Editor’s note: All information presented here is for discussion purposes and is not legal advice. The author is not an attorney. Seek the advice of qualified legal counsel for any questions you have about the guidance issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
After a recent court ruling and updated ATF guidance, there are a lot of questions swirling online about the legality of short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), firearm suppressors, and a class of defined “any other weapons” (AOWs). While there is a lot of good news for gun owners, there are also significant pitfalls you need to be aware of.
Let’s take a high-level look at what’s going on. This is not a legal guide – only a qualified attorney can provide you with advice. Instead, this is an overview of what is happening and some discussion about the serious problems with the guidelines we have now.
An Annoying Little Tax
The National Firearms Act (NFA) is a federal law enacted in 1934 that regulates several firearms classes including short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, machine guns, and other “non-standard” firearms. The law also includes the regulation of sound suppressors – sometimes called silencers – even though they are just a gun part or accessory. Destructive devices like grenades were added later.
The law didn’t outlaw the items but instead levied a very high tax on them. If you had the money plus the approval of the local law enforcement chief, a sawed-off shotgun or submachine gun were still lawfully available to you. Don’t have an abundance of cash? Maybe don’t pass the local police chief’s idea of the “kind of person” who should own a gun? In these cases, you do not get to exercise your Second Amendment right.
Much like the Breedlove v. Suttles (1937) case in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a Georgia poll tax as constitutional, the Court also ruled that the NFA was legitimate even if it had a restrictive effect on rights (see Sonzinsky v. U.S. (1937) and U.S. v. Miller (1939)).
Unlike voting rights, however, neither Congress nor the Supreme Court ever revisited and overturned the Second Amendment tax. But things began to change with the D.C. v. Heller (2008) case when the U.S. Supreme Court finally and clearly stated that the right to possess arms was an individual right unconnected with service in a militia. That changed everything.
Inflation for the…Win?
While individuals and groups challenged firearms ownership restrictions through the courts, a curious thing was happening with gun ownership. Not only was general gun ownership flourishing despite the draconian regulations imposed by various and sundry governmental units, but more and more people were paying the federal tax and owning short-barreled rifles, suppressors and other items regulated by the NFA. Strangely enough, we have inflation to thank for this.
When Congress imposed the NFA on the American people, it set the tax for most items at $200. That put it well out of reach for most Americans. However, inflation – the thing that eats away the value of your wages – reduced the sting of the $200 tax, making it increasingly affordable over the decades.
Gold suggests how much. When the NFA took effect, the government had just fixed the price of gold at $35 an ounce, so $200 bought nearly six ounces. Today that much gold is worth nearly $25,000. It’s pretty clear just how punishing the original tax was.
As inflation shrank the real cost of the tax, NFA items came within reach of ordinary shooters. Many began using suppressors to protect their hearing and discovered how practical a short-barreled rifle can be for home defense.
In 2008, I had the spokesperson for a gun rights group tell me the organization would never “waste money” pushing for the removal of suppressors from the NFA due to it simply not being popular enough nor politically feasible. Yet, suppressors – along with other NFA items – have become widely adopted in the firearms community and had become a significant political issue facing the U.S. Congress in 2025. Enter the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
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Passed in 2025, the OBBBA set a new tax amount for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and specific any other weapons (AOWs) to $0. That left the ATF with the job of collecting no taxes on these items – and taxes were the legal justification for the constitutionality of the NFA to begin with.
2026 Court Cases
Even though there was no tax to collect, the ATF continued to insist that U.S. citizens file paperwork to obtain zero-dollar tax stamps for each and every NFA item specified in the OBBBA. Multiple court cases were filed with two landing in a federal court in Texas. Consolidated, these cases, Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF and Jensen v. ATF, provided a judge the opportunity to say that the ATF had no authority to force burdensome tax paperwork on items Congress had eliminated the taxes on.
While that was a clear win, it applied only to the parties in the lawsuit and the people they represented. That left the ATF with a quandary: do they try to continue enforcement of the NFA on non-parties to the lawsuits – parties that would inevitably bring their own lawsuits?
Understandably, there was a great deal of confusion and hesitation in gun stores across the U.S.
ATF Guidance
On October 9, the ATF released guidance about its enforcement of the laws and rules surrounding NFA sans the tax justification. In very general terms, the agency elected not to enforce any NFA rules related to (1) short-barreled rifles, (2) short-barreled shotguns, (3) silencers and (4) any other weapon[s] as defined by 26 U.S.C. § 5845(e). However, the same items are still subject to the Gun Control Act of 1968 and other applicable local, state and federal laws.
