Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Why was the 4457 changed?

Resurrecting 4457 to ask a question... Does anyone know why CBP changed the 4457 forms by adding the date line? SCI wrote briefly that it was happening, but I don't think they indicated why. The form's purpose was proof of ownership for re-entry into this country. The forms were not transferable. Originally they could only be obtained by showing the item to the official at the office and completing the form. As long as you wanted, the form proved ownership just like the sales receipt was supposed to do and perhaps still does. After checking the serial, the CBP checked against a database to be sure it was not on a "stolen" list and, if not, good to go.

My issue is that it is a minimum of 4 hours round trip for me to get a dated form . I don't know why they started dating the form. Last form was "good for 2 years". How do I lose ownership in 2 years or why reprove? The problem with the date is that it gave South African Police a means to play like we have gun registration in the US.

Nevertheless, here is a good story on CBP. Two years ago I called the Birmingham, AL CBP and told them I had completed and printed a new 4457 written EXACTLY like my current one. Could I send the new with the former one with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope and have it signed and approved... Moment of reflection by agent... and the reply was, "Yes, I can do that. Address it to my attention."

Sorry! Kudos to CBP. Never had a bad time with any of them. Sad if you have. End of rant!

Not sure if this is the answer but recently South Africa policy was the 4457 had to be less than a year old. At least that is the story our travel agent told us. We did get a new one before we went in June.

SAPS bozos in JB airport don't have a clue what the 4457 even is. They believe it is proof of purchase/ownership, and believe there is an expiration date, when in fact the only expiration date is for the form itself, not the form's contents. Nevertheless a guy importing a rifle to hunt with has to keep these idiots satisfied.

Had the same basic experience with a young woman at U.S. Customs in Miami in 1996, when returning from a bird hunt in Argentina. I handed her the 4457's for my pair of shotguns, and she said they were no good, since you had to get a new one filled out every time you left the country. I said no, you don't, but she insisted, so I said, "Get your supervisor." He took one look at the forms and waved me through.

just in case some day I have a large amount of riches hit me in the head and I get the opportunity to hunt in Africa, please tell me what a form 4457 is?

It's a form issued by US Customs to prove you owned something in the US prior to taking the item to another country. That way you won't be charged duty on an item that could have been purchased in another country. An example would be getting a 4457 for your expensive Swiss watch before taking a trip to Switzerland. It's not specifically for guns. Most African countries treat it as a firearms license which it is not.

I have been told that there is a move afoot for 4457's to have expiration dates, requiring renewal on some schedule, 3 years being the number being tossed around the most. I would not be surprised to eventually see a fee attached.

It is recommend if Traveling to/through Jo-berg to have The Current Year stamped on your 4457.

I have been traveling across the Canadian Border with Firearms since the late 70's. Never knew anything about 4457 until about 8 years ago. Took a firearm to the CBP at my local airport with the form filled out and they didn't look at the firearm. Came back to the US with the 4457 in the rifle case the guy asks me for the 4457 I said its in the case with the rifle He says its supposed to be in your possession. I said whats the point of having it in my possession if you can't see my possession he said welcome home. Since then I have had the 4457 in my possession and showed it to them every time. No one from the CBP has ever seen either of the firearms I have 4457's for.

The form makes very little sense to me unless your firearm gets stolen while abroad or something.

Rant over lets go hunting good luck and shoot straight y'all

While it's a form for US customs so you don't have to pay duty on stuff, many foreignors think it's a license to own the firearm. They don't understand that US citizens have the right to keep and bear arms.

Seems like it’s either time for some other non-4457 form without an expiration date, or have someone with basic photoshop skills change the expiration date to 1/1/2079. Should cover all of us for the foreseeable future.

I'll just stay home. I hate paperwork.

Yep, that's exactly what happened.
The "expiration dates" on the form aren't exactly new, but it's only recently that people started to take notice. The first time I really became aware of this was back in 2017 when the South African Police started giving people issues for "expired" forms. I have a collection of old 4457 forms I've used on hunts for different rifles over the past decade and a half. I recently went through the old forms and noticed that the oldest couple don't have an expiration date, but starting with the 08/09 version of the form (which is essentially identical to the older ones otherwise) the forms have an"expiration" date on them 3 years after the version date on the form.