What Is the NFA? The National Firearms Act: Costs and Registration

The National Firearms Act is a 1934 federal law that regulates a specific list of weapons — silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, destructive devices, and a catch-all category called “any other weapons” — by requiring each one to be registered with the federal government and each transfer to be approved in advance. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives runs the registry and processes the applications.¹ Ordinary handguns, rifles, and shotguns are not covered. If what you own or want to buy falls into one of the regulated categories, you cannot simply walk out of a gun store with it; the paperwork comes first.

Which Weapons Are Regulated

The categories are defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845. A weapon qualifies if it fits one of these descriptions:

Short-barreled rifle: a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches or an overall length under 26 inches. Cutting down a standard rifle to those dimensions turns it into an NFA item.²
Short-barreled shotgun: a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches or overall length under 26 inches.²
Machine gun: any weapon that fires more than one round per trigger pull, plus the frame or receiver of one, and any part or combination of parts designed to convert a semi-automatic firearm into one. Drop-in auto sears and lightning links are included.²
Silencer (suppressor): any device that reduces the sound of a firearm, including individual components meant for building or repairing one.²
Destructive device: explosives, grenades, mines, and firearms with a bore over half an inch. Shotguns recognized as suitable for sporting use are excluded.²
Any Other Weapons (AOWs): a catch-all for concealable weapons that don’t fit the other categories. Smooth-bore pistols, cane guns, pen guns, and pistols with a vertical foregrip fall here.²

The 1986 Machine Gun Cutoff

Machine guns carry an additional restriction that the other NFA categories do not. Federal law makes it illegal for a civilian to transfer or possess any machine gun not lawfully owned before May 19, 1986.³ The Firearms Owners’ Protection Act froze the civilian supply on that date.¹ Because no new machine guns can enter the civilian market, transferable ones typically start in the tens of thousands of dollars.

What It Costs in 2026

The $200 tax stamp is now the exception, not the rule. Section 70436 of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21) dropped the transfer and making tax to zero for every NFA item other than machine guns and destructive devices.⁴ Current rates:

Silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs: $0 for transfers and new builds.⁵
Machine guns and destructive devices: $200 per item, for both transfers and new builds.⁶

The tax dropping to zero does not shorten the paperwork or shrink the background check. You still need ATF approval and proper registration before taking possession. The process is identical whether the tax is $200 or $0.

How Registration Works

Every NFA acquisition starts with an ATF application. Which form you use depends on what you’re doing:

Form 4 for buying an existing NFA item from a dealer or another person. The dealer files on your behalf.⁷
Form 1 for building or converting an NFA item yourself, such as putting a short barrel on a rifle you already own.⁷

Both forms require two FBI FD-258 fingerprint cards and a passport-style photograph for each applicant.⁸ Filing through the ATF’s eForms portal lets you upload a digital fingerprint file instead of mailing physical cards; if you use paper cards, they must be mailed within 10 days of submitting an electronic application. You also send a copy of your completed application to the chief law enforcement officer in your jurisdiction. That is a notification, not a permission request. The officer has no authority to stop the transfer.

eForms is much faster than paper. As of February 2026, individual Form 4 applications averaged about 10 days, and trust-based Form 4s averaged around 26 days.⁹ Paper applications take considerably longer because the ATF has to enter the data manually. Once the FBI clears the background check and the ATF approves the form, the dealer receives the approved stamp and can release the item.

Your approved stamp, digital or physical, is the only proof you have that the item is legally registered. It is tied to a specific serial number and to you. Store it somewhere safe and be prepared to produce it on request.

Individual, Trust, or LLC

An NFA item can be registered to you personally, to a gun trust, or to a legal entity such as an LLC. The practical difference matters. When an item is registered to you alone, nobody else can legally possess it unless you are physically present. A trust lets you name co-trustees who can independently possess, transport, and use the items.

Trusts also help with inheritance. Items held in a trust can pass to beneficiaries outside probate, which is where individually registered NFA items can create real complications. For anyone planning to own more than one or two items, a trust keeps things manageable long-term.

The cost is more paperwork per application. Every “responsible person” on a trust or entity must submit ATF Form 5320.23 with their own fingerprint cards, photograph, and chief law enforcement officer notification.¹⁰ A “responsible person” is anyone who can exercise control over the trust’s NFA items, whatever their formal title. More trustees means more background checks per application.

Who Cannot Own NFA Items

The federal firearm prohibitions apply to NFA items just as they do to any other gun. You cannot possess an NFA firearm if you:

Have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
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 in the United States unlawfully or on most nonimmigrant visas
Were dishonorably discharged from the military
Have renounced U.S. citizenship
Are subject to certain domestic restraining orders
Have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

Any of these disqualifies you and will result in a denied application.³ If someone in your household falls into a prohibited category, storing NFA items where that person has access can expose both of you to criminal liability under the doctrine of constructive possession. A locked safe with a combination only authorized people know is the standard fix.

State Law Can Still Ban Your Item

A federal tax stamp does not preempt state law. Several states ban silencers, some prohibit civilian machine guns entirely, and others allow only pre-existing registrations under a state-specific cutoff. A few jurisdictions prohibit nearly every NFA category. Check your state and local law before you file. An approved federal application will not protect you if your state bans the item.

Crossing State Lines

Federal law requires ATF authorization before you transport a machine gun, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or destructive device across state lines.³ You get it by filing ATF Form 5320.20 before you travel, and you should file well ahead of your date so the ATF can process it in time.¹¹ Silencers and AOWs are not listed in that statute and do not require the Form 5320.20 approval, though you still need to confirm the destination state allows possession.¹² The same form applies to permanent moves. If you relocate to another state with a covered item, get ATF approval before you move it.

Passing Items to Heirs

When an owner dies, NFA items can pass to a lawful heir on ATF Form 5, a tax-exempt transfer. No payment is required regardless of the item category, which makes inheritance the one situation in which even machine guns and destructive devices transfer at no tax cost. The heir still goes through a background check and must be legally eligible to possess firearms.

If the deceased registered items individually, the estate executor typically handles the Form 5 process during probate. Items held in a gun trust usually transfer more smoothly because the trust document already designates successors and sits outside probate. An heir who cannot legally possess firearms, or who lives in a state that prohibits the item, needs to arrange a transfer to an eligible person or a licensed dealer instead.

Penalties

Federal law lists the prohibited acts: possessing an unregistered NFA firearm, receiving one transferred without proper approval, making one without ATF authorization, altering or removing a serial number, and transporting an unregistered item across state lines are the major ones.¹³ Violations carry up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $10,000 under the NFA’s own penalty statute.¹⁴ Because NFA violations are felonies, the general federal sentencing statute allows fines up to $250,000 per offense.¹⁵ Any firearm involved is subject to seizure and permanent forfeiture. “I didn’t know it was regulated” is not a defense. If you are unsure whether an item you own or plan to build qualifies, answer that question before you have a problem.

1
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5845 – Definitions
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
4
Federal Register. Changes to National Firearms Act Tax Remittance Provisions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5821 – Making Tax
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5811 – Transfer Tax
7
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. eForms Applications
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. NFA Form One Submission Requirements
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act (NFA) Responsible Person Questionnaire – ATF Form 5320.23
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application to Transport Interstate or Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms – ATF F 5320.20
12
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 5320.20 – Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5861 – Prohibited Acts
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5871 – Penalties
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine