FFL Boss Cloud has 4473 Electronic Storage

ATF Authorizes all FFLs to store all forms electronically (ATF Ruling 2022-01)

When the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released ATF Ruling 2022-01 they authorized all FFLs to store 4473s, Multiple Sales Reports, A&D bound books and all other forms in an electronic format without having to print anything out. This ruling supersedes all previous rulings that required a Variance approval to allow electronic storage of 4473s.

We built our own electronic storage system into FFL Boss, we call it FFL Boss Cloud. It is the electronic storage version of FFL Boss so our customers would never have to print another form to stay compliant. With the change in regulations with Final Rule 2021R-05F, FFLs must now keep paper forms permanently and store them on premise for 20 years (after 20 years they can store them offsite in a warehouse). The following is verification that FFL Boss Cloud is compliant with all requirements of ATF Ruling 2022-01.

FFL Boss Cloud compliance with ATF Ruling 2022-01

ATF Ruling 2022-01 details 18 requirements to store completed forms in an electronic format. FFL Boss Cloud meets or exceeds all 18 requirements.

1. Licensees must provide written notification to their local ATF Industry Operations Area Office 60 days prior to implementing an electronic Form 4473 retention system.

The Ruling allows you to start using electronic storage immediately once you send notice to your local ATF Industry Operations Area Office, although you must continue printing out a paper copy of your 4473 forms until you hit the 60th day. FFL Boss Cloud allows you to electronically store forms and print them. Additionally, FFL Boss support can assist you with a template letter to notify the ATF.

2. Transactions must first be completed using an electronic Form 4473 in accordance with
ATF Ruling 2016-2 (or subsequent ruling) and all forms must be retained in an electronic format.

FFL Boss, the paper printing version of our software, already conforms to ATF Ruling 2016-2 (see Verification that FFL Boss is ATF Ruling 2016-2 Compliant). FFL Boss Cloud builds on top of that 2016-2 compliant system and stores all Form 4473s inside the Disposition area of our software:

3. The Form 4473 must be saved in an unalterable format. The original electronic Form 4473 must be retained and may not be deleted, amended, replaced, or otherwise altered. Consistent with the Notices, Instructions, and Definitions on the Form 4473, if errors are found on a Form 4473, corrections may be made to a copy (electronic or paper) of the original Form 4473 and the corrected copy should be electronically attached to the original electronic form and retained as part of the FFLs permanent records.

FFL Boss Cloud saves the original 4473 and any changes are amended and added to the end of the PDF for permanent records.

4. All supplemental ATF forms or documents from a transaction (multiple sale forms or documentation showing the exception to the nonimmigrant alien prohibition) must be electronically attached at the end of Form 4473 as required by 27 CFR 478.124(c)(3)(iii) and 478.126a.

We save all supplemental ATF forms and documents from a transaction as one single PDF with multiple sales forms and other documentation electronically attached at the end of the PDF:

5. ATF must be provided uninterrupted access to the database in which the electronic Forms 4473 are stored to facilitate a compliance inspection, complete a trace request or conduct a criminal investigation of a person other than the licensee per 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(1)(B). ATF access to the Forms 4473 must be in a “read only” capacity.

FFL Boss Cloud, in additional the original FFL Boss, is hosted at multiple and redundant Azure regional datacenters across the US and is available for uninterrupted access to your database of electronic forms. All 4473s are stored in a read only capacity on our servers. We also have an additional layer of protection with our IOI Mode that the FFL can enable that strictly limits an ATF Industry Operations Investigator to access only the legal minimums required of your software in a view only mode.

6. ATF must be provided access to the database in which the electronic Forms 4473 are stored with a minimum of one electronic access point or computer terminal for every 500 Forms 4473 executed over the previous 12-month period. An FFL who offers computer terminal access is not required to provide more than five terminals regardless of the number of Forms 4473 executed during the 12-month period.

FFL Boss Cloud is entirely web browser based, so you can give the ATF access to any number of computers and all can log into your database simultaneously to allow access for an investigation.

7. The retention system must allow the Form 4473 to be printed and the FFL must print any Form 4473 upon request from ATF.

