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Silencer Central Meets with ATF to Discuss Faster Approvals
Recently, Silencer Central has been noticing faster batch approvals, and the latest information released by the ATF backs that up. In a Town Hall event, the ATF announced it will continue to do batch approvals on silencers and is focusing on refining this process. Brandon Maddox, Silencer Central CEO, then traveled to meet with leaders from the ATF and NFA to learn more about eForm 4 approval times and how Silencer Central can continue to help with the process.
“With the ATF now doing batch approvals and working to speed up the process of moving our customer’s applications through, I wanted to go and see for myself how the process works,” said Brandon Maddox, Silencer Central CEO. "It was good to get some time with the ATF and NFA leadership to learn more about how they intend to speed up the process of getting our customers approved faster. We will continue to advocate for our customers at every chance we can get to help make this process quicker and easier."
There has been a lot of emphasis lately on approval speed, especially with how it relates to trusts. There are a few things to note:
- The ATF is working to speed up batch approvals, especially with trusts, with a goal toward making the approval time equal to that of individual applications.
- Silencer Central has a 99.9% approval rate, making our service the most accurate in the industry. Having an error rate of less than 1/10 of a percent increases approval speed.
- Silencer Central provides a free trust setup service to all customers. A trust gives you more flexibility with how you use your silencer, and who you allow to use it.
- For the first quarter of 2024, the ATF reported a 14% faster approval processing rate over 2023, including batch approvals, and it is getting faster all the time.
The free standard trust service Silencer Central provides lists only you as the responsible party through the approval process. You have the option to add co-trustees to the trust after the approval process is completed. This form of trust takes full advantage of the increased approval speeds for batch and trust approvals, while also giving you more flexibility with your silencer after you take possession of it. This is a level of security and flexibility that you only get from Silencer Central, because we pioneered the process.
What can we attribute to this uptick in approvals? According to Ben Hiller, the Acting NFA Division Chief, it has to do with changes made in processing. ATF examiners are assigned certain types of applications to help speed the process. They referred to this as “swim lanes.” This helped implement trust bundling. The ATF implemented an algorithm to identify individuals with multiple pending applications. The goal was efficiency and reducing the burden on the FBI with NICS checks. This process, according to Hiller, has increased approval speeds.
“What batch approvals means for you is that if you already have an application in process, and you buy another silencer, when your first application goes through and is approved, your other applications are approved as well," said Maddox. "This makes it a great time to buy another silencer and get it delivered to your door faster. I am also confident that the approval speeds will continue to increase, getting your silencer to your door faster than ever.”
Silencer Central will continue to be your trusted source for silencers, silencer purchases and information. We work hand-in-hand with the ATF and NFA to improve and speed up the process, and will continue to bring you the latest information. To check the status of your application, click here.
