Dear eForm 1 Applicant, As part of the application process, NFA Division must confirm that the making or possession of a firearm would not place the applicant in violation of law. You previously received notification from NFA Division that your Form 1 application to make and register a silencer was disapproved because the part that you intend to use to make the silencer already meets the NFA’s definition of “silencer” and was not transferred and registered to you in compliance with the NFA. As more fully explained below, a Form 1 application to make and register a silencer cannot lawfully be approved if the maker will make the silencer with parts that are themselves classified as silencers under federal law and the parts were not transferred to the maker in compliance with the tax, transfer, and registration requirements of the NFA.
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(24), 27 CFR 478.11, and 27 CFR 479.11, the terms “firearm silencer” and “firearm muffler” mean “any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication.”
Accordingly, a device or part that falls under the definition of “firearm silencer” and “firearm muffler” are each considered a “firearm” subject to the provisions of the Gun Control Act (GCA) and the National Firearms Act (NFA). See 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3); 26 U.S.C. 5845(a)(7). Transferring a silencer in compliance with the NFA requires the transferor pay a $200.00 transfer tax and receive an approved ATF Form 4, Application for Transfer and Registration of Firearm, before transferring the silencer to the transferee. See 26 U.S.C. §§ 5811; 5812. Similarly, making a silencer in compliance with the NFA requires the maker pay a $200.00 making tax and receive an approved ATF Form 1, Application to Make and Register a Firearm, before the maker may make the silencer identified on the Form 1. See 26 U.S.C. §§ 5821; 5822. An approved Form 1, Application to Make and Register a Firearm, authorizes the maker to make the silencer identified on the Form 1 application. The maker must certify on the Form 1 application under penalties of perjury that the maker is the person who will make the silencer. An approved Form 1 does not authorize any person to manufacture the silencer on behalf of the Form 1 maker. An approved Form 1 does not authorize the transfer of a silencer to the Form 1 maker. Further, an approved Form 1 does not legitimize the prior transfer of a silencer that did not comply with the tax, transfer, and registration requirements of the NFA. It is a violation of the NFA for a person to possess a firearm that is not registered to that person. See 26 U.S.C. 5861(d). Therefore, you have the following options for the device and/or part you intended to use to make the silencer identified on your disapproved Form 1 application: Abandon each device and/or part to your local ATF Field Office. You may use the following link to locate your closest ATF Field Office:
https://www.atf.gov/contact/local-atf-offices.
Destroy each device and/or part. The following link provides acceptable methods of destruction:
https://www.atf.gov/file/126786/download. Further questions regarding appropriate destruction methods may be directed to:
[email protected]. ATF is actively working to issue a refund of the $200.00 making tax payment. If you have additional questions, please direct your inquiries to:
[email protected].
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