Frequently Asked Questions

Attendees left Dallas with straight answers on the issues that mattered most at the time. That meant understanding the 34-rule regulatory overhaul in plain terms, what changed on the Form 4473 and how the new adverse action framework affected FFLs' risk profile, and where eForms and NFA transfers stood — all directly from the ATF Director, ATF Chief Counsel, and FBI. There was also a session on FFL legal defense from an attorney who has handled hundreds of inspections, plus a practical look at what compliant A&D and 4473 technology needed to look like in 2026. That was the agenda.

You can read the regulations. What reading alone can't give you is intent, interpretation, and enforcement priority — and those three things are often where FFLs get tripped up. The gap between what a regulation says and how ATF applies it in the field is real. Attendees who asked the Director directly how the agency was prioritizing enforcement, or asked the Chief Counsel how a specific provision would be interpreted in practice, walked away with something regulations alone can never give: clarity. That kind of direct access to the ATF Director and Chief Counsel doesn't happen often.

Twenty years of experience was a genuine asset in that room — it meant sharper questions. But experience doesn't substitute for knowing what changed. ATF's 34-rule overhaul, the revised adverse action framework, the new Form 4473, eForms updates — these were recent developments at the time. The most seasoned FFLs tended to get the most out of direct Q&A with regulators, precisely because they knew exactly what to ask.

That was exactly the point. The rules are always changing, and The Briefing was the opportunity to hear about those changes directly from the people who write and enforce them. The FFLs who face adverse action rarely saw it coming, not because they weren't trying, but because they didn't know what had shifted. The purpose of The Briefing wasn't to fix problems; it was to prevent them. One session with ATF's Chief Counsel on what the new regulations actually required could have been the difference between a clean inspection and a revocation hearing.

Yes. The Briefing was designed for Federal Firearms Licensees — dealers (01/02), manufacturers (07/10), importers (08/09), and SOTs.

Attendance also extended to a limited number of professionals who directly served the FFL community: firearms industry attorneys, FFL compliance consultants, and technology providers whose products were specifically built for FFL operations, each of whom had to demonstrate a direct, professional relationship with the FFL community.

See the full speaker lineup on the Agenda & Speakers page.

Yes. Government speaker sessions included structured Q&A from the audience. That kind of direct access to ATF's Director and Chief Counsel in an open Q&A format is genuinely rare. It wasn't a panel where bureaucratic non-answers were the default — the whole point was straight answers from the source.

Yes — this was one of the things we were most intentional about. The Wednesday evening welcome reception, Thursday evening dinner, and the Debrief Lounge (open throughout the event for informal conversation) were all designed to give attendees time to connect. The room was intentionally small — every attendee was an FFL or direct FFL professional — so the networking density was unusually high, without attendees competing with thousands of people for five minutes with the right person.

The Briefing was held at the W Hotel Dallas, 2440 Victory Park Lane, Dallas, TX 75219 — in Victory Park, walking distance from American Airlines Center. Dallas was chosen deliberately: it's centrally located and one of the most affordable, well-connected cities to fly into from anywhere in the country, which made the trip convenient for attendees traveling from every corner of the map. See our Dallas guide for the venue and things to do.

Dallas Love Field (DAL) was roughly 10 minutes from the W Hotel and was the most convenient option for most attendees.

DFW International (DFW) was 30–40 minutes away and offered significantly more flight options and airlines. Either airport worked, depending on routing. See our Dallas page for rideshare and ground transport notes.

The full 2026 sponsor roster appears in the Presented By section on every page of this site.

2026 sponsorship ran across three tiers — Title, Supporting, and Community. Interested in a future edition? Get in touch.

September 23–25, 2026. Wednesday opened with afternoon check-in (3 PM) and the welcome reception (5–7 PM). Thursday and Friday were full programming days starting at 7:30 AM. See the full agenda.

Business casual. It was a professional compliance summit — collared shirt, slacks or dark jeans, no suit required. The evening events held to the same standard; nothing more formal was expected.

No. The Briefing was independently organized and produced. ATF and FBI speakers participated as invited guests in their official capacities — their participation was not an agency endorsement of the event, its sponsors, or any products discussed. Views expressed by government speakers represented their professional roles.