Reply To: Form 1 E-file Wait Times
I was one of the first owners to get a serial number for the new H&K SP5K and e-filed a Form 1 to SBR it on 7/4, check cashed on 7/5.
Now the bad news: Because it was a new model, ATF didn’t have a pull-down selection so I had to manually enter the model. This resulted in ATF classifying my Form 1 as the dreaded “PENDING RESEARCH”. It took 23 days to complete the “research” and have the application classified as “SUBMITTED” on July 27th. This the point where it gets put into the pile for processing and starts the clock.
Although I won’t have to do the new 41F stuff (as far as I know), when I check the application in atfonline, the control number is consistent with an end of July submission. In other words, the application got shoved 23 days to the right because ATF couldn’t figure out that a firearm everybody knew was coming for the last 2 years wasn’t loaded into their $hitty system. FYI, late July control number for my app is 3614XX. Numbers start with 2016 followed by a six digit identifier, so mine was 20163614XX.
That means that I’m over 40,000 applications further down the road. If you want to have a good idea where your application stands, get your internal control number from ATF online. Apps are sequentially assigned as they are entered into the system, and if you can do the math on throughput of control numbers, you can pretty well figure out when yours will percolate to the top. As of today, there are about 115,000 apps ahead of mine. You can calculate / guesstimate rough ATF throughput and where your application is at in the queue.
#cross-posted at arfcom and HKPRO.