On August 13, 2026, at one minute past midnight, a suppressor changed hands in Texas without an ATF Form 4, without a $200 tax stamp, and without an entry in the federal registry. It was the first lawful unregistered transfer of a National Firearms Act item in nearly a hundred years.
The Case
As explained previously on this Forum, the National Firearms Act was enacted in 1934 as an exercise of Congress’s taxing power. The NFA imposed a $200 tax on the transfer or making of certain items—such as suppressors, short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and “any other weapons” (AOWs). To facilitate the collection of this tax, the NFA also imposed certain registration and filing requirements. Transferring, making, or possessing NFA-regulated firearms without paying the tax or complying with the registration requirements is a crime punishable by fine and imprisonment. In 1937, the Supreme Court approved of this tax and its associated requirements and punishments as a valid exercise of the taxing power. But in doing so, the Court relied on the fact that “the annual tax of $200 is productive of some revenue.”
Then, in 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced the NFA tax for these items to $0. The registration and filing requirements (and criminal punishment for noncompliance) remained in place, but the tax now raised no funds. A number of cases were filed shortly thereafter, challenging the constitutionality of the revised NFA provisions on the theory that it could not be a valid exercise of the taxing power if it imposed no actual tax. Two cases—one led by Silencer Shop and Gun Owners of America and another by groups like the Firearms Policy Coalition—were ultimately consolidated before Judge Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas.
On August 5, 2026, Judge Hendrix granted the plaintiffs a permanent injunction against certain NFA provisions on enumerated-powers grounds. “Because today’s NFA does not generate any revenue from untaxed firearms,” he wrote, “its regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power.” An essential feature of a tax, the court reasoned, is that it produces at least some revenue—and $0 produces none. The court also rejected the government’s fallback argument that the NFA could be sustained under the Commerce Clause instead: Congress legislated in 1934 under the taxing power and the government could not retroactively re-found the statute on an authority Congress never invoked.
Specifically, the judgment enjoins enforcement of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5812(a)–(b) (transfer applications and approval), 5822 (applications to make), 5841(a)–(c) and (e) (the registration system), and 5861(b)–(f) (corresponding criminal prohibitions), along with 27 C.F.R. §§ 479.62 and 479.84—the Form 1 and Form 4 regulations. The Jensen plaintiffs obtained additional relief from the serialization and marking requirements of §§ 5842(b) and 5861(i).
Judge Hendrix stayed the order for seven days to let the government seek a stay pending appeal. The DOJ let the deadline lapse, so the injunction took effect at midnight on August 13.
NFA Items Today
NFA items are now significantly deregulated—for some people. Pointing to Trump v. CASA, Judge Hendrix disclaimed any attempt at issuing a universal injunction that would provide relief to the public at large. Instead, enforcement of the relevant NFA provisions has been enjoined only as to the plaintiffs, along with “their members, and customers—both current and future.”
This means that members and customers of the following organizations are able to make, transfer, receive, and possess suppressors, SBRs, and SBSs without registration, without ATF approval, and without a tax stamp: Silencer Shop Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, B&T USA, Palmetto State Armory, Silencerco Weapons Research, Gun Owners Foundation, Hot Shots Custom, Texas State Rifle Association, FPC Action Foundation, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Machine guns and destructive devices remain fully regulated and still carry the $200 tax. The Gun Control Act’s requirements—Form 4473, NICS background checks, and prohibited-person rules—also remain. State suppressor and SBR bans are untouched, as are the NFA’s interstate transportation provisions. And the enjoined statutes remain on the books, enforceable against anyone outside the protected classes.
The ATF has issued no public guidance on how any of this works in practice—how dealers verify covered status, how unregistered transfers are reconciled against the federal registry during an inspection, or what happens to pending Form 1 and Form 4 applications.
What’s Next
While the DOJ did not file an appeal during the stay period, it still has time to appeal the decision. The Fifth Circuit has proven friendly to pro-gun rights challenges, but there is always the possibility that the injunction will be reversed or stayed in the future. The ATF is also likely to release guidance further clarifying the government’s position on the relevant NFA requirements. So anyone attempting to take advantage of the injunction should stay aware of this continually evolving landscape.