All Applications are to be Submitted with Fees to:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
P.O. Box 409567
Atlanta, GA 30384-9567
Instructions
1. Issuance of your license or permit under 18 U.S.C., Chapter 40, will be
delayed if the fee is omitted or incorrect, or if the application is incom-
plete or otherwise improperly prepared. This application should be
submitted at least 90 days prior to the time the license or permit is required.
2. Submit the original of this form (either typewritten or printed legibly)
and total fees payable to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives to the post office box listed above. (CAUTION: Submission
of this application does NOT authorize you to engage in any of the
activities covered by the requested license or permit. The license or
permit must be received before operations commence.) Include your
social security or employer identification number on your check or
money order.
3. If separate sheets are needed to respond to the questions, they must be
identified with your name and address at the top of the page and
reference the question number being explained.
4. A separate or additional license is not required for storage facilities
operated by the applicant as an integral part of one business premises, or
to cover a location used by the applicant solely for maintaining required
records.
5. One PERMIT is required for an individual or business entity to acquire,
use, or transport explosives.
6. A separate application and LICENSE fee are required for each premises
on which explosive materials are, or will be, manufactured, imported, or
distributed.
7. It is not necessary for a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer (for
purposes of sale or distribution) to also obtain a dealer’s license in order
to engage in business on his or her licensed premises as a dealer in
explosives materials. In the case of a licensed manufacturer, a separate
license is not required with respect to onsite manufacturing.
8. A photograph of each responsible person listed in item 11 MUST
accompany this application. The photograph must be 2 x 2 inches in
size, clearly showing a full frontal view of the features of the responsible
person with head bare, with the distance from the top of the head to the
point of the chin approximately 1 1/4 inches, and which shall have been
taken within the last 6 months prior to the date of application.
A completed FD-258 (Fingerprint Identification Card) for each
responsible person, including sole proprietors, MUST also accompany
this application. The fingerprints must be clear for accurate classifica-
tion and must be taken at a local law enforcement agency. In addition,
if you are an alien, you must place your U.S.-issued alien number or
admission number in the miscellaneous block of the FD-258.
9. This application must include the names and identifying information of
EACH employee authorized to possess explosive materials in the course
of his/her employment with the applicant. This information MUST be
submitted on ATF F 5400.28, Employee Possessor Questionnaire, and
included with the submission of this application.
10. For item 21 use the attached Explosives Storage Magazine Description
Worksheet to describe each storage facility (magazine). You may photo-
copy the worksheet if you have more than one magazine. For the
purpose of this worksheet, “barricade” is defined as the effective
screening of a magazine containing explosive materials from another
magazine, a building, a railway, or a highway, either by a natural barri-
cade or by an artificial barricade. To be properly barricaded, a straight
line from the top of any sidewall of the magazine containing explosive
materials to the eave line of any other magazine or building, or to a
point 12 feet above the center of a railway or highway, will pass through
the natural or artificial barricade. A “contingency plan” is required in
the event the explosive materials cannot be used within the same day of
receipt. For example, a sufficient “contingency plan” would include a
letter or statement from someone having approved storage facilities
allowing the applicant use of his facilities should the need arise.
11. The certification in item 22 must be signed (executed) by the owner, a
partner, or in the case of a corporation, association, etc., by an officer
duly authorized to sign for the applicant.
12. If you have any questions relating to this application, please contact
the ATF Federal Explosives Licensing Center, 244 Needy Road,
Martinsburg, WV 25405, (877) 283-3352, or review information online
at www.atf.gov.
13. If the application is approved, the ATF Federal Explosives Licensing
Center (FELC) will forward an explosives license or permit to you. If the
application is denied, you will be advised in writing of the reason(s) for
the denial. If the application is abandoned, denied, or withdrawn, your
application fee will be refunded. However, in order to refund the fee, a
social security number or employer identification number is REQUIRED.
14. Additional forms can be downloaded from ATF’s website in Adobe PDF
format at www.atf.gov/forms/index.htm. The form can be ordered using
ATF’sOnline Distribution Center Order Form at www.atf.gov/dcof/
index.htm, or by calling ATF’s Distribution Center at (301) 583-4696.
Definitions
1. Under Indictment or Information or Convicted in Any Court. An
indictment, information, or conviction in any Federal, State, or local
court.
2. Alien. An alien in the United States means any person who is not a citizen
or national of the United States.
3. Responsible Person. An individual who has the power to direct the
management and policies of the applicant pertaining to explosive
materials. For example, responsible persons generally include sole pro-
prietors and explosives facility site managers. In the case of a corpora-
tion, association, or similar organization, responsible persons generally
include corporate directors and officers, as well as stockholders who have
the power to direct management and policies.
4. Employee Possessor. An employee possessor is an individual who has
actual or constructive possession of explosive materials during the
course of his employment. Actual possession exists when a person is in
immediate possession or control of explosive materials (e.g., an employee
who physically handles explosive materials as part of the production
process; an employee who handles explosive materials in order to ship,
transport, or sell them; or an employee, such as a blaster, who actually
uses explosive materials). Constructive possession exists when an
employee lacks direct physical control over explosive materials, but
knowingly has the power and intention to exercise dominion and control
over the explosive materials, either directly or indirectly through others
(e.g., an employee at a construction site who keeps keys for magazines in
which explosive materials are stored, or who directs the use of explosive
materials by other employees).
5. A User Permit. A User Permit authorizes the holder, on a continuing
basis, to acquire for his own use and not for resale, explosive materials
from an explosives licensee in interstate or foreign commerce, and to
transport explosive materials so acquired in interstate or foreign com-
merce. A User Permit is issued for 3 years and is renewable.
6. Limited Permit. A limited permit authorizes the holder to receive for his
use explosive materials from a licensee or permittee in his State of resi-
dence on no more than 6 occasions during the 12-month period in which
the permit is valid. A limited permit does not authorize the receipt or
transportation of explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.
7. Manufacturer. Any person engaged in the business of manufacturing
explosive materials for purposes of sale or distribution or for his own use.
ATF Form 5400.13/5400.16
Revised March 2009
You Must Immediately Contact ATF To Report Lost Or Stolen Explosives!
Call Toll Free: 1-888-ATF-BOMB
