Why do you need an ATF Form 4? The Form 4 is an Application For Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm that the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) requires whenever firearms are transferred. (Required only for NFA Class III items like suppressors, sawed off shotguns and short barreled rifles.) For those who have formed or are forming an NFA gun trust, the form is fairly simple to complete.