The ATF has taken the position that, in order to register an SBR under the free tax stamp provision of this rule, the ‘host’ (e.g. pistol, lower, etc.) must already be assigned to, or owned by, the trust prior to the date of publication of the rule (expected any day now).
From the ATF FAQ …
Therefore, make sure to download my non-NFA item assignment spreadsheet to document the assignment of any ‘host’ firearms that you may wish to SBR under this rule to your trust prior to that date!
If you do not have Excel and need a PDF version to print and hand-enter the items then that may be downloaded here
Regardless of which version you use, make sure you 1) put the name of the trust in the header where there is a blank line; 2) enter the date in the line at the bottom right, and sign it on the line titled “Signed By: Settlor and Trustee”
NOTE: I should add that I have been told that the date in the instructions on the eForms site says that the ‘host’ firearms should have been assigned to the trust prior to January 13, 2023. However, since the rule is not properly promulgated, and therefore has no force and effect pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, until it is registered in the Federal Register, I believe that this is merely a ‘placeholder’ date on the site and will be updated once the rule is actually published. If not, I believe that any denials based upon this date would be challengeable on those grounds.
There has been a fierce debate online regarding what ‘evidence’ the ATF will require with many people rushing out to have their assignment sheets notarized. I certainly cannot guarantee how the ATF will handle this issue. However, I can say that assignment sheets are NOT required by law to be notarized and any submission of documentation to the ATF is done under penalty of perjury.
Therefore, I personally believe that a signed and dated assignment sheet, showing that you added the host firearm prior to the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register would be sufficient. However, I cannot guarantee how they will implement this requirement, so I highly recommend that you get the assignment sheet notarized between now and when the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
As for when you should plan on submitting your eForm (after your arm brace equipped items have been added to the trust), I suggest waiting at least a few weeks after the rule is published in the Federal Register.
This accomplishes three things: 1) It allows us to get any additional information from the ATF regarding their interpretation of certain provisions of the rule; 2) It gives any legal challenges time to work their way through the system in case there are going to be preliminary injunctions granted; and 3) Hopefully the eForms system will no longer be crashing constantly due to being overloaded with simultaneous applications.
