U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms and Explosives

Office of Enforcement Programs and Services

Contact ATF:

The local ATF office will also be making 

preparations and can provide assistance. ATF 

can be contacted via the 24-hour hotline:

1-800-800-3855.

The following Web sites contain information 

and guidance in business disaster 

preparedness: 

www.atf.gov

ATF’s Web site has information and 

downloadable forms for FFLs.

www.ready.gov

This Department of Homeland Security 

site contains information on emergency 

preparedness for families, children and 

businesses. 

www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance

The Small Business Administration site 

provides information on how to prepare for 

disasters and the SBA’s disaster loan program. 

www.fema.gov/business/guide/index.shtm

This site offers free, step by step advice on 

how to create and maintain a comprehensive 

emergency management

program.

www.redcross.org

This site offers free materials regarding disaster 

planning and recovery.

www.ibhs.org and www.nfib.com

The Institute for Business and Home Safety and 

the National Federation of Independent Business 

sites offer a variety of tools designed for small 

business owners to reduce potential loss and to 

reopen quickly.

www.noaa.gov

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric 

Administration site contains a link to active 

weather alerts across the U.S.

www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety.shtml

This General Services Administration site 

contains an enormous amount of information 

about the U.S. Government and its programs 

including this link to Public Safety and Law 

Enforcement resources who respond to disasters. 

State government home pages. These sites 

usually consist of the state’s name followed by 

“gov.” Many of these sites contain links to 

emergency management agencies, public safety 

departments, and small business offices.

ATF Publication 3317.7

December 2009

Disaster Preparedness 

for Federal Firearms 

Licensees

U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

99 New York Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20226

For more information about ATF visit:

www.atf.gov
What is Disaster Preparedness for a 

Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL)?

Disaster preparedness is the process that an 

FFL takes to prepare for, minimize the effects 

of, and recover from an event that causes any 

disruption to its business.

What Constitutes a Disaster?

Disasters are generally considered natural 

events such as a flood, hurricane, tornado, 

wildfire, earthquake, and severe storm (i.e. 

ice storm). However, devastating business 

disruptions can also be caused by power 

outages, computer system failure, explosions, 

chemical spills, civil disturbance, structural 

fire, and criminal acts.

Why Establish a Disaster Preparedness 

Plan?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

and Explosives (ATF) recommends that all 

FFLs prepare a Disaster Preparedness Plan. 

FFLs have a two-fold interest in having a plan 

in place: the need to safeguard their business 

to facilitate a quick recovery and the need to 

protect the public from the risk of theft/loss of 

firearms and ammunition.

Having a Disaster Preparedness Plan is the 

best way for FFLs to anticipate, prepare 

for, mitigate the effect of, and recover 

from a business disruption. Events such as 

hurricanes Katrina and Rita have proved that 

businesses can be struck by real threats to 

both business and to life. 

Having a plan can prevent unnecessary loss of 

life and ensure that a business can recover. A 

thorough plan, based on a worst-case scenario, 

can also serve to address non-catastrophic, minor 

disruptions to business. 

Sample Disaster Plan Checklist:

The following sample five part checklist is 

provided to assist in reviewing existing disaster 

preparedness and ability to respond and recover: 

○RECORDS: Create and maintain a current 

set of records that includes insurance policies, 

suppliers and contact lists, and computer records 

backup. Store these in fire and water proof 

locations. Keep current copies of important 

records off-site. If a disaster is imminent, 

contact ATF to seek approval to remove all 

business records to a safe location.

○EMPLOYEES: Maintain a list of all employees’ 

phone numbers, and if warranted, create a 

phone tree for notifications. Establish a plan 

under which, in the event of disaster, employees 

know whom to call to report that they are safe.

○INVENTORY: Conduct an inventory and 

ensure that records are up to date. These 

will be vital to assisting law enforcement and 

establishing losses for insurance purposes. 

Secure your inventory by utilizing safes, 

cable locks and other measures that can 

deter burglaries and looting. If a disaster 

is imminent, consider relocating inventory. 

FFLs are encouraged to inform ATF of the 

new firearms inventory location.

○INSURANCE: Review your policy 

annually. Most policies do not cover floods 

and other natural disasters. Consider 

enhancements to your policy for more 

complete coverage and reimbursement for 

business disruption in addition to physical 

losses.

○SECURITY: Review your alarm system 

and consider updating antequated systems 

like VCR cameras. Consider having more 

than one security service evaluate your 

current system.