Auctioneers Finally Have a Seat at the Table: Inside the NAA's Meeting With ATF Leadership on "Engaged in the Business"
Key takeaways
On August 3, 2026, National Auction Association leaders met with the ATF Director, ATF Chief Counsel, and members of the agency's leadership team to discuss the proposed rule (RIN 1140-AB01) defining when a person is "engaged in the business" of dealing in firearms.
This is the first substantive dialogue between the ATF and the auction industry since ATF Ruling 96-2 was issued in 1996.
The core problem is not that the proposed rule targets auctioneers. It is that a licensed auctioneer selling firearms for a third-party consignor occupies a role that federal firearms regulation has never clearly defined.
The NAA is not seeking an exemption. It is seeking clarity, and has proposed recognizing firearms auctions as "qualifying events" under the existing gun show framework in 27 CFR § 478.100.
The NAA submitted formal comments before the public comment deadline.
What happened at the ATF meeting?
On August 3, 2026, leaders from the National Auction Association met with the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Robert Cekada, the agency's Chief Counsel, and members of ATF's senior leadership team. The meeting covered subject matter referring to proposed rule (RIN 1140-AB01) defining when a person is "engaged in the business" of dealing in firearms.
I was in that meeting, along with NAA President Mike Fisher, NAA CEO Allison Mazzei, NAA Advocacy Chair Jay Cash and the NAA's Lobbyist Carl Mica. My role was to present the industry's key issues and recommendations which included the practical, operational picture of how federal firearms rules land on the auctioneers who actually conduct these sales.
I'm Brad McGovern,. I am currently the COO and soon to be owner of Two Alpha Auctions in Marshall, Michigan. I've spent nearly two decades in firearms auction, appraisal, and FFL compliance work, and I serve on the National Auction Association's Advocacy Cornerstone. While I played a part in bringing this meeting together, I want to be clear that nobody gets a meeting with a federal agency director alone. This happened because a team of people decided the auction industry had gone unrepresented long enough.
Why does this meeting matter to auctioneers?
Because it is the first one in thirty years.
The last time the auction industry sat down with the ATF resulted in the “Estate Exemption” (ATF R96-2) in 1996. In the decades since, the entire regulatory relationship between auctioneers and federal firearms law has been built on interpretation of that ruling rather than on conversation about it.
That silence has been expensive. Multiple rulemakings and firearms legislation have come and gone and the statutory definition of "engaged in the business" has been rewritten. Through all of it, the people who conduct estate firearms auctions, collection dispersals, and consignment sales have not been meaningfully at the table, and the guidance governing their work has not been meaningfully revisited.
A rule written without the auction industry in the room is not necessarily a hostile rule. It is simply an incomplete one.
What is the "engaged in the business" rule?
Federal law requires a person "engaged in the business" of dealing in firearms to obtain a Federal Firearms License. The proposed rule seeks to define that phrase — clarifying which conduct crosses the line from private sale into commercial dealing, and therefore requires licensure, recordkeeping, and background checks.
For most of the firearms world, that definition is aimed at a recognizable problem: individuals repetitively buying and reselling firearms for profit while operating outside the licensing system.
Auctioneers are not that. And that is precisely where the definition gets complicated.
How is a licensed auctioneer different from a private firearms seller?
A licensed auctioneer selling a firearm does not own title to the firearm.
When an auctioneer sells a rifle from a deceased collector's estate, the auctioneer is acting as a fiduciary on behalf of the estate, the widow, the heirs, or the consignor. There is no inventory being accumulated, nor is there a repetitive purchase and resale cycle for personal profit. There is a professional, operating under a contract and a duty of loyalty, converting someone else's property to fair market value in a public, transparent, documented sale.
Compare that to the conduct the rule and the 1968 Gun Control Act is actually written to reach: a person buying firearms with their own money for the purpose of reselling them at a markup. These are different activities with different risk profiles, different documentation trails, and different relationships to the buyer.
