In a historic policy shift, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced it will no longer require federal approval or registration for several categories of firearms.
Effective October 9, 2026, ATF Director Robert Cekada confirmed the agency will no longer require individuals to seek ATF approval under the National Firearms Act before making or transferring silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, or “any other weapons.”
The change, communicated through an open letter to all federal firearms licensees and the public, represents a significant departure from nearly a century of NFA enforcement practice.
The policy traces back to Section 70436 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced the longstanding $200 federal making and transfer tax to zero dollars for the four affected categories.
Once the tax fell to zero, legal challenges emerged, with plaintiffs arguing that the NFA’s remaining requirements could no longer be sustained under the Taxing and Spending Clause or the Second Amendment.
On August 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas decided Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, holding that the NFA’s registration and transfer provisions could no longer rest on Congress’s taxing power once the tax reached zero dollars.
The court also rejected the Commerce Clause as an alternative legal basis, noting Congress had relied solely on its taxing power when it originally enacted the NFA in 1934.
Following requests from litigants, state attorneys general, industry groups, and members of Congress, ATF chose to apply the ruling nationwide through an exercise of enforcement discretion rather than formal rulemaking.
Critically, ATF acknowledged that “material changes in legal or factual circumstances could cause NFA enforcement to resume,” warning businesses and individuals not to treat the current posture as permanently settled law.
The $200 tax and all corresponding NFA requirements remain fully in force for machineguns and destructive devices, meaning those categories are entirely unaffected by the new guidance.
The Gun Control Act also remains fully operational, meaning background checks, Form 4473 requirements, FFL recordkeeping obligations, and prohibited-person restrictions still apply to silencers, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs.
Special occupational taxes continue to apply to anyone engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, or dealing in NFA firearms, and those businesses must keep paying the applicable SOT without interruption.
For interstate travel, individuals transporting short-barreled rifles or shotguns across state lines should still file a Form 20 with ATF seeking approval, even for unregistered items, while ATF develops new regulations.
ATF is currently not enforcing the SBR and SBS sales restrictions contained in 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(4) on an interim basis, and a proposed rule requiring only notice rather than approval for interstate travel is under development but not yet in effect.
State and local laws remain entirely unaffected, with Maryland State Police already issuing an advisory on October 15, 2026, confirming that ATF guidance does not eliminate or supersede Maryland’s own registration and approval requirements.
FFLs remain barred from transferring any firearm in violation of state or local law, meaning dealers must conduct a state-by-state analysis before shipping or selling the newly deregulated categories.
ATF noted that registered items can be removed from the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record by contacting the NFA Division, but removed items cannot be re-registered unless the Attorney General declares an amnesty period.
Businesses choosing to rely on the new enforcement discretion should build contingency plans into their contracts, recordkeeping, and inventory practices in the event enforcement resumes under a future administration.