You can print any PDF in FFL Boss Cloud by clicking on it in the master Dispositions table or by going into any disposition, clicking on the Forms tab and printing any forms associated with that transaction:

8. The retention system must retain the Form 4473 in alphabetical, chronological, or numerical order. The retention system must allow for searches or queries to be made by transferee/buyer name, transfer date, transaction number (if any), firearm type, model, manufacturer/importer, caliber, size, or gauge, and serial number.

Our master Dispositions table retains Form 4473s in numerical order by default. You can click on the Date, Entity or Transaction column to resort them in alphabetical, chronological or numerical order. Queries can be made in our universal search for any combination of transferee, buyer name, transfer date, transaction number, firearm type, model, manufacturer, importer, caliber, size, gauge, serial number and just about anything else you can place on a 4473:

9. The retention system must backup the Form 4473 upon the completion of a transaction or when a transaction is stopped, and the Form 4473 must be retained in the system.

All data entered into FFL Boss Cloud is saved and backed up regardless if the transaction is completed. We refer to Form 4473s that have not been signed and completed as Pending 4473s and you can access them (and all data entered into them, even if only partially entered) in the Pending 4473s section of our software:

We also retain all data even in the event that a 4473 must be cancelled, so nothing entered into FFL Boss Cloud is ever destroyed:

10. The retention system must allow access to the Form 4473 and the acquisition and disposition (A&D) record simultaneously (i.e., the ability to toggle back and forth).

FFL Boss Cloud allows you to open Acquisitions and Dispositions in separate tabs, windows, or even separate computers, simultaneously or use a literal tab button within the IOI Mode:

11. The retention system must have the ability to flag or set aside Forms 4473 in order to save for further review during inspections.

Within the IOI Mode of FFL Boss Cloud, there is a button that says Flag on it to set aside a Form 4473 for further review during inspections (a report of which is saved for the FFL, so you also can review what the ATF flagged or wanted to further review during your inspection):

12. The retention system must allow or provide sorting of Forms 4473 during ATF compliance inspections.

All tables in FFL Boss Cloud can be sorted by any sorting method you can devise (alphabetical, chronological, numerical, searched for a specific name then sorted by date, serial number, alphabetical, etc). If you need to search, sort, filter or even export a table out to excel, FFL Boss Cloud can do it at least ten different ways.

13. Whenever a transaction is stopped, put into a pending status, or completed, the Form 4473 must immediately be downloaded and saved to a computer hard drive, server, Universal Serial Bus (USB) Flash Drive, or other similar electronic storage device located at the licensed premises. If the licensee utilizes a contract host facility such as a remote server or cloud storage provider, all Forms 4473 must also be electronically saved to an onsite electronic storage device that is updated on the day of any change to, or
addition of, database record(s) to protect the data from accidental deletion or system failure. In all cases, electronically retained Forms 4473 must be downloaded in a format that is unencrypted with the required information readily apparent and retained on a device that is located at the licensed premises in accordance with 27 CFR 478.121(a) for the length of time prescribed by 27 CFR 478.129.

All transactions in FFL Boss Cloud are saved and backed up immediately when data is entered into our software. All data is saved to a computer hard drive, a server, a remote server and a cloud storage provider (i.e. us) when you enter any data into a transaction. We also give you the ability to daily save and sync your forms to Dropbox:

And you have the ability to export your entire Forms database into a zip file for local backup at any time:

14. ATF recognizes there may be circumstances where a licensee’s electronic system may fail, be unavailable, or otherwise not utilized, and paper Forms 4473 may be completed. Licensees must retain any original paper Forms 4473, unless digitally scanned per the conditions of this ruling, for the period specified in 27 CFR 478.129(b). Upon absolute discontinuance of business, all retained paper forms must be delivered to ATF pursuant to 27 CFR 478.127. When a licensed business is discontinued and succeeded by a new licensee, all retained paper forms shall be delivered to the successor, or to ATF pursuant to 27 CFR 478.127.

FFL Boss Cloud has the ability to print any form you want (see #7 above) and the same PDF Download button in the image above (see #13 above) that allows you to save a local copy of your forms database is the same file you would turn in when a licensed business is discontinued.

