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Legal Suppressors and Short Barrel Rifles? Paperwork How-To

NFA Firearms Paperwork How-To - TheArmsGuide.com

June 14, 2016 by Kevin 4 Comments

Want to mount a suppressor on one of your firearms, own a short barreled rifle, or add a buttstock mod to your Glock 17? That means you’ll have to deal with some BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) red tape as any of these alterations qualify your gun as a NFA  firearm. The National Firearms Act, was originally passed in 1934 and restricted firearms such as, short barreled rifles and shotguns, fully automatic firearms (or “machine guns”), and suppressed firearms. The NFA introduced the $200 tax stamp required for those purchasing, modifying, or constructing a rifle with a barrel length shorter than 16in (26in overall), a shotgun with less than 18″ barrel (26″ overall), or a portable device that suppresses or muffles the sound of a gun as it fires (fully automatic firearms are further restricted by  the Firearm Owners Protection Act so that a civilian may not own a fully automatic firearm that was registered after May 19th, 1986).

The legal hoops one must jump to acquire the appropriate permissions for any NFA firearms aren’t as challenging as one might think. Tim (Sturmgewehre to some) from the Military Arms Channel has laid out the steps in an easy-to-follow video, which I have embedded into this post. Depending on which NFA firearm adaptation you want, you’ll need a couple different things:

Note: the ATF requires double sided forms, so make sure each form (1 or 4) is printed on a single piece of paper.

1. Form 1 (used when manufacturing a NFA item, e.g., cutting down a shotgun barrel, assembling a suppressor, etc.) – 2 per NFA item

or

2. Form 4 (used when transferring a NFA item to your ownership, e.g., purchasing a SBR, suppressor, or machine gun [registered before 1986], etc.) – 2 per NFA item

3. Blue FBI reference fingerprint cards – 2 per NFA item

4. Passport photos (which will need to be affixed to the duplicate NFA forms)- 2 per NFA item

5. Certification of compliance (citizenship form) (5330.20) – 1 per NFA item

6. Check for $200 – 1 per NFA item

Both the Form 1 and the Form 4 will need to be signed off by a local law enforcement official (such as your local chief of police or sheriff). Make sure all your paperwork is completely filled out, including all requisite signatures and dates, because if something was missed, it will delay the paperwork processing. The time it takes to get approval for your NFA firearm may vary, but, average wait is about four months.

Bundle all your completed forms and the necessary check(s), and fingerprint cards and mail it out to BATFE’s NFA Branch (the address is located on both forms). After that, all you need is a large reserve of patience, and the NFA firearm you want is yours to fire.

Filed Under: Machineguns and NFA Weapons, Suppressors Tagged With: ATF, automatic, barreled, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, firearms, full auto, gun, How, machine, NFA, paperwork, rifle, SBR, Short, shotgun, silencer, suppressor, to

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About the Author

Avatar for Kevin

Kevin Kevin is an avid hunter and military history enthusiast. He participates in WWII reenactments every year and boasts a large antique firearms collection. The Winchester 1873 and Colt M1911 are two of his favorites. Kevin enjoys researching the best products on the market to keep The Arms Guide reader up to date and informed.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for KevinJoeFabeetz says

    March 28, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    I would love to know what the reasoning/thought process was to regulate suppressors like this.  It seems to me a suppressor is more like something a person with good manners would use to keep from disrupting the area around a shooting range or during hunting season.  But then again, I forgot about that $200.00 TAX stamp.  There it is!

    Reply
    • Avatar for KevinFateofDestinee says

      March 30, 2013 at 6:47 pm

      JoeFabeetz haha yeah… from what I understand, the initial legislation put forth in 1934 was to make “gangster” guns more difficult for mobsters to obtain. Now, how effective was it? I do not know…

      Reply
      • Avatar for KevinJoeFabeetz says

        March 30, 2013 at 7:22 pm

        FateofDestinee JoeFabeetz  Except, unless I’m mistaken, those “gangster” guns were mostly used by law enforcement.

        Reply
  2. Avatar for KevinNate Schultz says

    November 16, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    I am SO going to be utilizing this article with my SBR build 🙂

    Reply

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