Registering NFA Firearms That Fall Out of Government Contract

What it does

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") proposes amending Department of Justice ("Department") regulations implementing a statutory exemption and a statutory authority to grant relief from certain National Firearms Act ("NFA") requirements to better distinguish between them. ATF also proposes to amend manufacturer registration requirements to include a provision granting relief to manufacturers from registering firearms they manufacture for the U.S. Government ("USG"). In conjunction with this, ATF is proposing a new provision permitting manufacturers to register such firearms "late"--after the existing regulatory window for registering manufactured firearms--if they fall out of USG contract.

The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

27 CFR 479

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1140-AA80 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

Comments must be submitted in writing, and must be submitted on or before (or, if mailed, must be postmarked on or before) September 4, 2026. Commenters should be aware that the federal e-rulemaking portal comment system will not accept comments after midnight Eastern Time on the last day of the comment period.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket ATF-2026-0298 on Regulations.gov
• Title 27 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register