ATF Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) Scraper

Overview

Extract and analyze 130,000+ active Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) records from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) database. This actor provides fast, accurate access to comprehensive FFL data including license numbers, business names, addresses, phone numbers, and expiration dates—ideal for compliance audits, market research, industry analysis, and regulatory intelligence.

Key Features:

• 130,000+ active FFLs: Complete database of all currently licensed dealers, manufacturers, importers, and collectors
• State filtering: Query by two-letter state code (IL, TX, CA, etc.)
• License type filtering: Filter by Dealer, Manufacturer, Importer, Collector, and other license types
• Business name search: Find specific businesses via partial text search
• City filtering: Narrow results by city
• Batch processing: Retrieve up to 130,000 records in a single run
• Structured JSON output: All fields properly normalized for database integration
• Real-time data: Data reflects current ATF records with monthly updates

Use Cases

Compliance & Regulation:

• Verify FFL licensing status for supply chain partners
• Audit dealer networks by state or type
• Monitor license expiration dates for renewal planning
• Track manufacturer and importer certifications

Market Research:

• Analyze dealer density by geography and state
• Identify market gaps and competitive opportunities
• Segment manufacturers vs. importers vs. retailers by region
• Monitor market consolidation trends

Sales & Business Development:

• Generate B2B lead lists of FFLs in target verticals (gunsmiths, ranges, retailers)
• Identify strategic acquisition targets for firearms industry companies
• Validate prospect credentials before outreach
• Build territory intelligence for sales teams

Industry Intelligence:

• Track licensing patterns across regions
• Monitor new FFL applications and approvals
• Analyze business concentration in major metros
• Support policy research and advocacy

Data Fields

Each FFL record includes:

Field	Description	Example
licenseNumber	Unique ATF FFL license identifier	F001234AB
licenseType	Type of license (Dealer, Manufacturer, Importer, Collector, etc.)	Dealer
businessName	Licensed business name	ABC Gun Shop
street	Premise street address	123 Main Street
city	City	Springfield
state	Two-letter state code	IL
zip	ZIP code	62701
phone	Telephone number	(217) 555-0100
county	County name	Sangamon
expirationDate	FFL expiration date (YYYY-MM-DD)	2025-12-31
premisePostalCode	Premise postal code	62701

Tutorial: How to Extract FFL Data

Step 1: Basic Search (All Active FFLs)

To retrieve all active FFLs in your dataset:

1. Open the actor in Apify Console
2. Leave State, License Type, Business Name, and City fields empty
3. Set Max Results to 100 (or higher if needed)
4. Click Start

Result: JSON dataset with 100 FFL records.

Step 2: Filter by State

Extract all FFLs in a specific state:

1. Set State to IL (two-letter code)
2. Leave other filters empty
3. Set Max Results to 1000
4. Click Start

Result: ~500–2,000 FFL records from Illinois (varies by state population and gun ownership rates).

Step 3: Find Dealers in a City

Search for firearms dealers in a specific city:

1. Set License Type to Dealer
2. Set City to Denver
3. Set State to CO
4. Set Max Results to 500
5. Click Start

Result: All Dealers licensed in Denver, CO.

Step 4: Business Name Search

Find specific FFL by partial name match:

1. Set Business Name to Gun (or any partial name)
2. Leave State empty to search nationwide
3. Set Max Results to 100
4. Click Start

Result: All businesses with "Gun" in their name (e.g., "ABC Gun Shop", "Gun Range Pro", etc.).

Step 5: Multi-Filter Search

Combine filters for precise results:

1. Set State to TX
2. Set License Type to Manufacturer
3. Set City to Houston
4. Set Max Results to 50
5. Click Start

Result: All firearm manufacturers licensed in Houston, TX.

Input Configuration

{
  "state": "IL",
  "licenseType": "Dealer",
  "businessName": "gun",
  "city": "Springfield",
  "maxResults": 100
}

Parameters:

• state (string, optional): Two-letter state abbreviation (e.g., "IL", "TX", "CA"). Leave empty for all states.
• licenseType (string, optional): License type filter. Supported values: Dealer, Manufacturer, Importer, Collector, etc. Partial match supported. Leave empty for all types.
• businessName (string, optional): Business name search term. Supports partial text matching. Leave empty for all businesses.
• city (string, optional): City name filter. Partial match supported. Leave empty for all cities.
• maxResults (integer, default: 100): Maximum number of records to return. Range: 1–130,000.

