Both are your ten fingerprints. The difference is format and delivery, and the delivery is what trips people up.
EFT stands for Electronic Fingerprint Transmission. It is a digital file in the format the FBI and ATF systems expect. You upload it with an ATF eForms submission and it arrives instantly.
Worth being precise about the name: you will see people write "ETF." The correct term is EFT. If a dealer says ETF, they mean this.
The FD-258 is the FBI Applicant Fingerprint Form — the physical card with boxes for each rolled finger. Plenty of agencies still require it. For a paper ATF filing, cards go to the NFA Division in duplicate, and they must be postmarked within ten business days of filing.
That deadline is the single most common way a self-filed application gets rejected.
| EFT | |
|---|---|
| Format | electronic file |
| Delivery | uploaded with the eForm |
| Deadline | none |
| Copies needed | one file |
| Typical speed | faster |
FD-258, by contrast: physical card, mailed, ten-business-day deadline, two copies per responsible person.
The agency receiving your application decides — not us, and not the dealer who sold you the item. Filing a Form 4 through eForms? An EFT file is the straightforward route. Filing on paper, or applying to an agency that specifies cards? You need FD-258s.
If you are unsure, bring the instructions. We read them with you before capturing anything. It takes a minute and saves a repeat visit.
A rejected set of prints costs weeks regardless of format. Ink rolling is unforgiving — over-roll, smudge, or too much pressure and the ridges become unreadable, and you find out when the agency posts them back.
We capture on a ten-print live scan scanner that checks each impression for quality as it is taken. A poor roll gets redone in the moment. From that one capture we can produce an EFT file, printed FD-258 cards, or both.
Requirements change. ATF has an open proposal to amend fingerprint and photograph requirements for firearms applications. Confirm what yours currently requires before your appointment.
Fingerprinting
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No booking forms. Reach us on either number, or email if you would rather put it in writing — attach your paperwork and we will read it before you arrive.
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