Here is another Jim Dandy rule that just got put in.
ATF Final Rule 2021R-05F: Definition of "Frame or Receiver" and Identification of FirearmsTo address these circumstances and needs, in May 2021, ATF began the federal rule making process to update the regulatory definition of firearm and "frame or receiver," and to establish a regulatory definition for "Privately Made Firearms" (PMFs). On April 11, 2022, after full public notice and comment on the proposed updated and new definitions, the Attorney General signed ATF Final Rule 2021R-05. FinalRule 2021R-05F amended 27 CFR § 478.11, the section of the GCA regulations that sets forth regulatory definitions of terms used in the GCA. The definitions of "firearm" and "frame or receiver" in Section478.11 had not been updated since enactment of the GCA in 1968. The Final Rule modernized the definitions of "firearm" and "frame or receiver" to reflect changes in firearm design and manufacturing; it also set forth, for the first time, a regulatory definition for the term "privately made firearm" (PMF). TheFinal Rule defines PMF to mean a firearm, including a frame or receiver, completed, assembled, or otherwise produced by a person other than a licensed manufacturer, and without a serial number placed by a licensed manufacturer at the time the firearm was produced. The term does not include a firearm identified and registered in the NFRTR pursuant to Title 26, U.S.C. Chapter 53, or any firearm manufactured or made before October 22, 1968 (unless remanufactured after that date).The term PMF encompasses several different types of un-serialized firearms, including those made using commercially sold parts and kits. It also encompasses machine gun conversion devices, such as "drop in auto sears" and "switches," even though these devices do not themselves fire projectiles, because they convert semi-automatic firearms to fire as fully automatic weapons. As such, these devices fall within the definition of"machine gun" in both the GCA and NFA.Firearms industry vernacular and marketing have historically used a variety of terminology to describe items sold or distributed to produce a PMF. Commonly used industry terms include "80%-kit", "80%-gun", "80%-receiver", "lower 80", unfinished frame, kit gun, jig gun, casting, receiver blank, receiverbody, printed gun, wiki-gun, 3D gun, downloaded gun, homemade gun, flat, ghost gun and switch.According to the Department ofJustice, Final Rule 2021R-05F, which was published in the FederalRegister on April 26, 2022, and will become effective on August 24, 2022, is designed to address thepublic safety concerns associated with the proliferation of un-serialized PMFs in several ways. These include (1) To help keep guns from being sold to convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers ,the rule makes clear that retailers must run background checks before selling kits that contain the parts necessary for someone to readily make a gun. (2) To help law enforcement trace guns used in a crime, the rule modernizes the definition of frame or receiver, clarifying what must be marked with a serial number - including in easy-to build firearm kits.(3) To help reduce the number of unmarked and hard-to-trace "ghost guns", the rule establishes requirements for FFL dealers and gunsmiths to have a serial number added to 3Dprinted gunSee, Justice Department Announces New Rule to Modernize Firearm Definitions IOPA I Department of Justice.
