The 27/15/9 Map: State-by-State Suppressor Rules After the NFA Ruling
Last verified: October 11, 2026. Part of our NFA ruling hub — the live status tracker lives there.
In This Article
Last updated: October 11, 2026 · Originally published August 22, 2026
The short answer: Since October 9, 2026, ATF no longer enforces the Form 4, registration or tax stamp for suppressors anywhere in the country, but state suppressor laws still split the country three ways. In 27 states, no state law ties suppressors to federal registration, so a dealer can sell you one on a Form 4473 and background check. In 15 states, state law makes a suppressor legal only when it is registered under federal law, so a voluntary Form 4 is still the safe path, and on October 9 Firearms Policy Coalition asked all 15 attorneys general to stop enforcing those laws. In 8 states (plus D.C.), suppressors remain banned outright. ATF’s guidance changed none of the state laws.
The bucketing below is the one Silencer Shop published when it launched no-Form-4 transfers on August 13 (full state-list report; Silencer Shop announcement). One thing to keep in mind as you read: state legislatures can move. Verify against your own state’s current statutes before acting; hunting-use rules are a separate layer set by state game agencies.
This page is the short version, grouped by how each state behaves. If you want the full reading for one state — whether you can own one, whether you can hunt with one, and the exact words of the statute that decides it — go to our suppressor laws by state page, which covers all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
The 27 same-day states
No state-level NFA-compliance law. Since ATF’s October 9 guidance, a dealer can transfer a suppressor to any eligible buyer with a 4473 and NICS check, no Form 4 and no wait:
| Same-day states (27) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Arizona | Arkansas | Florida |
| Idaho | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas |
| Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland |
| Minnesota | Missouri | Nebraska | New Hampshire |
| New Mexico | Oklahoma | South Carolina | South Dakota |
| Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont |
| Virginia | West Virginia | Wyoming | |
Even here, remember what didn’t change: every dealer sale still runs through the Gun Control Act (a 4473 and a NICS check every time). ATF’s October 9 guidance also stops federal enforcement of the interstate-transport rule for suppressors, but ATF warns that state courts may not honor the federal travel safe harbor for unregistered items, so check every state on your route. Details in the hub’s interstate section.
The 15 states whose suppressor laws tie to federal registration
These states wrote federal-NFA compliance into their own law — typically a state statute making suppressor possession lawful only when the item is registered under federal law. The federal injunction doesn’t rewrite state codes, so in these states a voluntary Form 4 is still the safe path, even though ATF no longer requires one federally:
| State-law NFA-compliance states (15) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Colorado | Connecticut | Georgia | Michigan |
| Mississippi | Montana | Nevada | North Carolina | North Dakota |
| Ohio | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Washington | Wisconsin |
The irony is sharp: several of these — Alaska, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota, and more — are plaintiff states in the case itself. Their governments won relief as parties, but their own statutes still bind their residents to the federal registration process. If your legislature amends its NFA-compliance statute, your state jumps buckets — that’s exactly the kind of change our tracker watches.
Update, Oct 11, 2026: On October 9, 2026, Firearms Policy Coalition sent a letter to the attorney general of every state in this group. Each letter asks the attorney general to stop enforcing the state suppressor laws, and the matching rules for short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and AOWs, that allow those items only with federal registration, and then to work with the legislature to repeal it (FPC’s announcement and the 15 letters). The letters rely on the August 5 ruling in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, joined with Jensen v. ATF. A letter is a request, not a change in the law: until your attorney general or legislature acts, your state’s statute reads the same as it did before. Where each state stood when we checked on October 10:
- Alaska (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Acting Attorney General Cori Mills on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Colorado (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Phil Weiser on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Connecticut (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General William Tong on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Georgia (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Chris Carr on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found. Georgia’s eight Republican U.S. House members asked Carr on Sept 2 for a formal opinion on the same law (their request); no opinion has been issued.
- Michigan (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Dana Nessel on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Mississippi (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Montana (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found. On Aug 27, Knudsen’s office said that under Montana law possessing an unregistered suppressor is still a felony and that a suppressor used for hunting must still be registered with ATF (his guidance).
- Nevada (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Aaron D. Ford on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- North Carolina (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Jeff Jackson on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- North Dakota (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Ohio (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Andy Wilson on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Oregon (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Dan Rayfield on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Pennsylvania (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General David W. Sunday on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Washington (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Nick Brown on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
- Wisconsin (Update, Oct 11, 2026): FPC asked Attorney General Josh Kaul on Oct 9 to stop enforcing the state law tied to NFA registration. No reply found.
MONITOR: State legislatures can amend state suppressor laws at any time, and several 2027 sessions are expected to take this up. Bucket assignments re-checked October 11, 2026: the 15 states in this group are the same 15 that Firearms Policy Coalition wrote to on October 9 — check your state’s current code before relying on this table.
The 8 ban states (plus D.C.)
Suppressor possession by private citizens remains illegal under state law, ruling or no ruling:
| Ban jurisdictions (8 states + D.C.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Delaware | Hawaii | Illinois |
| Massachusetts | New Jersey | New York | Rhode Island |
| District of Columbia | |||
Nothing in Silencer Shop Foundation v. BATFE touches these bans — the case was decided on Congress’s taxing power, not the Second Amendment, so it offers no vehicle for challenging state prohibitions. A separate 2A challenge would be needed, and none of the three pending NFA cases (this one, Brown, Roberts) raises one.
How to read state suppressor laws if you’re buying now
Two questions, in order. First: which group is your state in? Ban state: stop. One of the 15 registration states: file a voluntary Form 4 (free since January 1, 2026) until your attorney general or legislature says otherwise, and watch the updates above. Free state: a dealer can sell you one on a 4473 and NICS check. Second: will your dealer do it? Many dealers now sell suppressors on a 4473, but some still run every sale through a Form 4. And if you have an application already in the queue, see the decision tree before touching it.
Sources
Final judgment (Aug 5, 2026) · Silencer Shop announcement · USA Carry state-list report (Aug 2026) · NRA-ILA Q&A (Aug 17) · ATF guidance (Oct 9, 2026) · FPC letters to 15 attorneys general (Oct 9, 2026).
How this guide was made: state bucketing compiled from the retailer program and reporting linked above and cross-checked against the court record; human-edited. Not legal advice — state law changes and hunting-use rules are a separate layer; verify with your state’s current statutes and game agency. Written by James Nicholas.
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