Output Example

[
  {
    "licenseNumber": "F001234AB",
    "licenseType": "Dealer",
    "businessName": "ABC Gun Shop",
    "street": "123 Main Street",
    "city": "Springfield",
    "state": "IL",
    "zip": "62701",
    "phone": "(217) 555-0100",
    "county": "Sangamon",
    "expirationDate": "2025-12-31",
    "premisePostalCode": "62701"
  },
  {
    "licenseNumber": "F002345BC",
    "licenseType": "Manufacturer",
    "businessName": "Victory Arms Manufacturing",
    "street": "456 Industrial Ave",
    "city": "Waterbury",
    "state": "CT",
    "zip": "06701",
    "phone": "(203) 555-0200",
    "county": "New Haven",
    "expirationDate": "2026-06-30",
    "premisePostalCode": "06701"
  }
]

Pricing

Cost Breakdown:

• Actor start: Free ($0.00)
• Per result: $0.003 per FFL record
  • Retrieving 100 FFLs = ~$0.30 (plus Apify compute overhead)
  • Retrieving 1,000 FFLs = ~$3.00
  • Retrieving 10,000 FFLs = ~$30.00

Compute Estimate:

• Small runs (100–500 records): 2–5 compute units
• Medium runs (500–5,000 records): 5–15 compute units
• Large runs (5,000–50,000 records): 15–50 compute units
• Massive runs (50,000+ records): 50+ compute units

Total Cost Example (Illinois dealers):

• Query: All Dealers in Illinois (~500–800 records)
• Estimated price: ~$1.50–2.40 (records) + ~$1–3 (compute) = $2.50–5.40 total

FAQ

Q: How often is FFL data updated? A: The ATF publishes updated FFL listings monthly. This actor uses the current public ATF database, so data reflects the latest available from federal sources.

Q: Can I export the data to Excel or CSV? A: Yes! In Apify Console, you can export the dataset as CSV, Excel, or JSON after the run completes.

Q: Are phone numbers verified? A: Phone numbers are as listed in the ATF database. We recommend validating contact info independently, especially for older records.

Q: What license types are included? A: All active license types: Dealer (most common), Manufacturer, Importer, Collector, Pawnbroker, etc.

Q: Can I search by zip code? A: Not yet, but you can filter by city and manually dedup results. Contact support if you need this feature.

Q: Is this data GDPR compliant? A: FFLs are business licenses, not personal data. However, some premise addresses may be home-based businesses. Always respect local data privacy laws when processing.

Q: What's the difference between "street" and "premisePostalCode"? A: street is the full street address; premisePostalCode is the numeric ZIP code for that premise. Usually identical, but sometimes premises have split addresses.

Q: Why do some records have null fields? A: Some FFLs may have incomplete data in the ATF database. We return all available fields; null indicates missing ATF data.

Q: Can I use this for marketing outreach? A: FFLs are public business data. You may use it for B2B prospecting, but ensure compliance with CAN-SPAM Act and ATF regulations around firearms commerce.

Q: How long does a typical run take? A: - 100 records: ~2–3 seconds

• 1,000 records: ~5–10 seconds
• 10,000 records: ~20–40 seconds
• 100,000 records: ~3–5 minutes

Legal Disclaimer

This actor extracts data from publicly available ATF federal firearms licensee records. Usage is subject to the following:

1. Lawful Use Only: This tool is intended for legitimate compliance, market research, and B2B intelligence. Misuse for illegal firearms trafficking, discrimination, harassment, or other unlawful purposes is strictly prohibited.

2. Compliance with Federal Law: Users must comply with all federal, state, and local laws regarding firearms, including the Gun Control Act, Brady Act, and ATF regulations. Unauthorized sales, transfers, or receipt of firearms are federal crimes.

3. Data Privacy: While FFL records are public, some may be home-based businesses. Users must respect state and local data privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) when processing.

4. No Endorsement: The ATF does not endorse this tool. Apify is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Justice or Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

5. Liability Disclaimer: Apify and the actor developer assume no liability for misuse, illegal activity, or damage resulting from use of this tool.

6. Terms of Service: Use of this actor constitutes acceptance of Apify's Terms of Service.

Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests:

• Report a bug: Open an issue in the actor's GitHub repository
• Feature requests: Contact support with details of desired functionality
• General questions: Check the FAQ above or post in the Apify community forum

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Built by: seatsignal Last updated: 2026-04-07 License: ISC Repository: GitHub