Can You Buy a Suppressor? Eligibility, Costs, and Process

To buy a suppressor, you purchase it through a licensed NFA dealer, file ATF Form 4 with fingerprints and a passport-style photo, notify your chief law enforcement officer, pass a federal background check, and wait for ATF approval before you can take it home. As of January 1, 2026, the $200 federal transfer tax that applied to suppressor purchases for nearly 90 years is gone, reduced to $0.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5811 – Transfer Tax The registration process itself is unchanged. That is where most buyers get tripped up, so it pays to know how to buy a suppressor step by step before you walk into a dealer.

Confirm Your State Allows It

Suppressors are legal for civilians in 42 states. Eight states prohibit civilian ownership entirely.2American Suppressor Association. State Legislation Federal registration cannot override a state ban, so this is the first thing to check. State law also controls whether you can hunt with a suppressor. Nine states forbid that use even where ownership is legal.

Who Can Legally Buy One

Federal eligibility for a suppressor tracks the same rules as for any firearm. You must be at least 21, a U.S. resident, and not fall into any of the prohibited categories in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts You will be denied if you:

  • Have a felony conviction (any crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment)
  • Are a fugitive from justice
  • Are an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance
  • Have been adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
  • Are unlawfully in the United States, or in the country on most nonimmigrant visas
  • Were dishonorably discharged from the military
  • Have renounced U.S. citizenship
  • Are subject to certain domestic restraining orders
  • Have a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction

Marijuana Use Still Disqualifies You

Even in states that have legalized marijuana, regular use disqualifies you under federal law. An ATF interim final rule effective January 22, 2026, tightened the definition of “unlawful user” to require evidence of regular and recent use over an extended period, so a one-time or sporadic incident no longer triggers the prohibition.4Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance Anyone using marijuana on a consistent basis remains a prohibited person regardless of state legality.

Decide How to Register It: Individual or Trust

Before you file, you have to choose how the suppressor will be registered. There are three options: you as an individual, an NFA gun trust, or a legal entity like a corporation or LLC. The choice controls who can legally possess the suppressor and how much paperwork you’ll do.

Registering as an individual is the simplest path. Only you submit fingerprints and a photo, and only you can legally possess the suppressor. The catch is strict: no one else can have it in their control, ever, unless you are physically present and maintaining control of it. Not a spouse, not a friend, not overnight.

An NFA gun trust lets multiple people, called responsible persons, legally possess and use the suppressor. Every responsible person on the trust must undergo a background check and file ATF Form 5320.23 with their own fingerprints and photo.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Background Checks for Responsible Persons More paperwork, more flexibility. A trust also simplifies inheritance, since the suppressor passes to surviving trustees without a new purchase process. Professionally drafted NFA trusts typically run $60 to $150.

Corporations and LLCs work similarly to trusts but come with ongoing business filing obligations, so most individual buyers pick between individual and trust.

The Buying Process Step by Step

1. Find a Licensed NFA Dealer and Pick Your Suppressor

Suppressors can only be transferred through a Federal Firearms Licensee who also holds Special Occupational Taxpayer status. These FFL/SOT dealers handle the NFA paperwork and act as the transfer point between the manufacturer or distributor and you.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide – Section: NFA Transfers You pay for the suppressor when you buy it, but it stays with the dealer until the ATF approves your application. Most dealers charge a transfer fee of roughly $25 to $150 on top of the retail price.

2. Complete ATF Form 4

ATF Form 4 (Form 5320.4) is the application to transfer and register the suppressor to you.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm (Tax-Paid) ATF Form 5320.4 It asks for the suppressor’s manufacturer, caliber, and serial number, plus your personal identifying information. Individual applicants attach a 2×2-inch passport-style photograph taken within the last six months and submit completed FBI fingerprint cards (Form FD-258). If you’re buying through a trust or entity, every responsible person files a separate Form 5320.23 with their own photo and prints.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act Responsible Person Questionnaire Form 5320.23

3. Notify Your Chief Law Enforcement Officer

You must send a copy of the completed Form 4 to the chief law enforcement officer with jurisdiction where you live. That’s typically your chief of police, sheriff, head of state police, or local district attorney. This is a one-way notice. The CLEO does not have to approve anything and cannot block your application. You just note the name and location of the notified CLEO on your form.9RegInfo.gov. CLEO Notification Comment Draft Trust applicants also send a copy of each responsible person’s Form 5320.23 to the CLEO.

4. Submit the Application

You can file electronically through the ATF’s eForms system or by mailing a paper application. Electronic filing is faster and is the default choice unless you have a specific reason to use paper. Your dealer usually walks you through submission and often files the eForm on your behalf.

What the Wait Looks Like

ATF processing times have dropped substantially from the months-long waits of prior years. Current averages for Form 4 applications:

  • eForm 4, individual: about 10 days
  • eForm 4, trust: about 26 days
  • Paper Form 4, individual: about 21 days
  • Paper Form 4, trust: about 24 days

These are averages. Some applications take longer due to additional research or volume swings.10ATF Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times Filing an eForm as an individual is the fastest route. Trust filings run longer because every responsible person has to clear a separate background check.

If You’re Denied

If your Form 4 is denied because the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System returned a “denied” result, you can challenge that result through the FBI’s Firearm Related Challenge process using your NICS Transaction Number. It follows the same procedure used to appeal a denied retail firearm purchase. If the ATF denies you for a reason other than a NICS denial, that appeal route doesn’t apply and your options are more limited.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF and FBI Formalize Appeals Process for Certain National Firearms Act Applicants

What It Costs in 2026

The federal transfer tax was reduced from $200 to $0 effective January 1, 2026, under legislation signed on July 4, 2025. The same schedule zeroed out the making tax under 26 U.S.C. § 5821 for people who build their own suppressors on a Form 1. The $0 rate applies to suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons”; machine guns and destructive devices still carry the $200 transfer tax.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5811 – Transfer Tax

Your total out-of-pocket now looks like this:

  • The suppressor itself: roughly $200 to $400 for entry-level rimfire models, $700 to $1,200 for standard centerfire rifle suppressors, and $1,500 or more for high-end modular or titanium designs
  • Dealer transfer fee: about $25 to $150
  • NFA trust (if you use one): about $60 to $150
  • Federal transfer tax: $0

The elimination of the tax stamp does not eliminate the registration. You still file Form 4, submit fingerprints and a photo, pass the background check, and wait for approval. Only the fee is gone.

After Approval

Once the ATF approves your Form 4, it sends the approved form back to your dealer. The dealer will call you in, run a final verification, and hand over the suppressor along with the approved form. That form is your proof of legal registration, and you’re required to keep it accessible and produce it if an ATF officer asks.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm (Tax-Paid) ATF Form 5320.4 Many owners keep a copy in their range bag or on their phone and store the original safely at home.

Who Can Actually Use It

If you registered as an individual, only you can possess it. Someone else can shoot a firearm with your suppressor attached at the range, but only while you are physically present and maintaining control of it. Handing it off to a friend to take home, even overnight, is an illegal transfer. If you registered through a trust, every responsible person named on the trust can independently possess and transport it. That is the main practical reason people choose a trust.

Traveling With It

Unlike machine guns and short-barreled rifles or shotguns, suppressors do not require ATF Form 5320.20 approval before crossing state lines.12ATF. Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act Firearms You can transport a suppressor interstate without notifying the ATF. What you cannot do is take it into one of the eight states that ban ownership; that is a serious federal and state offense regardless of your registration. Bring a copy of your approved Form 4 whenever you travel.

Why Not to Cut Corners

Possessing an unregistered suppressor, transferring one without ATF approval, or lying on your application are all federal felonies under 26 U.S.C. § 5861.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5861 – Prohibited Acts A conviction carries up to 10 years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for an organization.14ATF. NFA Handbook – Chapter 15 – Penalties and Sanctions “I didn’t know I had to register it” is not a defense. Buying, selling, inheriting, or building a suppressor is worth doing the right way, every time, through the ATF process laid out above.