FFL Command Center™ Built by Veterans, Built for Dealers
Form 4473

Electronic Form 4473 Software for FFL Dealers

By Dana Fales  ·  Updated

FFL Command Center's electronic 4473 takes the buyer and you through the form on a tablet and a PC, seals it when it's complete, links it to the gun's bound book entry and produces the form as a PDF when the transaction is completed or denied. It records the NICS or state result and the NTN you receive; it doesn't run the check. ATF doesn't approve any e4473 software. The e4473 is part of the $1,700 one-time license, along with the bound book, POS, inventory and a dealer website.

Book a demo · Pricing

How the e4473 works, step by step

  1. You start the transaction. The firearm comes from your inventory, so the gun details aren't retyped. The form is guided section by section.
  2. The buyer fills in their part on a tablet. Personal information, the prohibited-person questions and the signature are entered by the buyer at the kiosk. A 4-digit exit PIN keeps the tablet locked on the kiosk until you unlock it, and you review and finish the form. Once the buyer certifies, their answers are locked (ATF Rul. 2016-2 condition 5).
  3. English or Spanish screens. The buyer can read the kiosk in English or Spanish. The printed form is the English current ATF Form 4473 (Revised August 2023) either way.
  4. Hard stops. The form won't go forward on an expired ID, a buyer under the minimum age, or prohibitor or straw-purchase answers. The buyer can't click past them.
  5. You record the background check. Enter the NICS or state result and the NTN. A delayed 4473 can't proceed without an NTN, and a second 4473 within 7 days is blocked until the multiple-sale report is filed.
  6. Delayed, then Proceed. If the first response is Delayed, it stays recorded as the initial response in item 27.c, and a later Proceed goes in 27.d as the later response, without overwriting 27.c. Items are labelled to the current ATF Form 4473 (Revised August 2023).
  7. The form is sealed. A completed 4473 is sealed. Corrections are recorded as permanent annotations with who, when, and why, and the original is never overwritten.
  8. A PDF of the form. The form is produced as a PDF when the transaction is completed or denied, and on demand after that. It fills the fillable PDF of the current ATF Form 4473 (Revised August 2023). Printing is covered by ATF Rul. 2016-2 conditions 18–21.
  9. Pickup on a later day. If the buyer picks up on a different day, they recertify on the same tablet (in English or Spanish) before the transfer. Later-day recertification is ATF Rul. 2016-2 condition 17.
  10. The bound book entry is linked. Each 4473 links to the gun's entry in your bound book, so you can go from the form to the A&D line and back.

Finding a form later: search the 4473 list by buyer, serial number, NTN or form number. Old paper 4473s can be scanned in and kept alongside the electronic ones. (Scanning paper forms more than 3 years old is covered by ATF Rul. 2022-01 conditions 16–18.)

The tablet doesn't need to be Windows. The kiosk is a browser page served by your shop PC. One Windows PC holds your records. A second register or the 4473 tablet can connect over your shop network in a browser. It is not a multi-server or synced multi-PC system.

What ATF requires for an electronic 4473 (Ruling 2016-2)

ATF Ruling 2016-2 (April 29, 2016) allows licensees to use an electronic Form 4473 when all of its conditions are met. In plain English, for dealers:

  • A new form every time. The software can't fill the buyer's section in from an earlier transfer to the same person.
  • The buyer answers in person, at your premises or a qualifying gun show, on screens with the same wording as the current form.
  • Answers lock at certification. The buyer can review and change answers until they certify, and not after.
  • Background check data can be typed in, or filled in automatically only if you have FBI or state authorization to transfer it.
  • A later-day transfer needs recertification, and the software can't reuse an earlier signature.
  • Print it. When the transfer is complete, before the buyer leaves, you print the whole form, including instructions, on 8½ × 11 paper as an exact image of the current form. Denied, cancelled and no-sale forms get printed too. You keep the printouts.

That last point is the one that surprises dealers: under 2016-2 alone, an electronic 4473 still ends up on paper. Going fully paperless needs Ruling 2022-01. Source: ATF Ruling 2016-2.

Going paperless: Ruling 2022-01 in plain English

ATF Ruling 2022-01 (August 17, 2022) lets licensees keep electronically completed 4473s electronically instead of on paper. It has 18 conditions (15 for electronic forms, 3 more for scanning old paper forms). Some are steps you take with ATF; others are things the system has to do.

Steps you take: - Give your ATF Industry Operations area office written notice 60 days before you start keeping 4473s electronically. - Provide ATF uninterrupted, read-only access for inspections, with at least one terminal per 500 forms from the previous 12 months, up to five. - Print any form ATF asks for. - If the system is down and you use paper, keep those paper forms.

What the system has to do: - Keep each form in an unalterable format, with corrections made on a copy attached to the original. - Attach supplemental forms (such as multiple-sale reports) to the 4473. - Search by buyer name, transfer date, transaction number, firearm type, model, manufacturer or importer, caliber or gauge, and serial number. - Back up each form when a transaction is completed or stopped. - Let ATF toggle between a 4473 and the A&D record, flag forms for review, and sort them during an inspection. - Save each form, in an unencrypted format, to a storage device at your premises the moment the transaction is stopped, pending or completed. - On closing the business, deliver forms as TIFF, JPEG or PDF images with text recognition turned off. - Paper forms older than three years can be scanned under extra conditions, with no personal information in the file names.