What does that mean? Mostly it means the ATF is not requiring that you deal with the NFA paperwork (Form 1 and Form 4) to make, purchase, and possess a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun or suppressor. However, purchases of these items from a dealer are still subject to the standard 4473 form and background check.
Federal law is a tangled mess, and there are plenty of places where you can still get tripped up. For example, you will still need ATF approval on a Form 20 to cross state lines with an SBR or SBS, as that regulation stems from the Gun Control Act and not the National Firearms Act.
Oh, and buying an SBR or SBS on a 4473 may change in the very near future as the Gun Control Act – not the NFA – requires all such transfers to have the approval of the Attorney General. That approval was something that was part of the NFA approval process. For the time being, the ATF is not enforcing that aspect of the Gun Control Act until it figures out what new forms and regulations it may want to impose. We could consider non-enforcement on SBR and SBS purchases a temporary pause with a new approval step coming at some point in the future.
Don’t forget about 18 U.S.C. § 922(r). It can turn you into a criminal for swapping U.S. made parts onto an imported firearm if you don’t meet arbitrary part counts. For example, affix a Magpul stock onto an imported pistol and you might find yourself in violation. ATF regulation 27 CFR § 478.39 covers this in more detail.
But, that’s all at the federal level. Many states have additional restrictions on these items. For example, some states allow for an SBR or suppressor only if you have federal NFA paperwork. To address this, the ATF is allowing for the voluntarily completion of NFA paperwork to register the item.
Some states have outright prohibitions on the firearms and accessories. Nothing about the ATF guidance changes this; these remain illegal under state laws.
Bottom Line: Seek qualified legal counsel to determine the legality of the items in your specific jurisdiction. There are many twists and turns, and this is uncharted territory.
Straight from the ATF
The ATF has a page with the latest NFA guidance here. I recommend you carefully read it. Here are a few highlights:
“Yes. For various policy reasons, ATF will cease enforcement on October 9, 2026, of the following NFA provisions as applied only to short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and “any other weapon[s]” as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(e):
- The requirement to apply and obtain prior approval to make NFA firearms
- The requirement of those engaged in the business to register NFA firearms within 24 hours of making
- The requirement to apply and obtain prior approval to transfer NFA firearms
- The requirement to register a firearm in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record
- The various prohibitions on making, receiving, transferring, and possessing unregistered NFA firearms, other than the prohibitions in 26 U.S.C. § 5861(h), (k) (prohibiting possession of firearms with obliterated serial numbers or those illegally imported)
- The prohibition against transporting unregistered NFA firearms in interstate commerce (26 U.S.C. § 5861(j))
- The NFA requirement to mark all NFA firearms
- Any other NFA provision specifically enjoined by the district court’s judgment
This nonenforcement only extends to firearms on which Congress eliminated the making and transfer taxes. Among other policy reasons, this nonenforcement policy is designed to eliminate the inequity and disuniformity created by the district court’s injunction, which is limited only to certain parties.”
– Update to NFA Transfer Guidance from the ATF
The ATF also makes it clear that just as an individual can make a firearm for their own personal use, an individual can also make and transfer these items without government intrusion. They state:
“…unlicensed individuals no longer need to file a Form 1 and receive ATF approval before making or transferring such items. Unlicensed individuals may voluntarily file Form 1s, if they wish to register their firearms or devices in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
GCA requirements continue to apply, however. For example, unlicensed individuals may not engage in the business of manufacturing or transferring these weapons. Unlicensed individuals may not transfer NFA items to residents of other states or to persons prohibited by law from possessing firearms.”
– Update to NFA Transfer Guidance from the ATF
Potential Problems
This all sounds great – and it is. But, there are serious potential problems, and they are spelled out in the ATF FAQ. In broad strokes, the downside is that any future Congress can implement a new tax which would likely reactivate the NFA’s registration requirement. There is no “grandfather” clause built into the law, meaning that you may not be able to lawfully register the NFA item in question.
Additionally, any future administration could change its approach to enforcement. The next ATF director could write a new guidance letter and change everything back. What you buy legally today on a 4473 could require a Form 4 tomorrow – and there is no way to stop that short of heading back to court.
At the risk of sounding like a trite high school civics class, the true best defense is voting. If firearms owners voted on Second Amendment lines, we would have an unbeatable bloc in Congress which would allow us to codify the ATF’s decisions. Sadly, too many gun owners can’t make time once every two years to vote. Let’s change that.
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