Methodology

Who maintains it

The register is kept by an independent maintainer. It is not affiliated with ATF or any government agency. Questions and corrections go through the report form ↗; each model page also has a “Report an error” link that names the entry.

Editorial research is carried out with AI-assisted tools under the maintainer’s direction. Every change passes the automated checks described here, and the maintainer approves each release.

Sources

The official wording comes from ATF P 5300.11, the Curios or Relics List — January 1972 through April 2025. The register is built from the April 2025 edition (PDF, 89 pages) ↗; the April 2018 edition ↗ is kept for history. Both are unaltered copies of ATF’s files, so page links stay stable; ATF publishes the list on its Curios & Relics page ↗.

The text is taken from the PDF’s own text layer. Each ATF line is copied exactly, typing errors and odd spacing included; the only change is joining lines that wrap across the page. Every quotation on a model page links the PDF page it is printed on.

ATF entries in the April 2025 edition

3,573

Section II

705

Section III

1,800

Section IIIA

807

Section IV

261

Models (entries grouped by firearm)

1,259

Kept as history (not in the April 2025 edition)

3

List source last checked

20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition

The source check records when the maintainer last confirmed which edition ATF’s page lists. It is separate from the edition date: ATF updates the list irregularly, so an older edition date alone doesn’t mean the register is out of date.

How entries are checked

Before every release, automated checks confirm:

• Verbatim wording. The text file reproduces the PDF’s text layer exactly, for both editions, and every ATF line shown on the site matches it.
• Section counts. The number of entries in each section matches the count established from the PDF, and every entry belongs to exactly one model.
• Edition changes. Each April 2025 entry that was already listed in April 2018 is paired with its April 2018 wording. Reworded, moved and removed entries keep their earlier wording as history.
• Contradictions. Our editorial facts are compared with what the ATF line itself states: type, action, calibers and dates. A contradiction stops the release unless it is explained.
• Evidence. Each editorial fact must be stated by ATF or backed by a cited reference to count towards a model’s confidence rating (below). The register holds 3,721 references.
• Images. A model shows a photograph or drawing only when it is freely licensed and verified to depict that model, or its base model with a caption saying so. 928 of 1,259 models have one.

These checks run with the unit and browser tests on every change. The public site is updated only after all of them pass.

Confidence

Each model’s editorial facts carry a confidence rating. It describes our research, not ATF’s wording, which is authoritative whatever the rating.

• High: every core fact (maker, country, type, action, calibers and years) is stated by ATF or backed by a reference. Class entries (one line covering many models) are rated on what ATF states: when the line names no maker, or gives at most one date limit (such as “prior to 1946”), that fact isn’t required.
• Medium: the years, maker and type are stated by ATF or backed by a reference. For the years, an estimate drawn from a related model’s references (for example the production range of the base model) also counts.
• Low: some core facts couldn’t be confirmed from independent sources. Model pages say so above the facts.

High

430 (34%)

Medium

720 (57%)

Low

109 (9%)

Fact tags

Each core fact on a model page carries a tag that says what it rests on:

• ATF the ATF wording states it.
• REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
• ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
• NO CITATION No citation: we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.

Collector’s notes

20 model pages carry a Collector’s note: original prose on what the entry covers, how collectors identify the firearm, and common confusions. Each paragraph cites the sources the writer opened, preferring museum records, manufacturer histories, period manuals, specialist references and ATF’s own wording; Wikipedia is never paraphrased.

Before a note is published, automated checks confirm that every citation points to a listed source, that every paragraph cites one, and that every quotation of ATF matches the list word for word. Each note is then checked sentence by sentence against its sources. Notes are editorial and dated with their last review; the ATF wording governs. All Collector’s notes

The helper

“Is my gun C&R?” searches the April 2025 list for entries that could describe a firearm you name. Each possible entry shows its ATF wording and what it requires (dates, serial numbers, editions, markings, configuration), and nothing reads as a match until you confirm each condition yourself. The age criterion is reported separately, with the 50-year cutoff worked out in your browser on the day you look.

ATF also lists 3 broad class entries for military rifles, pistols and shotguns by date made. They name no make or model, so word matching rarely reaches them. For a year from 1899 on, the helper shows the ones whose ATF dates include that year and whose kind fits the search, in a separate block; confirming one takes an extra box saying the entry doesn’t name the firearm you searched for.

The helper doesn’t decide whether your firearm is a curio or relic. An entry that is no longer on the list is shown as history, never as a current listing.

Corrections

Changes to editorial facts are dated and listed on each model page and on the corrections page, starting from the first publication on 16 October 2026. So far 1,072 corrections to 677 models. Dates come from the register’s version history. ATF’s wording is never corrected: if it looks wrong, it stays as ATF printed it. Image changes and newly listed models are not counted as corrections.

To report an error, use the “Report an error” link on the model page or the report form ↗. Reports are reviewed by the maintainer, and accepted changes go through the same checks before release.

Limits

• Not legal advice. ATF’s wording is authoritative. Laws on ownership, transfer and transport vary by state and locality.
• The list isn’t exhaustive. ATF’s list is a digest of its own classifications, not every firearm that qualifies. Besides age, a firearm can qualify if the curator of a municipal, State or Federal museum that exhibits firearms certifies it, or if much of its monetary value comes from being novel, rare or bizarre, or from association with a historical figure, period or event (27 CFR 478.11). ATF can also classify a particular firearm on request (27 CFR 478.26).
• Editorial facts can be wrong. Names, makers, years and calibers are our research. Check the tags, the references and the confidence rating, and tell us when something is off.

ATF: Curios & Relics ↗ · 27 CFR 478.11 on eCFR ↗ · 27 CFR 478.26 on eCFR ↗