34 new proposals signed in a single day. Dubbed the most comprehensive firearm regulatory reform in modern history.

Today, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and newly confirmed ATF Director Robert Cekada — confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier today — signed 34 new proposals in what the Department of Justice is calling the most comprehensive firearm regulatory reform in modern history: a landmark package of proposed and final rules representing the culmination of DOJ and ATF’s review under Executive Order 14206, “Protecting Second Amendment Rights.” In Blanche’s words, the package is intended to be “more expansive, more durable, and more aggressively defended in court than anything seen from a presidential administration in modern history” — built deliberately as notice-and-comment rulemaking so that any future administration would need years and a full new rulemaking record to undo it. The proposals will be reviewed over the coming weeks, with public comment periods opening on a rolling basis as each proposal is sent to the Federal Register and posted on the ATF website.

How We Got Here: The Road to Trump’s ATF Rule Changes

The road to today’s signing started in February 2025, when President Trump signed Executive Order 14206 directing DOJ and ATF to review every firearms-related regulation, policy, and guidance document issued between January 2021 and January 2025. Over the past 14 months, that review has unfolded in stages — including the rescission of the “Zero Tolerance” FFL inspection policy, DOJ dropping its appeal of the “Engaged in the Business” final rule injunction in the Fifth Circuit, the transfer of the firearms rights restoration process from ATF to the broader DOJ, and the announcement of a simplified Form 4473 in development. Today’s ceremony pulls those threads together, formalizes them in rule form where applicable, and adds several new actions on top — all under the leadership of newly confirmed Director Cekada.

What Trump’s DOJ Wants These ATF Rule Changes to Do

DOJ has framed the package as a course-correction: tightening only where federal statute clearly requires it, rolling back guidance and rules the administration views as exceeding statutory authority, and reorienting ATF’s regulatory posture toward what officials are calling a “first-class right” treatment of the Second Amendment. For dealers, manufacturers, and importers, the practical translation is less ambiguity, fewer paperwork pitfalls that put licenses at risk, and a meaningfully different ATF inspection environment than the one we operated under during the zero-tolerance era.

What FFLs Must Know About Trump’s New ATF Rule Changes

The 34 proposals span five broad categories. Detailed rule texts will appear on the ATF rulemaking page and in the Federal Register over the coming days; we will track each as it posts.  The following are highlights from ATF’s current rulemaking initiative. 

REPEALS

• “Engaged in the Business” rule — closing the loop on the Biden-era expanded dealer definition that has hung over private sellers and small-volume FFLs since 2024.
• Stabilizing brace rule (Rule 2021R-08F) — formally winding down the regulatory framework that reclassified braced pistols as short-barreled rifles, removing ongoing classification ambiguity at the counter.
• Machine gun definition revisions – clarifying that bump stocks do not turn a semiautomatic firearm into a “machine gun.”
• Removing the Youth Handgun Safety Act Notice – removal of requirement to post and provide the Youth Handgun Safety Act Notice.

CLARIFICATIONS

• Importing dual-use firearm barrels – effectively encoding into regulation the ATF Ruling 2025-1.
• Adjudicated persons — clearer standards for who is a prohibited person under federal firearms law, with practical implications for FFLs evaluating background-check responses.
• Definition of a straw purchaser — sharper criteria for what does and does not constitute a straw purchase, providing FFLs more workable guidance at the point of sale.
• Marking requirements — clarifications on firearm marking standards for makers of NFA firearms, expected to reduce unnecessary burdens.
• Definition of “willfulness” — long-overdue codification of what makes a violation “willful,” a foundational concept that drives whether an FFL is at risk of revocation.

MODERNIZATION OF REGULATIONS

• ATF Form 4473 — a meaningfully shorter form with autopopulation of fields and the ability to attach digital documents directly to the transaction. The most practical day-to-day change in the package for retail FFLs.
• Electronic recordkeeping — codifies the practice established in ATF Rulings 2016-1 and 2022-1, giving permanent regulatory force to electronic A&D bound books and electronic Form 4473.
• Recordkeeping retention period — revises the “records forever” standard to a defined, finite retention period, reducing long-term storage and indexing burden on FFLs.

ALIGNING ATF REGULATIONS WITH THE LAW

• Implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax provisions — bringing ATF regulations into alignment with the new federal tax treatment of NFA items (including the $0 tax stamp on covered transfers).
• Updating proscribed countries list for imports – removing the static list of countries listed in current regulation and replacing it with reference to Department of State’s dynamic list.

REDUCING BURDENS ON LAW-ABIDING GUN OWNERS

• CLEO Notification for NFA Transfers – removing the requirement to notify the CLEO upon the transfer of an NFA firearm.
• Interstate transportation of an NFA firearm – removing the requirement for consumers to file a Form 20 prior to traveling with their NFA firearms.
• Spousal registration of firearms — easing the registration framework for spouses, particularly relevant in NFA contexts.

And additional measures — to be detailed as each proposal posts to the Federal Register.

What Trump’s ATF Rule Changes Mean for FFLs

If you operate under a federal firearms license, this is not theoretical — many of these proposals will eventually touch your day-to-day. A redesigned 4473 with autopopulation and digital attachments will mean retraining staff and updating point-of-sale workflows. A formally rescinded “Engaged in the Business” rule changes how you advise customers selling personal collections. A defined recordkeeping retention period changes how you architect long-term storage. And a recalibrated inspection environment under Director Cekada — paired with a clearer definition of “willfulness” — is good news, but only if your records, your bound book, and your processes are ready to demonstrate compliance under the new posture.

Critically, these are proposals — not final rules. Each one will move through public comment and final publication on its own timeline over the coming weeks and months. The licensees who come out of this transition strongest will be the ones who track each rule as it posts, comment where it matters, and update procedures and software in step with the changes.

About Orchid

For nearly 15 years, Orchid has been the firearms industry’s leading provider of FFL technology, compliance, and education solutions, serving more than 11,000 FFL users. Trusted by the largest names in shooting sports, Orchid powers the systems through which nearly 25 million firearm transactions are processed each year, with more than 60% of all U.S.-manufactured firearms flowing through its flagship Orchid eBound™ platform. The company is the only provider offering a fully integrated suite of FFL Bound Book, electronic 4473, native 4473 electronic storage, POS, eCommerce, 2A-friendly payment processing, and in-house compliance services — backed by a 100% Attorney Compliance Guarantee (terms apply). Together with its legal affiliate, FFL Law, Orchid delivers the industry’s most complete ecosystem of software, payments, and regulatory expertise, helping clients run efficient, profitable, and ATF-compliant operations.

Further Reading

ATF Launches a New Era of Reform — ATF’s landing page for this initiative.

ATF Rulemaking page — current and pending Notices of Proposed Rulemaking.

ATF Press Releases — official announcements as the rules post.

DOJ Federal Firearm Rights Restoration — DOJ’s landing page for the rights restoration framework.

Federal Register — ATF — primary source for rule text and public comment periods.

Orchid background reading on the items reshaped by today’s package:

Orchid: ATF Changes Definition of “Engaged in the Business”

Orchid: What Does Biden’s Zero Tolerance Policy Mean for FFLs?

Orchid: ATF Form 4473 Update — August 2023 Version

Orchid: ATF Inspections 101 — Post-Inspection Process, Violations & Corrective Action