Book Demo or Compliance Call

ATF DELIVERS UPDATED FIREARMS MANUFACTURERS REPORT

Written by jon rydberg

|

February 12, 2015

|

0 comments

ATF DELIVERS UPDATED FIREARMS MANUFACTURERS REPORT

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has released the Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report (AFMER), a comprehensive listing of manufacturing and export activity from all federally licensed manufacturers of firearms and destructive devices. The report is now available online at www.atf.gov.

Under federal law, manufacturers are required to submit a production report to ATF each year. As an important tool in consumer and industry education, the report offers a total account of pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and other firearms manufactured and exported, along with a listing of firearms manufacturers and their production totals. These totals provide a timely snapshot of the various firearms being produced across the country, with an opportunity to compare levels of production by year. 

The report includes data with a one-year delay to comply with the Trade Secrets Act. For example, the February 2015 data release will cover calendar year 2013 activity. Based on the latest AFMER report, the number of pistols manufactured in 2013 totaled 4.4 million, compared to 3.4 million in 2012. The number of rifles manufactured also increased, with 3.9 million produced in 2013 compared to 3.1 million in 2012. 

The total number of exported firearms also grew from more than 287,000 in 2012 to more than 393,000 in 2013. 

To view the 2015 Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report visit the ATF website at https://www.atf.gov/content/About/statistics.

The official text is at 91 FR 24357, Federal Register Volume 91, Issue 87 (May 6, 2026), pages 24357–24362. The docket is also open for comment at regulations.gov (Docket ATF-2026-0009) through midnight Eastern on June 5, 2026. This rule is part of ATF’s broader New Era of Reform package announced earlier this spring — see Orchid’s previous coverage of the Trump DOJ / ATF rule reforms for FFLs.

Unlike many publications on the Federal Register, this change was posted as a Direct Final Rule, making it immediately effective August 4, 2026 without a separate notice-for-comment cycle — unless significant adverse comments are received by June 5.

 

What Didn’t Change?

Permitting FFLs to verify a transferee’s license via ATF eZ Check does not eliminate the regulatory mandate to actually verify the transferee’s license prior to a firearm transfer. The change is in the method of verification — not whether verification is required.

 

Orchid Customers Already Benefit

Orchid eBound, POS, and eCommerce have integrated directly with ATF FFL eZ Check for years. Every FFL transfer routed through your account is already being validated against ATF’s live data — no separate window, no PDF chasing, no manual license-number lookup. This is the same architecture that helped Orchid stay compliant through the ATF Ruling 2021R-05 changes and powers Orchid’s ATF Transaction Advisory Program for retail dealers.

For higher-volume transferors — manufacturers, distributors, and ERP-driven FFLs — our eFFL API delivers FFL and Letter of Authorization (LOA) data directly into the systems where your team actually works. The eFFL API is in production at customers running BSP NetSuite, Epicor, Infor, and other major ERPs, and is widely used inside eCommerce checkout flows to geo-select valid FFL ship-to destinations. See, for example, Prudent American’s launch with Orchid eBound, eSerial, eFFL API and the BSP NetSuite Firearms Edition (part of the JJE Capital Holdings family, alongside Palmetto State Armory).

 

Questions?

Contact your Orchid customer service or compliance services representative, or visit the Orchid eBound page or Orchid eState / eFFL API page to learn more.

0 Comments