Editorial Note on Part 478
Editorial Note: Nomenclature changes to part 478 appear by T.D. ATF-411, 64 FR 17291, Apr. 9, 1999, T.D. ATF-487, 68 FR 3750, Jan. 24, 2003, and ATF-11F, 73 FR 57240, Oct. 2, 2008.

§ 478.123 Records maintained by manufacturers. ( a ) Except for adjustment or repair of a firearm that is returned to the person from whom it was received on the same day, each licensed manufacturer shall record the name of the manufacturer and importer (if any), type, model, caliber or gauge, and serial number (including any associated license number either as a prefix, or if remanufactured or imported, separated by a semicolon) of each firearm manufactured or otherwise acquired (including a frame or receiver to be disposed of separately), the date of such manufacture or other acquisition, and if otherwise acquired, the name and address or the name and license number of the person from whom it was received. Privately made firearms shall be recorded in accordance with § 478.125(i). The information required by this paragraph shall, in the case of a firearm other than a firearm defined in 26 U.S.C. 5845, be recorded not later than the seventh day following the date of such manufacture or other acquisition. In the case of a firearm defined in 26 U.S.C. 5845, such information shall be recorded by close of the next business day following the date of such manufacture or other acquisition, except that, when a commercial record is held by the licensed manufacturer separately from other commercial documents and readily available for inspection, containing all acquisition information required for the record, the period for making the required entry into the record may be delayed not to exceed the seventh day following the date of receipt. The information required by this paragraph shall be recorded in a format containing the applicable columns prescribed by § 478.122.
( b ) A record of each firearm disposed of by a manufacturer and a separate record of armor piercing ammunition dispositions to governmental entities, for exportation, or for testing or experimentation authorized under the provisions of § 478.149 shall be maintained by the licensed manufacturer on the licensed premises. The record shall show the date of such sale or other disposition, and the name and license number of the licensee to whom the firearms were transferred, or if disposed of to a nonlicensee, the name and address of the person, or the transaction number of the Firearms Transaction Record, Form 4473, if the licensee transferring the firearm sequentially numbers the Forms 4473 and files them numerically. In the event the licensee records a duplicate entry with the same firearm and acquisition information, whether to close out an old record book or for any other reason, the licensee shall record a reference to the date and location of the subsequent entry (*e.g.,* date of new entry, book name/number, page number, and line number) as the disposition. The information required by this paragraph shall be entered in the proper record book not later than the seventh day following the date of the transaction. Such information shall be recorded in a format containing the applicable columns prescribed by § 478.122, except that for armor piercing ammunition, the information and format shall also include the quantity of projectiles.
( c ) The Director may authorize alternate records to be maintained by a licensed manufacturer to record the acquisition or disposition of firearms and armor piercing ammunition when it is shown by the licensed manufacturer that such alternate records will accurately and readily disclose the information required by this section. A licensed manufacturer who proposes to use alternate records shall submit a letter application to the Director and shall describe the proposed alternate record and the need therefor. Such alternate records shall not be employed by the licensed manufacturer until approval in such regard is received from the Director.
[ATF-2021R-05F, 87 FR 24744, Apr. 26, 2022]