Many people looking to purchase NFA Firearms wonder if they should put the guns into a special kind of trust called an NFA Gun Trust.
Want the big picture? Start with our NFA guide.
As we'll explain below, a regular firearms trust no longer provides enough benefits to justify its use in most circumstances.
Sure, there was a time when a gun trust was a smart idea for your NFA firearms but with the ATF's changes in how they are handled (Rule 41f), we don't think an NFA Gun Trust makes much sense anymore. In fact, using a gun trust can now make things more difficult.
Instead, we think that the benefits of an FFL far outweigh using a trust - that's one of the many reasons we help people get their own FFL, even from their home.
2026 update: A few things have changed since I first wrote this. As of January 1, 2026, the NFA tax is $0 for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs (still $200 for machine guns and destructive devices). That makes it free, tax-wise, to move most NFA firearms into a trust, but it's still a new Form 4 transfer for each item. The trust rules below haven't changed: every responsible person still submits an ATF Form 5320.23 with a photo and fingerprints, and trust applications take longer. For applications finalized in August 2026, ATF averaged 20 days for a trust eForm 4 vs. 6 days for an individual. ATF has also proposed letting spouses register NFA firearms jointly and removing the CLEO notification, but those are proposals only, not the law yet. And if you've read about the Silencer Shop v. ATF judgment or ATF's October 9, 2026 open letter, see our breakdown of ATF's NFA non-enforcement policy. It's an enforcement policy that ATF says could change, and our advice is the same: file the Form 4 (or Form 1) and wait for approval.
In this Gun Trust Guide, we're going to cover:
- NFA Firearm Background
- Gun Trust Background
- Why Use an NFA Trust?
- NFA Trust vs. Gun Trust
- Are NFA Gun Trusts Worth It?
- NFA Trust vs. Individual
- Gun Trust (NFA) vs FFL
- Setting Up a Gun Trust
- ATF New Rules for NFA Trusts
- Who is a "Responsible Person" on an NFA Trust?
- NFA Gun Trust FAQ
NFA Firearm Background
There is a special class of firearms, called NFA or Class II firearms, that are highly regulated and require ATF approval before you may legally possess them. They have also always carried a federal tax on each making or transfer, but since January 1, 2026, that tax is $0 for everything except machine guns and destructive devices ($200).
This class of NFA Firearms includes:
- Silencers (suppressors)
- Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)
- Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
- Full-Auto Machine Guns
- Destructive Devices (DD)
- Any Other Weapons (AOW)
These guns are called NFA Firearms because they are regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934. They are also sometimes called "Title II" firearms because the NFA is considered to be Title II of American gun control laws whereas the later law, the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) is considered to be Title I.
These are also incorrectly called "Class 3 Firearms." This is incorrect because, "Class 3" refers to the type of Special Occupational Taxpayer (SOT) a dealer is in order to sell NFA Firearms. So, an FFL with a Class 3 SOT (sometimes incorrectly called a Class 3 license) can sell Title II (or NFA) firearms.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), regulates the creation and transfer of