How to Purchase a Suppressor: Eligibility, Forms, and Approval

To buy a suppressor, you register the device with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives by filing ATF Form 4 through a licensed dealer, submitting fingerprints and a passport-style photo, passing a fingerprint-based background check, and waiting for approval before you can take it home. The federal transfer tax on suppressors is currently $0, though the full registration process still applies.¹ As of January 2026, eForm 4 approvals are averaging roughly 10 to 11 days, a sharp improvement over the months-long waits of prior years.²

Check Whether You Can Legally Buy One

Two things have to line up before you spend any money: your state, and you.

Forty-two states allow private suppressor ownership. Eight states and the District of Columbia prohibit them outright: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. If you live in one of these places, federal approval is irrelevant because state law blocks the sale. Some localities in permissive states also restrict how or where suppressors can be used, so check local ordinances before buying.

You must be at least 21 to purchase from a licensed dealer.³ You must be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident, and you cannot fall into any of the categories federal law bars from possessing firearms:⁴

Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
Fugitives from justice
Current users of, or persons addicted to, controlled substances
Anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
Most nonimmigrant visa holders and anyone unlawfully in the United States
Anyone dishonorably discharged from the military
Former U.S. citizens who have renounced citizenship
Anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order
Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

Lying about any of this on the application is itself a federal crime, so if a bar applies, submitting the form is not just futile.

Decide: Individual Registration or NFA Trust

Every suppressor gets registered either to a person or to a legal entity such as an NFA trust or corporation. The choice shapes both the paperwork you file and who can legally touch the suppressor after you own it.

Registering as an individual is simpler. You fill out Form 4 in your name, submit your fingerprints and photo, and the suppressor is registered to you. The catch: only you can have unsupervised access. If your spouse takes it to the range without you there, that is technically a federal violation, and when you die, your heirs have to go through a separate ATF transfer to take legal possession.

An NFA trust is a legal document naming multiple trustees, each of whom can legally possess and use the suppressor without you present. Trusts also keep the suppressor within the trust when a trustee dies, avoiding an individual transfer. The tradeoff is more paperwork upfront: every “responsible person” on the trust must submit their own fingerprints and photograph, and each completes ATF Form 5320.23.⁵ Professionally drafted NFA trusts typically run anywhere from about $60 to $600 depending on complexity and the attorney.

Find a Dealer and Pick Your Suppressor

Suppressors can only be transferred through a Federal Firearms License holder who has also paid the Special Occupational Tax, referred to as an FFL/SOT dealer. Not every gun shop qualifies. Many buyers shop suppressor inventories online and have the item shipped to a local FFL/SOT, similar to buying any other firearm online. You pay for the suppressor at purchase, but the dealer holds it in inventory until the ATF approves your paperwork.

The federal transfer tax under 26 U.S.C. § 5811 is currently $0 for suppressors; the $200 transfer tax still applies to machineguns and destructive devices, but not suppressors.¹ The registration process is unchanged: you still file Form 4, submit fingerprints, and wait. The suppressor must be entered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record before you take possession.³

Gather Your Documents

The application centers on ATF Form 4, formally the “Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm.”⁶ Your dealer fills out their portion; you complete the applicant sections. Along with the form, you need:

Two completed FBI Form FD-258 fingerprint cards per applicant, or per responsible person if you are using a trust. Local law enforcement or private fingerprinting services can do these, and private services typically charge around $50.
A 2×2-inch passport-style frontal photograph taken within the past six months for individual applicants, or within the past year for trust responsible persons.
Trust or corporate formation documents if you are registering through an entity, plus a completed ATF Form 5320.23 for each responsible person along with that person’s own fingerprint cards and photo.⁵

Submit the Application

Your dealer sends the completed package to the ATF, either through the eForms system or on paper.⁶

eForms

The dealer initiates the transfer electronically through the ATF eForms portal, and you certify your portion with an electronic signature. Fingerprint cards still get mailed in separately unless your dealer uses an approved electronic fingerprint submission. As of January 2026, ATF-reported eForms turnaround averages 10 days for individual applications and 11 days for trusts.²

Paper

A paper application means mailing the physical Form 4, fingerprint cards, and photograph to the ATF’s NFA Division. It is still accepted but slower. January 2026 data shows averages of 24 days for trusts and 28 days for individuals on paper.² For most buyers there is no reason to go this route.

Wait for Approval, Then Pick It Up

The ATF reviews the application for completeness, runs a fingerprint-based background check, and processes the registration. That check is more thorough than the standard name-based NICS check used for ordinary firearm sales.⁷ There is no real-time online status tracker for Form 4 applications; to check status, email the Industry Processing Branch at ipb@atf.gov.⁸ Applications get denied for eligibility problems, incomplete paperwork, or errors on the form. A denial does not bar you from reapplying once the issue is fixed, but careless mistakes are the most common reason applications stall.

Once approved, the dealer receives either an electronic notification (eForms) or a physically stamped form (paper) and calls you in to finalize the transfer.⁶ At the shop you complete an ATF Form 4473, the standard Firearms Transaction Record. Because the fingerprint-based check already ran during NFA approval, a second NICS check is not required.⁹ After the 4473, you walk out with the suppressor. Keep a copy of the approved Form 4 with the suppressor whenever you have it. That document is your proof of registration if law enforcement asks.

Know the Rules That Kick In Once You Own It

Two things trip up new owners more than anything else on the buying side.

First, access. If the suppressor is registered to you individually, only you can have unsupervised access. Others can handle or shoot it in your presence, but leaving it in an unlocked safe where a spouse or roommate could grab it while you are out is a legal problem. Under the doctrine of constructive possession, anyone able to exercise control over the device could be treated as possessing an unregistered NFA firearm, which is a federal crime.¹⁰ Either use a trust that names household members as trustees, or store the suppressor in a locked container only you can open.

Second, travel. Suppressors do not require prior ATF authorization to cross state lines. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(4) lists short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, machineguns, and destructive devices as the NFA items requiring written permission via ATF Form 5320.20; suppressors are not on that list.⁴ You still cannot bring one into any of the eight prohibiting states; doing so is a state crime regardless of your federal paperwork. If you move permanently, filing a Form 5320.20 so the ATF can update your address in the registry is recommended even though not technically required for suppressors.¹¹ Carry your approved Form 4 whenever the suppressor travels with you.

What Happens If You Skip the Process

Possessing an unregistered suppressor, transferring one outside the registration process, or making a false statement on an NFA application is a federal felony. Conviction carries a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 10 years in prison, or both.¹² Federal law treats each component part of a suppressor as a suppressor in itself, so even a single unregistered baffle or end cap can theoretically trigger the same exposure as a complete unregistered unit.¹³ “I didn’t know” is not a defense. Follow the process.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5811 – Transfer Tax
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times
3
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act Responsible Person Questionnaire
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm – ATF Form 5320.4
7
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Firearms Checks (NICS)
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. eForms Applications
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 5861 – Prohibited Acts
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain NFA Firearms
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5871 – Penalties
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 5845 – Definitions