Line 2 of Form 4473 states that U.S. Postal abbreviations are accepted. Are state abbreviations also accepted on Lines 3, 13 and 19? If so, does it matter whether it is in postal format (e.g., MS) or Associated Press style (e.g., Miss.)?
27 CFR 478.124(c)(1) and the Notices, Instructions and Definitions on pages three through six of the Form 4473 do not specifically address whether postal abbreviations can be used in Blocks 3, 13 and 19. It is the responsibility of the licensee to obtain a Form 4473 from the transferee with complete and accurate answers in Section A. This includes obtaining a Form 4473 with recognizable and interpretable state abbreviations. The use of abbreviations is permissible throughout the form, where applicable. However, the ATF recommends that standard U.S. Postal abbreviations are used for all relevant blocks of the ATF F 4473. [27 CFR 478.124(c)(1)]
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