15. Upon absolute discontinuance of business or when a licensed business is discontinued and succeeded by a new licensee, any Forms 4473 retained in electronic format in accordance with this ruling must be delivered in electronic format to the NTC’s Out of Business Records Center in a format suitable for imaging such as a TIFF, JPEG, or PDF. If the forms will be submitted in a PDF or TIFF format, the licensee must ensure that Optical Character Recognition and Intelligent Character Recognition are turned off/disabled, and images are flattened and not electronically searchable. The forms, retained alphabetically by name of purchaser, chronologically by disposition date, or numerically by transaction number, must be delivered on a media device such as a USB drive, CD, DVD, etc.

As stated in #14, the PDF Download button (see #13 and #14 above) is the file that would be sent to the NTC’s Out of Business Records Center on a USB drive, CD, DVD, etc and all our electronic forms are stored in a PDF format without Optical Character Recognition and Intelligent Character Recognition turned off and disabled. All images stored within FFL Boss Cloud’s PDFs are flattened and not electronically searchable. All forms stored within the zip file from the PDF Download are retained numerically by transaction number and appended with the purchaser’s name and date on the filename.

16. FFLs who have paper Forms 4473 completed prior to, or after this ruling, may elect to digitally scan Forms 4473 older than 3 years from the date the firearm transfer occurred, the date the transaction was denied or cancelled, or the last date of entry where no sale or delivery of the firearm occurs, including supplemental ATF forms or documents from a transaction (multiple sale forms or documentation showing the exception to the nonimmigrant alien prohibition). The Forms 4473 must be scanned in an expeditious
manner, and retained in the same manner as required in conditions 3-5, 7-8, 13, and 15 set forth for FFLs retaining electronically completed Forms 4473 in an electronic format.

FFL Boss Cloud allows for Uploaded Files to be associated with any disposition, so scanned paper forms or any other documents you wish you associate with a transaction can be uploaded in compliance with conditions 1-15 as specified by ATF Ruling 2022-01:

17. An FFL electing to digitally scan and electronically retain paper Forms 4473 older than three years from the date the firearm transfer occurred, the date the transaction was denied or cancelled, or the last date of entry where no sale or delivery of the firearm occurs, must ensure all electronic documents are an exact image of the paper form, include all pages of the paper Form 4473 and any supplemental ATF forms or documents from a transaction (multiple sale forms or documentation showing the exception to the
nonimmigrant alien prohibition); is incapable of being altered without tracking of the alterations; and is saved to an onsite electronic storage device. Only after a paper Form 4473 is converted, saved in an electronic format in accordance with the requirements of this ruling, and verified to be complete and correct, may the paper Form 4473 be destroyed.

FFLs electing to scan 4473s prior to implementing an electronic storage system like FFL Boss Cloud should scan ALL pages, including instructions and those can all be saved within FFL Boss Cloud (see #16 above). All forms, uploads and data once entered into FFL Boss Cloud is incapable of being altered without tracking the alterations and can be synced, exported or saved to onsite electronic storage devices at any time (see #13 above).

18. When submitting files to the Out of Business Records Center, the file names for digitally scanned and electronically retained paper Forms 4473 must not contain personally identifiable information (e.g. name, address, date of birth, social security number, etc.).

Paper scanned 4473s or any files you upload or associate with a transaction retain the file name of the file you upload (so do not use name, address, date of birth or social security numbers for any of your file names or rename the file names before sending to Out of Business Records Center to stay compliant):

As you can see, FFL Boss Cloud meets or exceeds all 18 conditions to use a software for ATF Ruling 2022-01 electronic storage of forms. We have many customers currently on digital storage (and had ~50 on digital storage variances prior to ATF Ruling 2022-01 and FFL Boss Cloud) and we assist numerous FFLs every week with ATF inspections while they use our digital storage. Inspections with digital storage tend to be quicker than paper inspections, which is easier for everyone involved.

You can add FFL Boss Cloud as an add-on to your existing FFL Boss subscription by going into the FFL Boss Marketplace within your software:

Or you can sign up for a 7 day free trial subscription of FFL Boss Cloud (no credit card required) at https://app.fflboss.com/register?plan=ffl_plus.