Ninety-plus years of the National Firearms Act, from the gangster era to the October 2026 policy change. Each date below shaped the rules NFA owners live with today.
The gangster era
- 1920 Prohibition begins, and with it the bootlegging gangs.
- 1921 The Thompson submachine gun goes on the civilian market.
- February 14, 1929 The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago kills seven men.
- February 15, 1933 A gunman fires on President-elect Roosevelt in Miami and mortally wounds Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.
- December 5, 1933 Prohibition ends, but the push for a federal gun law keeps going.
The NFA is born
- Spring 1934 Congress holds hearings. Handguns are dropped from the bill.
- June 26, 1934 The National Firearms Act is signed, with a $200 tax on machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, silencers and other concealable weapons.
- 1938 The Federal Firearms Act adds federal licensing for gun dealers.
- 1939 In United States v. Miller, the Supreme Court upholds the NFA as applied to a sawed-off shotgun.
Rewritten and frozen
- January 1968 In Haynes v. United States, the Supreme Court finds the registration rules forced people to incriminate themselves, leaving the NFA close to unenforceable.
- October 1968 The Gun Control Act rewrites the NFA, fixes the Haynes problem and adds destructive devices to the list.
- May 19, 1986 The Hughes Amendment in the Firearm Owners Protection Act freezes the machine gun registry. Only guns registered before this date can go to private owners.
- 1992 In United States v. Thompson/Center Arms, the Supreme Court sides with a gun maker on an NFA kit question.
The modern fight
- 2016 ATF’s 41F rule adds fingerprint and photo requirements for everyone responsible in a gun trust.
- 2023 ATF’s pistol brace rule tries to turn braced pistols into SBRs. Federal courts strike it down.
- 2024 In Garland v. Cargill, the Supreme Court rules bump stocks are not machine guns.
- July 4, 2025 The One Big Beautiful Bill Act sets the tax on suppressors, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs to $0, starting January 1, 2026.
- January 1, 2026 The $0 tax takes effect. Machine guns and destructive devices stay at $200.
- August 5, 2026 In Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, a federal court in Texas rules registration of the $0 items unconstitutional for the plaintiffs.
- October 5, 2026 The deadline to appeal passes. The Justice Department does not appeal.
- October 9, 2026 ATF announces it will no longer enforce registration and approval for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs for anyone, nationwide.
The October 2026 change is enforcement policy, not a repeal. Congress, the courts or a future administration could change it. Check current law before you buy, build or travel.