There are moments in this industry when reading the rule is not enough.
You can read the regulation. You can download the form. You can forward the memo to your compliance team, tell everyone to “stay sharp,” and hope the practical meaning becomes clear before the next inspection.
But in 2026, hope is not a compliance strategy.
That is why FFLGuard is proud to sponsor The Briefing: FFL Compliance Summit, taking place September 23–25, 2026, at the W Hotel Dallas. This is not another industry event built around vague updates and recycled talking points. This is a room built for Federal Firearms Licensees who need direct answers, current guidance, and a clear understanding of what is changing, why it is changing, and how those changes may impact their license.
Why Attendance Matters
The firearms industry is entering a new era of compliance. FFLs are facing new regulations, updated forms, shifting enforcement priorities, evolving NFA and eForms expectations, NICS process updates, and increasing pressure at both the federal and state levels.
That means the old way of doing business may no longer be enough.
The Briefing matters because it gives FFLs something they rarely get: access. Access to ATF and FBI speakers. Access to attorneys and compliance professionals who work with FFLs every day. Access to technology providers building the tools that will shape the next generation of firearms retail, manufacturing, transfers, and recordkeeping. Most importantly, access to the conversation behind the change.
A Federal Register notice can tell you what changed. The Briefing is designed to help you understand what it means at the counter, in your A&D records, during an inspection, in your transfer workflow, and inside the systems your business depends on.
For licensees, that distinction matters.
Because by the time an IOI is standing in your store, warehouse, manufacturing facility, or office, “we didn’t know” is not a defense. And “we thought we understood it” is not much better.
What Attendees Can Expect
The Briefing is a three-day, in-person compliance summit created for FFLs who want to be prepared before the next wave of regulatory and operational change lands on their doorstep.
Attendees can expect direct sessions on some of the most important issues facing the industry, including:
The new era of FFL compliance.
The event opens with a keynote focused on the direction of federal firearms compliance and what licensees should be watching as enforcement priorities and regulatory expectations evolve.
ATF Adverse action policy.
FFLs will hear about what the new adverse action environment means for protecting a license, correcting issues, and understanding how compliance failures may be viewed going forward.
The new ATF Form 4473 at the counter.
For many dealers, the ATF Form 4473 is where compliance risk becomes real. The Briefing will include a practical discussion of the new form, user manual updates, and non-over-the-counter transfer procedures.
NFA, eForms, and SOT operations.
With NFA processing, eForms, and SOT-related operations continuing to evolve, attendees will receive insight into the current landscape and what dealers, manufacturers, and SOTs need to understand.
New and changing regulations.
ATF legal leadership is scheduled to walk through significant regulatory changes affecting FFL operations and what those changes mean in practice.
Tracing, straw purchases, and the National Tracing Center.
The program includes a session on how firearm tracing reveals straw purchases and criminal diversion, and where FFLs fit in that process.
NICS and background checks.
The FBI’s NICS Section will address background checks at the counter, including what is changing and what those changes may mean for transfer workflows.
Industry interpretation and action steps.
FFLGuard’s Chris Chiafullo and Michael Fronczak, along with other industry legal and compliance voices, will help translate what attendees hear from regulators into a practical “what do we do Monday morning?” action list.
Dealer operations and real-world lessons.
The program includes dealer-focused sessions on what actually works behind the counter, where businesses are struggling, and how operators are adapting.
The technology stack ahead.
Electronic bound books, digital ATF Form 4473 systems, POS, e-commerce integration, and compliance technology are no longer optional side conversations. They are becoming central to how FFLs operate, document, and defend their compliance posture.
More Than a Conference
The Briefing is not designed to be a passive event where attendees sit in the back, collect a badge, and leave with a tote bag full of brochures.
It is designed to be a working room.
Registration and the welcome reception on Wednesday give attendees a chance to meet fellow licensees, sponsors, speakers, and industry professionals before the formal sessions begin. Thursday brings a full day of ATF, FBI, legal, compliance, and operational content, followed by a private dinner reception for continued relationship-building. Friday focuses on turning the prior day’s regulatory discussions into practical next steps for FFLs.
That structure matters because compliance does not happen in theory. It happens in real businesses, with real employees, real customers, real records, real inspections, and real consequences.
The Briefing gives FFLs the opportunity to ask better questions, hear how others are preparing, and leave with more than a stack of notes. The goal is clarity.
Why FFLGuard Is Sponsoring The Briefing
FFLGuard’s mission has always been to help licensees operate with confidence, prepare before problems become crises, and understand that compliance is not a one-time event. It is a daily operating discipline.
That is exactly why The Briefing matters.
This event brings together the people who shape the rules, the people who interpret them, the people who enforce them, the people who build the systems that support them, and the licensees who must live with them. That is the kind of room every serious FFL should want to be in.
FFLGuard is sponsoring The Briefing because the industry needs more direct conversations, not more confusion. FFLs need practical answers, not rumors. They need to know where the compliance landscape is moving before they are forced to react under pressure.
Be in the Room
The firearms industry is not standing still. The rules are changing. The forms are changing. The technology is changing. The enforcement environment is changing. The expectations placed on FFLs are changing.
The question is whether your business will be ahead of that change or chasing it.
The Briefing is built for FFLs who want to know what is coming, understand what it means, and prepare before the next inspection, audit, transaction issue, or regulatory shift tests their operation.
If your license matters, attendance matters.
Be in the room where the answers are.
Justify Your Investment
Need to justify the trip to your employer? A justification letter is available in the FAQs to help you make the case.
Seats are limited, with a cap of two attendees per FFL to keep the room focused. Tickets are $499, or $399 with the early-bird discount while it lasts.
Reserve your seat at fflbriefing.com/attend. We hope to see you there.