An NFA firearm is any weapon that falls into one of the six categories Congress singled out for federal registration and taxation under the National Firearms Act: short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, machine guns, silencers, destructive devices, and a catch-all category called “any other weapons.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives administers the system and tracks every legally owned item in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record from the moment it is made until it is destroyed.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53 – Machine Guns, Destructive Devices, and Certain Other Firearms Starting January 1, 2026, the tax for making or transferring most of these items dropped to $0. Machine guns and destructive devices still carry the $200 tax that used to apply across the board.
The Six Categories
Short-Barreled Rifles and Shotguns
A short-barreled rifle is any rifle with a barrel under 16 inches or an overall length under 26 inches. A short-barreled shotgun follows the same rule with an 18-inch barrel threshold, so any shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches or an overall length under 26 inches falls under the NFA.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application to Make and Register a Firearm If you modify a pistol or rifle in a way that crosses these thresholds, you have “made” an NFA firearm and need ATF approval before doing so.
Machine Guns
A machine gun is any weapon that fires more than one shot with a single trigger pull without manual reloading. The definition also captures the frame or receiver of such a weapon, any parts designed exclusively to convert a firearm into one, and any combination of parts that could be assembled into one.3Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 27 CFR 478.11 – Meaning of Terms This category carries the heaviest restrictions of anything in the NFA.
Silencers
A silencer, sometimes called a suppressor, is any device that reduces the sound of a gunshot from a portable firearm. The definition extends beyond finished units to internal components and to any combination of parts intended for assembling a silencer.3Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 27 CFR 478.11 – Meaning of Terms A single baffle, endcap, or tube that qualifies as a silencer part triggers the same registration requirement as a completed unit.
Destructive Devices
Destructive devices split into two groups. The first covers explosive items: bombs, grenades, rockets with propellant charges over four ounces, missiles with explosive charges over a quarter ounce, and mines. The second covers firearms with a bore diameter over one-half inch, unless the ATF determines a specific shotgun or shotgun shell is suitable for sporting purposes.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5845 – Definitions The sporting-purpose exception is why 12-gauge shotguns, whose bore exceeds .50 caliber, are not classified as destructive devices.
Any Other Weapons
The “any other weapon” category is a catch-all for concealable devices that do not fit the other definitions. The statute specifically covers smooth-bore handguns designed to fire shotgun shells, weapons with combination shotgun-and-rifle barrels between 12 and 18 inches, and disguised firearms such as pen guns and cane guns.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5845 – Definitions
The 1986 Cutoff for Machine Guns
Federal law bars civilians from transferring or possessing a machine gun, with one exception: machine guns lawfully possessed before May 19, 1986.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 922 – Unlawful Acts The Firearm Owners Protection Act closed the registry to new civilian entries on that date. The pool of “transferable” machine guns is fixed and shrinking, and prices reflect that scarcity. Entry-level transferable models like MAC-10s and MAC-11s start around $15,000, while HK MP5s or Colt M16s can run $30,000 to $60,000 or more. Government agencies and licensed manufacturers with the correct federal credentials can still acquire post-1986 machine guns, but those firearms can never move to a private individual.
Who Can Legally Own One
Eligibility starts with the general federal prohibitions in 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g). You cannot possess any firearm if you have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, have a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction, have been adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, are a fugitive, are an unlawful user of controlled substances, or fall into any of the other prohibited categories.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
Beyond those baseline disqualifiers, you generally need to be at least 21 to buy an NFA item from a licensed dealer. Acquiring one through a non-dealer transfer or a legal trust may be possible at 18, depending on the item and state law. U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency is typically required. You also have to live in a state where the specific item is legal. Federal registration does not override a state ban.
What It Costs After 2026
For decades, every NFA registration required a $200 tax, or $5 for AOW transfers. That changed on January 1, 2026. The making tax and the transfer tax both dropped to $0 for every NFA category except machine guns and destructive devices, which still carry the $200 tax.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5811 – Transfer Tax8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5821 – Making Tax The $0 rate applies to both Form 1 (making) and Form 4 (transfer) applications. The full process still applies regardless of whether tax is owed: background checks, fingerprints, photographs, CLEO notification, and ATF approval.
How Registration Works
The form depends on what you are doing. ATF Form 1 is for making an NFA firearm yourself, such as assembling a short-barreled rifle from a pistol. ATF Form 4 is for receiving an existing NFA item from a dealer or private party.9Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application To Make and Register NFA Firearm, ATF Form 5320.1 (Form 1) In either case you submit the application and wait for approval before making or taking possession. Building before Form 1 approval or taking delivery before Form 4 approval is a federal crime.
