, misdemeanor domestic violence offenses, and orders of protection.
Convictions
According to the US Sentencing Commission, approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people a year are convicted of receiving or possessing a firearm against one of the prohibitions above.[11] In 2017, over 25.2 million actual background checks were performed in total.[12]
Hunter Biden Controversy
On October 12, 2018, Hunter Biden then former Vice PresidentJoe Biden's son lied on a 4473 question pertaining to the usage of marijuana and other controlled substances when purchasing a handgun from a gun store.[13] Biden had a history of illegal usage of controlled substances and was accused of violating Federal law. Later, Biden's girlfriend discarded the gun in a trashcan across from a high school.[14] This was also an alleged violation of the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act as the firearm was within 1,000 feet of a public high school. Delaware police began to investigate when the gun was discovered by a man rummaging through the trash as there was a fear that the revolver may have been used in a crime.[15] The United States Secret Service became involved and went to the gun store where the gun was sold, however, the store owner refused to turn over papers to them, concerned the Secret Service would try to cover it up. He would later hand over the records to the ATF.[16]
Hunter Biden has since appeared in court regarding the allegation along with other alleged crimes and controversies he has been involved in. On May 31, 2023, it was reported that Biden's lawyers would attempt to argue Biden's innocence by calling the law unconstitutional under the new standard established by the June 2022, Supreme Court decision in N.Y.S.R.P.A. v. Bruen.[17] This drew attention as Hunter Biden's father, President Joe Biden was "deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling."[18]
As of November 2023, Hunter Biden has yet to be convicted on his charges.
The plea deal put together between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden's lawyers that would have in effect allowed him a free pass on the firearms charges while permitting him to plead guilty on the unrelated federal income tax misdemeanors and pay the taxes owed plus fines collapsed when the federal judge hearing the case refused to approve the deal. On September 14, 2023 an indictment was filed against Hunter Biden with three counts of violating the provisions of the Form 4473. As of that date, he has not been arrested or arraigned on these charges.
References
^See generally subsection (g)(1)(A) of 18 U.S.C.§ 923 and subsection (a) of 27 C.F.R. sec. 478.124.
^Title XVII (sections 1701 through 1710) of Division C of Public Law No. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681, at 2681-749 (Oct 21, 1998), amending subsection (a)(1)(B)(vi) of 44 U.S.C.§ 3504.
^See generally subsection (g)(2) of 18 U.S.C. section 923.
