Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Search API
Full-text search across regulation text.
Work with this as data
Every API here is available over the APIs.io API and to AI agents over MCP.
MCP server
One button, every client — Claude, Cursor, VS Code and the rest.
https://apis.io/mcp
Tools for apis
7 MCP tools reach this
find_apisBrowse and filter every API in the catalog.get_api_artifactsOne API's artifacts, grouped by type.get_openapiThe primary OpenAPI for this API.find_similar_apisAPIs that look like this one.apis_io_searchSTART HERE — APIs, providers and tags for one query, each with its total.resolveTurn a domain, URL or GitHub org into the provider it belongs to.find_cohortsEvery scored population of providers in the catalog.
Call it yourself
curl for this page
This API
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/apis/bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives-atf--search-api"
All apis
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/apis?limit=25"Discovery needs no key. Ratings and market analysis are Pro.
Get an API key
Free tier, no form to fill in. Signing in shares your email address with us — we store it to create your key and to recognise you if you sign in with another provider. See our Privacy Policy and Terms.
A second provider on the same verified email joins the account you already have.
OpenAPI Specification
openapi: 3.2.0
info:
title: ATF eRegulations Search API
version: '2026-09-05'
summary: Read-only JSON API over ATF's eRegulations platform (27 CFR Parts 447, 478, 479, 555, 646, 771).
description: Machine-readable description of the public JSON API served at https://regulations.atf.gov/api/.
contact:
name: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
url: https://www.atf.gov/contact
license:
name: U.S. Government Work (17 U.S.C. 105)
url: https://www.usa.gov/government-works
servers:
- url: https://regulations.atf.gov/api
description: ATF eRegulations production API (anonymous, no key)
tags:
- name: Search
description: Full-text search across regulation text.
paths:
/search:
get:
operationId: searchRegulationText
tags:
- Search
summary: Full-text search across regulation text
parameters:
- name: q
in: query
required: true
description: Search terms. Required — omitting it returns HTTP 400.
schema:
type: string
examples:
- firearm
- name: regulation
in: query
required: false
description: Restrict results to one CFR part.
schema:
type: string
examples:
- '478'
- name: version
in: query
required: false
description: Restrict results to one effective version.
schema:
type: string
examples:
- 2026-01141
- name: page
in: query
required: false
description: Zero-based page of results.
schema:
type: integer
minimum: 0
examples:
- 1
responses:
'200':
description: Search results
content:
application/json:
schema:
$ref: '#/components/schemas/SearchResults'
'400':
description: Missing or invalid query parameter
content:
application/json:
schema:
$ref: '#/components/schemas/ValidationError'
components:
schemas:
ValidationError:
type: object
required:
- reason
properties:
reason:
type: object
description: Field name -> list of validation messages.
additionalProperties:
type: array
items:
type: string
examples:
- reason:
q:
- Missing data for required field.
SearchResults:
type: object
required:
- total_hits
- results
properties:
total_hits:
type: integer
examples:
- 1596
results:
type: array
items:
$ref: '#/components/schemas/SearchHit'
SearchHit:
type: object
properties:
text:
type: string
label:
type: array
items:
type: string
label_string:
type: string
examples:
- 478-113a
version:
type: string
regulation:
type: string
match_title:
type: string
paragraph_title:
type: string
section_title:
type: string
title:
type: string
x-generated-from: live probe of https://regulations.atf.gov/api/* on 2026-09-05
x-api-evangelist-modeled: true
x-upstream-project: https://github.com/atfweb/regulations-core