Every applicant provides two sets of fingerprint cards (FBI Form FD-258) and two passport-style photographs, 2 inches by 2 inches, taken within the past year.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Handbook The ATF runs these through the FBI. You also send a copy of the completed application to your local Chief Law Enforcement Officer. The CLEO does not have to approve anything; this became a notification-only requirement in 2016, but the notice has to go out before you submit to the ATF.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Questions and Answers
You can file through the ATF’s eForms portal or mail paper forms to the NFA Division in Martinsburg, West Virginia. eForms is generally faster and allows digital payment. Approval produces a tax stamp, physical or digital, which is your proof of registration. Keep it permanently, because you have to produce it on request by any ATF officer.12Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. ATF Form 5320.4 – Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm (Tax-Paid)
Individual or Trust
You can register as an individual or through a legal entity like a trust or corporation. Individual registration is simpler: just your fingerprints and photos. It also restricts possession to you alone. A trust lets multiple trustees access the firearms, which is useful for family or shooting partners. The cost is more paperwork. You submit the trust instrument and a Responsible Person Questionnaire, with fingerprints and photos, for every trustee who has authority over the trust’s assets, and each responsible person goes through their own background check.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Questions and Answers
Rules After You Have One
Everyday Possession
Store the original tax stamp securely and carry a copy whenever you have the firearm with you. If you registered as an individual, only you may possess it. Someone else can fire it at a range while you are physically present and directly supervising, but they cannot borrow it or have unsupervised access. A trust registration gives more flexibility: any trustee listed as a responsible person can independently possess and transport the item. Leaving an NFA firearm where an unauthorized person could access it without supervision can create a constructive possession problem for both of you, so a locked safe that only authorized users can open is the simplest way to stay compliant.
Crossing State Lines
Taking a machine gun, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or destructive device across state lines requires advance ATF approval on Form 5320.20. That applies to temporary trips and permanent moves alike.13Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 5320.20 – Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms Silencers and AOWs are exempt from the travel notification requirement. If you are moving to a new state, you still need an approved Form 5320.20 for the covered items before you cross, and you have to confirm the destination state allows what you are bringing.14Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application to Transport Interstate or Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms – ATF F 5320.20
Sending It for Repair
The ATF does not treat sending an NFA firearm to a licensed gunsmith for temporary repair as a transfer, so no transfer form is required. The ATF recommends filing a Form 5 before shipping and having the gunsmith file a Form 5 to return the item, which creates a paper trail showing the purpose was repair, not a change of ownership.15Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Handbook If you skip the Form 5, both parties should keep documentation identifying the firearm, the repair purpose, and the expected timeline. If the shop is in another state and the item is a machine gun, SBR, SBS, or destructive device, you need an approved Form 5320.20 before shipping.
When the Owner Dies
When an NFA firearm owner dies, the executor of the estate takes custody of the registered items and is responsible for transferring them before probate closes.16Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Transfers of National Firearms Act Firearms in Decedents’ Estates The executor’s possession during probate is not itself a transfer, so no registration application is needed just to hold the firearms while settling the estate.17eCFR. 27 CFR Part 479 Subpart F – Exemptions Relating to Transfers of Firearms A transfer to a named beneficiary uses ATF Form 5 and is tax-exempt, so the heir does not pay the $200 tax even for machine guns or destructive devices.18Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm (ATF Form 5) The beneficiary still has to pass a background check and live in a state where the item is legal.
One situation catches families off guard. If the estate contains an unregistered NFA firearm, it cannot be registered after the fact. Unregistered NFA items are contraband, and the executor should contact the local ATF field office to arrange surrender rather than trying to keep or sell the firearm.16Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Transfers of National Firearms Act Firearms in Decedents’ Estates Handing it to a dealer for consignment or safekeeping during probate would itself be a transfer requiring NFA approval.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Possessing an unregistered NFA firearm, making one without approval, or transferring one outside the NFA process are all federal felonies. Conviction carries up to 10 years in prison.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 5871 The NFA statute caps fines at $10,000, but general federal sentencing law raises the maximum to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organizations.20Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Handbook The firearm is subject to seizure and forfeiture regardless of the criminal outcome. These penalties apply whether you knowingly violated the law or simply failed to follow the process, so honest ignorance provides very little protection here.