Federal agency FOIA guide · Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
For ATF agency records. Firearms trace and investigative information can be heavily constrained by statutes and FOIA exemptions.
Common request topics
atffirearmsexplosivestraceinvestigation
Where to submit
Mail / email details in FOIAFiler
Email: FOIAmail@atf.gov
Mail:
FOIA/PA Services
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
99 New York Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20226
Related request recipes
Federal criminal investigation records
Active investigations and third-party personal information are frequently protected. Narrow requests by event, office, case number, and date.
How to make the request easier to process
- Describe the records, not just the question you want answered.
- Use a specific date range when possible.
- Name the office, event, case number, contract number, facility, or other locator if known.
- List useful record types such as emails, reports, memoranda, photographs, logs, contracts, or policy documents.
- For records about yourself, follow the agency’s identity-verification and Privacy Act instructions.
- Ask for reasonably segregable non-exempt portions if responsive records contain exempt material.
Build it
One agency or several?
If this agency is clearly the custodian, build one request. If the records may be split among several components, Request Bundles can generate a separate letter for each selected agency while keeping the core description consistent.