FFL Data Methodology

How LocalFFL turns public ATF records into directory pages, and what those pages can and cannot establish.

Primary directory source

Dealer names, licence identifiers, licence types, premises addresses, telephone numbers, expiry fields, and related directory attributes originate from public Federal Firearms License records released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. LocalFFL is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ATF.

Installed directory snapshot: 2026-06.

Import and quality checks

New official releases are staged before installation. The import process checks the expected schema, record-count bounds, snapshot date, and SQLite database integrity. A dated backup is retained before an accepted database replaces the previous version.

What “active” means

An active label means the imported ATF snapshot encodes a licence expiry date that had not passed when the dataset was processed. It is not a live ATF verification. Renewals, surrenders, corrections, address changes, and enforcement events may not yet appear in a periodic public snapshot.

Business-supplied information

Businesses may submit hours, services, fees, websites, or corrections. Submissions remain pending until manually reviewed and are never published automatically. Business-supplied details must be distinguished from ATF-derived fields.

Location and enrichment data

County, population, coordinate, and distance information may come from public geographic datasets or derived matching. Coordinates and proximity results are approximate and should not be treated as navigation or premises verification.

How to verify or correct a listing

Use ATF FFL eZ Check to confirm current licence information before relying on a listing. To report an error or submit public business details, use the correction link on the dealer page or the listing form. Do not send customer records, transaction records, identification documents, or other sensitive information.

Legal information

State-law summaries are withheld while undergoing source-by-source review. Directory listings do not establish whether a particular transaction, possession, transfer, or activity is lawful. Confirm current requirements with official authorities and qualified counsel.