NTC is able to develop investigative leads when a firearm reported stolen or lost is recovered and traced by law enforcement, or when recurring patterns are discovered in the reporting of thefts. ATF provides serialization and other firearms identification forensics expertise to assist in the positive identification of firearms when serial numbers have been partially obliterated or have been partially restored.
The Obliterated Serial Number Program allows law enforcement agencies to identify recovered firearms whose origins have been masked by serial number destruction or alteration.
ATF uses the information to identify firearms trafficking patterns and related crimes. Submit a trace request. Out-of-business records are integral in the firearms tracing process. FFLs that discontinue business are required by law to send all firearms transaction records to NTC who received an average of 5 million out-of-business records per month. ATF utilizes out-of-business FFL records to assist in the investigation of firearm thefts when incomplete identifying information is available.
Since , ATF has received several hundred million such records and its Out-of-Business Records Repository is the only one of its kind in the world. ATF receives thousands of Records Search Requests from law enforcement jurisdictions where an individual firearm owner has no record of the firearms identifiers or the FFL from whom the owner purchased the firearm is no longer in business.
These records have proved pivotal in other criminal investigations. A serial number is stamped in metal so it doesn't wear easily. If a serial number is worn, try looking for the serial number in a different place on the gun some guns will have more than one serial number. A worn or filed-off serial number is an indicator of a stolen gun. Call the gun manufacturer or go to the manufacturer's website to access their online search tool.
There is no central resource for gun manufacturers. See Resources for the gun manufacturer's online directory of many gun manufacturer websites. For lesser-known manufacturers, you can conduct a search online or look at your user manual for contact information. Submit the gun serial number to the representative over the phone or enter it into the search field online.
Write down the gun manufacturing date and the gun model as provided by the representative or online search tool. Check the search tool in the state where you purchased the gun. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement agencies, for instance, provides a free online search tool.
If that gun is reported stolen, the search tool will display that information. You can conduct a search online for checking firearm serial numbers in your state, or go directly to the police department as described in step two.
Give the officer the gun serial number and ask him to run a check on the gun. If the gun was ever reported stolen anywhere in the United States, the officer will be able to tell you. The police department will run the gun's serial number through the FBI's NCIC database which records all stolen guns that have been reported in every state. Enter the serial number into a third-party website like HotGunz or StolenWeapon.
A gun owner may register the gun with one of these sites after he realizes that it is stolen. These sites, therefore, can only tell you if the gun has been previously registered to them as stolen, not if the gun has been reported stolen to a law enforcement agency. As of January 1, , six states and the District of Columbia required individuals to register their ownership of certain firearms with local law enforcement agencies.
Another eight states explicitly prohibited the creation of such registries. The remaining states neither required registration of firearms nor prohibited the creation of registries in the future.
See the map and table below for further information. Even worse, what would happen if you purchased a firearm that had been used in a crime? Unfortunately, these things can happen.
Further, there is no practical way for you to ensure a gun you purchase from a stranger is not lost or stolen. Unfortunately for purchasers in private sales, only law enforcement agencies are allowed to request a gun serial number check or search of the lost and stolen gun database.
While there have been attempts at creating private searchable internet databases where individuals self-report their lost or stolen guns , these usually contain only a fraction of the number of actual stolen guns, and the information is not verifiable.
Some states are exploring or attempting to build a state database of lost or stolen firearms that is searchable by the public, online. For example, the Florida Crime Information Center maintains a website where an individual can search for many stolen or lost items, including cars, boats, personal property, and of course, firearms.
You should verify that a stolen property report is active with your local law enforcement agency or with the reporting agency. Having the local police check the federal database continues to be the most accurate way to look up gun history by serial number to ascertain whether or not a used firearm is lost or stolen.
However, many police departments do not offer this service. And be forewarned: if the gun does come back as lost or stolen, the person who brought it to the police will not be getting it back. The true owner always has the right to have his or her stolen gun returned. If you choose to purchase a firearm in a private sale, you should protect yourself. A bill of sale is the best way to accomplish this.
Federal gun serial number check data is inherently flawed because it does not completely include the entire picture. But, they cannot account for the volume of lawful private sales after that, which diminishes a crucial portion of any data: context.
And speaking of private sales, there are a number of privately ran databases wherein a serial number can be checked prior to purchase to see if the firearm was stolen.
The , recovered firearms in account for. What should be understood is that this data is available for anyone involved in any debate on the matter of gun tracking. In fact, just to prove that, here are downloadable excel sheets from the ATF for a number of the topics presented here for Jake Smith notjakesmith is a copywriter and photographer based in the pacific northwest.
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