When a federal rule defines "engaged in the business" without accounting for the fiduciary role, the outcome is not safer commerce. It simply creates mass confusion and inconsistencies in enforcement.
Nobody's public safety interest is served by that outcome. Not the agency's, not the industry's, and not the public's.
What did the auction industry actually ask ATF for?
Not an exemption. Clarity.
The NAA's position, and the one I presented, is that the RIN 1140-AB01 is not the root problem. The root problem is thirty years of accumulated interpretation of ATF Ruling 96-2 that has never been examined in light of how firearms auctions are actually conducted today.
The central recommendation is a practical one: recognize firearms auctions as qualifying events under the existing framework at 27 CFR § 478.100.
That regulation already allows licensed dealers to conduct business away from their licensed premises at gun shows and similar events. Under this exemption, the event location is treated as part of the licensed premises so that ATF Form 4473s and NICS background checks can be completed on site. A firearms auction is functionally the same kind of event: a defined location, a defined timeframe, licensed dealers present, and firearms transferring to the public.
Extending qualifying-event recognition to firearms auctions would let licensed dealers conduct auction transfers with the same compliance infrastructure they already use at gun shows. It would not weaken a single background check requirement. It would not create a new category of unlicensed seller. It would resolve a long-standing operational contradiction using tools the agency already has.
We also raised the estate exemption, the practical realities of consignment documentation, and the need for the industry to have an ongoing channel of communication with the agency rather than a once-every-thirty-years conversation.
What happens next?
The National Auction Association has submitted formal comments before the public comment deadline and the dialogue with ATF continues.
If you are an auctioneer, an FFL, an estate attorney, a trust officer, or a collector and you want help understanding how the proposed rule may affect your operation, reach out. That conversation is part of the work.
Frequently asked questions
What is the "engaged in the business" rule? It is a federal rulemaking that defines when a person's firearms sales activity rises to the level of commercial dealing, which requires a Federal Firearms License, recordkeeping, and background checks.
Does the proposed rule specifically target auctioneers? No. The proposed rule does not single out auctioneers. The difficulty is that it does not clearly account for the role of a licensed auctioneer selling firearms on behalf of a third-party consignor, which leaves that activity in an interpretive gray area.
What is ATF Ruling 96-2? ATF Ruling 96-2 is the 1996 ruling that has governed how the auction industry conducts firearms sales for nearly three decades. Much of the current uncertainty stems from interpretation of that ruling rather than from the ruling's original text. For exact details on ATF R96-2, click here: https://www.atf.gov/media/24236/download
What is a "qualifying event" under 27 CFR § 478.100? It is an event, historically a gun show or similar function, where licensed dealers may conduct firearms business away from their licensed premises, with the event location treated as part of the licensed premises for transfer purposes. The NAA has proposed extending this recognition to firearms auctions.
Who attended the NAA meeting with ATF? National Auction Association leadership, including NAA President Mike Fisher, NAA CEO Allison Mazzei, NAA Advocacy Cornerstone Chair Jay Cash, and NAA Advocacy Cornerstone Member Brad McGovern of Two Alpha Auctions, and the NAA's Lobbyist Carl Mica, met with the ATF Director Robert Cekada, ATF Chief Counsel, and members of the agency's leadership team.
Can I still submit a public comment? Public Comments on RIN 1140-AB01 are closed at this time.
About the author
Brad McGovern, CAI is the owner of Two Alpha Auctions in Marshall, Michigan, and the auctioneer behind The Sporting Auctioneer. He has spent nearly two decades in firearms auction, appraisal, and FFL compliance work, serves on the National Auction Association's Advocacy Cornerstone, and is a past board member and advocacy committee member of the Ohio Auctioneers Association. He is the 2024 Michigan Auctioneer Champion and 2025 Midwest Auctioneers Roundup Champion, and a member of the CAI Class of 2026. Two Alpha Auctions operates under a Federal Firearms License and continues the century-old legacy of Belcher Auction Company.
This article describes a policy discussion and is provided for informational purposes. It is not legal advice. Consult qualified counsel regarding your specific compliance obligations.