Source: ATF Ruling 2022-01. Condition-by-condition table: Ruling 2016-1 and 2022-01 checklist.

What FFL Command Center does that relates to these conditions (features only; following 2022-01 is your responsibility, starting with the 60-day notice):

  • Sealed forms (see condition 3): A completed 4473 is sealed. Corrections are recorded as permanent annotations with who, when, and why, and the original is never overwritten.
  • Search (condition 8): the 4473 list searches by buyer, serial number, NTN and form number.
  • Toggle to the A&D record (condition 10): each 4473 links to its bound book entry.
  • Print on request (condition 7): a PDF of any completed or denied form, on demand.
  • Scanning old paper forms (conditions 16–18): historical paper 4473s can be scanned in.
  • Backups: records get a daily encrypted backup. The software doesn't back up at the moment a form is completed or stopped (condition 9); it backs up daily. If you use off-site or cloud backup, ATF Rulings 2016-1 and 2016-2 require notifying your ATF Area Office of the host facility within 30 days. We'll give you the details to include.
  • Onsite copy (condition 13): a PDF is saved on your PC when a transaction is completed or denied. Delayed, pending, cancelled and stopped forms don't get that immediate copy today.

Until you're following every 2022-01 condition yourself, including the 60-day notice, keep printing under 2016-2.

What FFL Command Center doesn't do

  • It doesn't submit NICS checks or connect to NICS. Staff run the check through NICS E-Check or your state system, and the software records the result and NTN.
  • It doesn't file anything with ATF, including eForms.
  • It doesn't print a Spanish form. The kiosk can be in Spanish; the printed form is the English current ATF Form 4473 (Revised August 2023).

Built into the rest of your system

  • Bound book: each 4473 links to its A&D entry. → Electronic bound book software
  • Point of sale: the sale and the form live in the same system. → Gun store POS
  • Inventory: the gun on the form comes straight from stock.
  • Gun shows: the electronic 4473 works offline at the venue, because your records live on your own computer rather than the venue wifi. Inventory, the bound book and POS work offline too.

Retention

Keep 4473s for as long as federal rules require (27 CFR 478.129); the details, including the 2022 change, are in how long to keep 4473s. Proposed ATF rules are pending, including a Form 4473 revision (91 FR 25432, May 8, 2026) and an electronic recordkeeping rule (RIN 1140-AA94, FR doc 2026-09158, May 8, 2026). Their comment periods closed on August 6, 2026. As of September 25, 2026 neither is final, so nothing changes yet.

Price

The e4473 is included in the FFL Command Center license: $1,700 one-time for Lifetime, or $175 a month. See pricing. Comparing products? See best FFL software 2026. New to the category? Start with what FFL software does. Windows 10 and 11 only for now. Mac version coming.

FAQ

What is an electronic 4473?

An electronic 4473 is ATF Form 4473 completed on a computer or tablet instead of on paper. ATF Ruling 2016-2 allows licensees to use an electronic 4473 when the ruling's conditions are followed, including the buyer completing their section in person at the licensed premises.

Do I still have to print an electronic 4473?

Yes, unless you keep your 4473s electronically under ATF Ruling 2022-01. Under Ruling 2016-2, the licensee prints a verbatim copy of the completed form before the buyer leaves and retains the printed form.

What does ATF Ruling 2022-01 require to store 4473s electronically?

Ruling 2022-01 lets licensees keep electronic 4473s without printing them if they follow its conditions. These include giving the local ATF Industry Operations Area Office 60 days' advance written notice, storing forms in an unalterable format, giving ATF uninterrupted read-only access, providing enough terminals for inspection, and saving each form in an unencrypted format to a storage device at the licensed premises.

Is any e4473 software ATF approved?

No. ATF does not approve, certify or endorse commercial software. The licensee is responsible for following the conditions in Rulings 2016-2 and 2022-01.

Does FFL Command Center run the NICS check?

No. FFL Command Center records the NICS or state result and the NICS transaction number (NTN) that you receive. It does not submit checks to or interface with NICS.

Can buyers fill out the 4473 in Spanish?

Buyers can read and answer the FFL Command Center kiosk screens in English or Spanish. The printed form is the English current ATF Form 4473 (Revised August 2023).

Does the 4473 tablet need to run Windows?

No. The kiosk is a browser page served by the Windows PC that holds your records, so the tablet connects over your shop network in a browser.

Does the electronic 4473 work at gun shows without internet?

Yes. FFL Command Center runs on your own Windows PC, so the electronic 4473 works offline at a gun show, along with inventory, the bound book and point of sale.

Quick answers

An electronic 4473 is ATF Form 4473 completed on a computer or tablet. ATF Ruling 2016-2 allows it when the buyer completes their section in person and the ruling's conditions are followed. The dealer must still print and keep a verbatim copy, unless they store 4473s electronically under Ruling 2022-01. That ruling requires 60 days' advance written notice to the local ATF office, unalterable storage, read-only ATF access and an unencrypted copy on a device at the premises. ATF does not approve any e4473 software. FFL Command Center's e4473 uses a buyer kiosk in English or Spanish, locked with an exit PIN, seals completed forms, and records (but does not submit) the NICS result.