Engraving ATF Form 1 Items: Friggin’ Laser Beams

Why

If you Form 1 an NFA item, disregard whatever purported “truth” a low-information trash weblog told you and listen to what we’ve heard directly from the BATFE: You have to mark any personally manufactured NFA item. The BATFE has gotten so many questions due to this garbage rumor they’ve even been stamping some forms reminding folks it needs to take place.

Minimum Requirements

The depth must be no more shallow than .003 inch with a text size no smaller than 1/16th of an inch. But we actually recommend going deeper and larger. Here’s why: If you only engrave to the minimum size and depth, it’s incredibly easy to inadvertently cover the marking with paint or something like Cerakote. And so long as you place it someplace inconspicuous, the marking can be more than twice the depth and size without being anything close to obvious.

What

Per 27 CFR § 479.102:
“In the case of a domestically made firearm, the city and State (or recognized abbreviation thereof) where you as the manufacturer maintain your place of business, or where you, as the maker, made the firearm.”

There are two ways to go here. If you’re making an NFA item from another established item, such as an AR receiver, all you need is the name of the manufacturer and city of manufacturing. However, if you’re making a complete NFA item from scratch, in addition to the above you’ll need to add a serial number, caliber, and model.

This means if a trust was used to manufacture the firearm, the trust name must be listed, and if you did it as an individual, your name must be listed. Along with the other information required.

Let’s say a standard AR is used to manufacture the firearm (as is common), such a marking would look like this:

RECOIL TRUST
PHOENIX, AZ

If an NFA item is built from scratch, such a marking would look like this:

RECOIL TRUST
PHOENIX, AZ
SN: 0006969
CAL: 7.62 MM
MODEL: YEET CANNON

While serial numbers themselves are required to be engraved/stamped/pressed onto metal (à la the metal tab on a Glock), all other information can be on plastic. So don’t freak out that you don’t have a piece of metal to engrave on with a Glock.

Where

While if you’re creating a firearm from scratch all makings need to take place in a conspicuous place on the receiver, with an NFA item it’s not so straightforward. You’re allowed to mark on the receiver, frame, or barrel.

While marking the barrel itself may seem strange, it doesn’t when you leave the AR world and start looking at non-ARs like SCARs, AKs, and Thompsons. Note that it says “conspicuous place,” and generally that means a place that can be accessed without requiring tools. The easiest place to hide something on an AR is the upper inside of the trigger guard, but you can’t put it someplace underneath the pistol grip.

How

No matter where you live, there is a good chance that there is someone local to you who does a good job of engraving. Truth be told, NFA laser engraving really isn’t that hard for someone with even a vague idea of how to do it. Ask around at your local gun store and support someone in your local community. For us in Tucson, our go-to is Diamondback Shooting Sports for same-day NFA engraving.

That said, maybe you don’t want the local gun bubba to know your business, or you just don’t have good options. Mail-order services are available from a number of good people, Capital Armory and Form 1 Engraving are two of them.

When

Engraving is required no later than one business day after the approved NFA item is made. Since you are the “maker”, you can choose when you make it. If you’re starting with a pistol that has a brace, don’t add a stock until you’ve gotten the approved Form 1 back and engraved the lower. If you’re starting with a stripped lower, the same logic applies. Don’t make it into its final NFA form until after engraving.

If you want to save time, you can have the item engraved before the Form 1 is approved. There is no law against engraving your name and city into a firearm. This is a bit of a dice roll, though, because if the ATF comes back not approving your Form 1, you might need to fix your paperwork and re-engrave your firearm. This is more likely to happen and cause a problem if you’re engraving something you made from scratch, such as an 80% lower, than if you filed to convert a firearm that already has a serial number.

Personally, we wait for the approved Form 1, then take it down to our local shop.