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NFA guides
Straight answers on silencers, short-barreled rifles and the paperwork, written by a licensed SOT dealer who files these every week. No affiliate links, no hype, and we'll tell you when the answer is "don't buy that."
Where we stand, updated October 9, 2026. On October 9, 2026 ATF published an Open Letter and FAQs saying it will no longer enforce the requirement to get ATF approval before making or transferring — or to register — suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and “any other weapons.” ATF applies this to everyone, not only the parties to the lawsuit, and calls it enforcement discretion.
We have changed our process to match. For those four categories we now transfer on a completed ATF Form 4473 and a NICS background check. No Form 4. No tax stamp. No waiting for an approval that is no longer required.
What has not changed. Machine guns and destructive devices still carry the $200 tax and the full NFA process, with no exceptions. A Form 4473 and a NICS check are still required on every transfer — ATF’s FAQ says so in terms. You still have to be legally allowed to possess a firearm. Our own five business day wait still applies to buyers without a Florida concealed weapon license; that is our policy, not a legal requirement, and we are keeping it. And this is federal — it does not change state or local law.
If you would rather have the paperwork, ATF still accepts and approves Form 1 and Form 4 applications from anyone who wants to register voluntarily. Say so and we will file it for you.
This could change back. ATF has said that material changes in legal or factual circumstances could cause enforcement to resume — a new tax from Congress, the injunction being dissolved or overturned, or the Department rescinding the guidance. We will update this page if that happens, and we date every revision. Read ATF’s guidance and FAQs · read the Open Letter.
The guides
Start here
How to buy a suppressor
Form 3, Form 4, fingerprints, the $0 stamp, and what really happens between paying and taking it home.
Read the guide →Updated 2026
What a tax stamp costs
$0 for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs. Still $200 for machine guns. Why that change mattered far more than the money.
Read the guide →Guide
Trust vs. individual
Which registration route fits, who else can legally possess the item, and what each costs you in time and money.
Read the guide →Guide
SBRs: Form 1 vs. Form 4
Building your own short-barreled rifle versus buying one already made, and when each makes sense.
Read the guide →Local
Florida NFA law
What's legal to own and hunt with in Florida, and the one state statute that catches people out.
Read the guide →The shop
Transfers, fees & the rules
What we charge, what you bring, what ships where, and the policies we would rather you read before you order.
Read the page →Not finding your question? Email Aaron@burntofferingsdefense.com. If enough people ask the same thing, it becomes the next guide.
Tell me when this changes
NFA rules are moving faster in 2026 than they have in forty years. We update these guides when something actually changes — an ATF statement, a court order, a new form. Leave an email and we will tell you when we do.