BurntHome / NFA Guides / How to buy a suppressor
How to buy a suppressor
Buying a silencer is not complicated. It is regulated, it is slow, and almost everything written about it online is either out of date or trying to sell you something. Here is what actually happens between paying and taking it home.
The short version. You pick out the can, you fill in an ATF Form 4473, we run a NICS background check, and if you clear you take it home. Same as buying a rifle.
This changed on October 9, 2026. Until that date you filed a Form 4, sent fingerprints and a photo, and waited months for a stamp while the can sat in our safe. ATF no longer enforces that for suppressors. The note below sets out exactly what ATF said and, just as importantly, what it did not change.
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.
Step by step
-
Confirm it’s legal where you live
ATF’s guidance is federal and does not touch state law. Several states ban suppressors outright and others restrict them. This is the first question, not the last — a dealer who takes your money before checking is one to avoid. In Florida suppressors are legal to own and to hunt with — see Florida NFA law, Florida carry & gun laws and Florida hunting seasons.
-
Pick it out
If it is in the case, it is here. If it is not, we order it in from the distributor. That leg is between licensees and does not involve you. ATF no longer requires a Form 3 for it, though the paperwork can still be filed voluntarily.
-
Form 4473 and a NICS check
You complete an ATF Form 4473 at the counter and we run a NICS background check. This part has not changed and is not going to — ATF’s own FAQ says licensees must still do both. Bring valid photo ID. You still have to be legally allowed to possess a firearm.
-
Our five business day wait, if it applies to you
If you hold a Florida concealed weapon license, there is no wait. If you do not, we hold the item five business days. That is longer than the three Florida requires, it is our policy rather than the law, and we are keeping it.
-
Take it home
You collect it in person. No stamp to keep with it, because there is no stamp. If you would rather hold registration paperwork anyway, say so before we start and we will file a Form 4 for you — ATF still accepts and approves them.
What it costs
| Item | Cost | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| The silencer | Varies | Your dealer |
| ATF transfer tax | $0 | — no stamp required since Oct 9, 2026 |
| Fingerprinting and photo | Not needed | — only if you choose to register voluntarily |
| Gun trust, if you use one | Varies | An attorney — see below on whether you still need one |
| Machine guns & destructive devices | Still $200 | ATF — unchanged |
The tax elimination covers suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and AOWs. It came from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. Machine guns and destructive devices were not included.
The stamp being free did not, by itself, make the form optional. Zeroing the tax is also what brought the registration requirement down: a court held that a registration scheme with no tax behind it is no longer a tax, and on October 9, 2026 ATF stopped enforcing it. You still pass the background check. What it did do, a year later, was hand a court the argument that a registration scheme with no tax behind it is no longer a tax. See the status note above and the tax stamp page.
What you need to bring
Valid photo identification, and that is the whole list. The fingerprints and passport photo that used to hold everyone up are no longer required for a suppressor.
If you want to register it anyway. ATF continues to accept and approve Form 1 and Form 4 applications from anyone who wants one on file. Some people want the paperwork, and that is a reasonable choice while this is new. If that is you, tell us before we start, and bring the two things a filing still needs:
a digital .EFT fingerprint file from an electronic fingerprinting service, a local police department or any dealer running a kiosk; and a digital passport-style photograph. We do not run a fingerprint kiosk. Keep both somewhere you can find them — one set generally serves for future filings.
Individual, trust, or corporation?
The long version, including why the old “a trust is faster” advice stopped being true in 2016, is on trust vs. individual.
All three work. The practical difference is who else may legally possess the item.
| Route | Who can possess it | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | You, alone | Simplest. Nobody else may have access to it unsupervised. |
| Trust | Any responsible person named | Spouse or business partner can possess it. Every responsible person submits prints and photos. |
| Corporation | Per corporate structure | Usually only relevant if the entity already exists for other reasons. |
The honest answer on trusts: if you're the only person who will ever handle it, an individual filing is simpler and costs less. If your spouse might pick it up out of the safe, that's what a trust is for. We're not attorneys — if you want a trust drafted, we'll point you to someone who does that work.
How long does it really take?
Anyone quoting you a firm number is guessing. Approval times have swung from a few weeks to well over a year depending on filing method and how busy the NFA branch is.
Expect longer, not shorter. When the tax dropped to zero in January 2026, submissions surged — a lot of people who had been waiting for exactly that filed at once. Nothing about the tax change made ATF faster, and the queue got deeper. If someone tells you the free stamp means a quicker approval, they have it backwards.
Ask your dealer what their last ten Form 4s actually took. A shop that files regularly knows the current pace and will tell you. A shop that quotes you a number off a website is reading the same stale page you are.
Things that are commonly wrong online
- "It can ship to my door." No. Even for a buyer covered by the 2026 judgment, the item goes to a dealer and you collect it in person over a Form 4473 — that is Gun Control Act machinery the case never touched. Anyone offering to post you a can is not doing you a favour.
- "The tax is gone, so the paperwork is gone." Not by itself, and not for most people. The background check never goes away. If you are not covered by the 2026 judgment, the Form 4 and the approval still apply and possession before approval is still a felony — ask us which side of that line you are on rather than assuming.
- "The stamp is a license." It isn't. It's an approval for one specific item's transfer to one specific person. Selling that item later means another transfer and another form.
- "CLEO has to approve it." No. Your chief law enforcement officer is notified, not asked.
- "You can borrow a friend's can at the range." Only if you are a responsible person on the registration, or the registrant is present and it stays under their control. Get this wrong and it's a felony.
Common questions
Can I shoot it while I wait?
Not on your own — but with us, yes. You cannot take possession of a pending NFA item. Possession before approval is a serious federal offense, and no paperwork you've filed changes that.
What we can do is take you to a local range and let you use it under our direct supervision, because the item never leaves our possession. Our range officer stays with you, the item stays under our control the entire time, and it comes back to our safe with us. $100/hour covers the RSO and the range fee.
Two things to be clear about: you will be putting rounds through the item you're waiting on, so it won't be unfired when you collect it. And this is available on items we own outright — ask us when you order, because it isn't possible on every item.
Can I buy more than one at a time?
Yes, and more people do now that the tax is gone. Each item still needs its own Form 4 and its own approval, but they can be filed together and generally move through at a similar pace.
What if my Form 4 is denied?
ATF disapprovals and "return without action" letters happen, usually for correctable paperwork errors. The tax is refunded on a disapproval. Your dealer should be the one catching those errors before submission — that's most of what you're paying them for.
Can I use a dealer other than the one I bought from?
Only if that dealer holds an SOT. An NFA item cannot go to an ordinary FFL. If your local shop has the SOT, send us their license and we'll coordinate the Form 3.
Do I need to tell ATF when I move?
For silencers, no — they aren't subject to the interstate transport notification that applies to short-barreled rifles and machine guns. If you're moving to a state where they're not legal, that's a different problem entirely.
Questions we haven't answered here? Email Aaron@burntofferingsdefense.com. We'd rather spend fifteen minutes writing you a proper answer than have you buy the wrong thing. Appointments only, no walk-ins.
This guide is general information from a licensed dealer, not legal advice. Federal, state and local law changes. Confirm the rules in your own jurisdiction before you buy.