ATF eForms users received this message this morning from the agency explaining problems with the eForms system but touting the volume of applications that it is still managing to accept. Res ipsa loquitur.

For the past two weeks you have been experiencing various performance related issues while attempting to use eForm.  These issues have included slow response times, inability to finalize and submit forms, pay.gov screen not displaying, inability to select product types for some submissions, inability to view PDF’s, the system abruptly returning the user back to the home screen,  and some of you have not been able to log in at all.  While any of you have been able to successfully submit your eForms, others have not been able to get them out of your “Draft” folders.

First, we want to offer our sincere apology for what you are currently experiencing while using eForms.  The quality of eForms’ current performance is not indicative of the quality of performance that ATF strives to provide its customers.  We share your current frustrations and we want you to know that we are doing everything that we can to address these issues.  We continue to meet every day with “experts” in the field, and we are confident that we will soon find a solution.

We believe that eForms is a worthwhile investment for us, as well as for you, the firearms industry.  And we think that you feel the same.  The statistics below are reflective of this week’s work (our eForms week is calculated from one Wednesdayto the next for reporting purposes):

New eforms user registrations: 405

Form 1 submissions: 208

Form 3 submissions: 930

Form 4 submissions: 898

So, in spite of the performance issues, eForms is doing what it was designed to do.  It may be slower and it may be temperamental at times, but we believe it to still be a worthwhile investment.

We are committed to provide, you, our customers, the best service that we can and to this end we will continue our efforts to resolve the issues with our eForms system.  While we are trying to resolve these issues it may be necessary for us to perform system restarts throughout the day where we may bring eforms down for an hour or so.  We request your patience with us and your understanding that this process is unavoidable until we can correctly identify and resolve the issues.

We will provide you with periodic updates on our efforts to ensure you of our commitment and to keep you informed.  We thank you for your patience and your continued use of eForms until these issues are resolved.

Please feel free to contact me at anytime if you have any questions or comments at lee.alston-williams@atf.gov or you can use the “Ask the Experts” function within eForms.