Buying a suppressor in Texas in 2026

Updated October 12, 2026. We’ll keep this page current as the rules change.

That’s how we read the rules, but we’re not lawyers. If your situation is unusual, talk to a firearms attorney before you buy.

What changed

On October 9, 2026, ATF stopped enforcing the National Firearms Act (NFA) approval and registration rules for suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and AOWs (the NFA’s “any other weapon” class). That means you buy one the same way you buy a rifle: fill out a Form 4473 and pass a background check. The tax on them has been $0 since January 1, 2026. If you want yours registered, ATF still takes Form 4s and Form 1s.

What didn’t change

• It’s still a gun sale: a Form 4473, a background check and the dealer’s records.
• You must be 21 to buy a suppressor from a dealer, and you buy it in your home state.
• Machine guns and destructive devices still go through ATF with the $200 tax.
• Taking a short-barreled rifle or shotgun across state lines still needs ATF approval first, on a Form 20 (more on our SBR/SBS page).
• Suppressors and AOWs don’t need a Form 20. The federal safe-passage rule may not cover an unregistered item, though, so check the law in every state you’ll pass through before you travel.
• State law still applies. Suppressors are legal to own and hunt with in Texas, but some states ban them. If you move, check the new state’s law first.
• Texas’s 2021 “Made in Texas” suppressor law (HB 957) is not a legal way around federal rules. ATF said federal law overrides it.

Should you register it anyway?

Some folks will. ATF calls the change an enforcement policy, not a change in the law, and says enforcement could come back if something changes, like a new tax or a later court ruling. It also says items left unregistered generally can’t be registered later unless the Attorney General opens an amnesty. If you want your can on ATF’s registry, file a Form 4 when you buy it.

How we handle it at Circle Star

Pick out your suppressor and fill out the 4473. Once your background check clears, it’s yours to take home. Want it registered? We’ll do the eForm 4 for you and take your fingerprints and photos right here, and a registered can goes home once ATF approves it. Bought one somewhere else? Transfer prices are on our NFA paperwork page.

Questions

Sources

• ATF, update to NFA transfer guidance (October 9, 2026): atf.gov
• Federal Register, NFA tax remittance changes (May 8, 2026): federalregister.gov
• Texas Parks and Wildlife, means and methods: tpwd.texas.gov