NFA Challenge Lawsuit Ruling
What the Court Order Currently Does — and Does Not — Change for Palmetto State Armory Customers
The Short Version
- Buying a suppressor: available online, either through the traditional Form 4 process or, in states that allow it, the new Form 4473 process now. Also available in person at our South Carolina stores for South Carolina residents.
- Buying a short-barreled rifle or shotgun: no change — still requires the full Form 4 process, everywhere.
- Converting your own gun into an SBR: available only if you're a current member of one of six named organizations, and only where your state allows it.
Details, limits, and open questions are below — please read the
Important Limitations section before you buy or reconfigure anything.
On August 5, 2026, a federal court in the Northern District of Texas held that certain National Firearms Act (NFA) registration and transfer-approval requirements exceed Congress's constitutional authority now that Congress has set the transfer and making taxes at $0 for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and "any other weapons."
The Court entered an injunction barring ATF and the Department of Justice from enforcing the challenged provisions against the plaintiffs and, where applicable, their agencies, political subdivisions, members, and customers, both current and future.
Palmetto State Armory is a plaintiff in that case. The Court's injunction, which went into effect on August 13, 2026, protects PSA and PSA's customers.
This notice is general information, not legal advice. It also does not address all circumstances, applicable issues, or questions. Laws can change, individual circumstances can be different, and the application of this ruling may depend on the specific facts of a transaction.
If you have questions about whether this ruling applies to you, your firearm, or your state, consult with a qualified attorney who can advise you on your specific situation.
Can I Buy a Suppressor Online?
A new Form 4473 process is now available online for covered orders.
Suppressors purchased online from Palmetto State Armory, with direct-to-home delivery, have been available through the traditional Form 4 process, and that process remains available and unchanged.
A new Form 4473 process is now also available for orders that are covered by the Court's injunction, in states whose laws allow this type of transfer. Under that new process, the purchase is completed with a Form 4473 and a NICS background check instead of a Form 4, fingerprints, a photograph, ATF approval, and entry in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
To learn how each process works, what each one requires of you, and which one applies to your order, visit
How to Buy a Suppressor Online.
See
Important Limitations below.
Can I Buy a Suppressor at a South Carolina Store?
What this currently means at our South Carolina stores.
For a qualifying suppressor purchase from PSA at one of our South Carolina locations, you will not have to file a Form 4, submit fingerprints or a photograph, notify your chief local law enforcement officer, wait for ATF approval, or have the suppressor entered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. You will complete a Form 4473 and pass a NICS background check, exactly as you would for a rifle.
This in-store process is currently available at our South Carolina retail locations for South Carolina residents.
It is not available at our North Carolina or Georgia stores. Suppressor purchases at those locations continue on the traditional path — Form 4, ATF approval, and entry in the federal registry — with no change.
This is not an oversight. North Carolina and Georgia law each treat suppressor possession differently than South Carolina law does and until we have further guidance, we are not making any changes in those states.
See
Important Limitations below.
Can I Buy a Short-Barreled Rifle or Shotgun?
This does not currently apply to purchases of short-barreled rifles or short-barreled shotguns. Although the Court's ruling reached SBRs and SBSs along with suppressors, PSA cannot sell you one without ATF authorization, and that has nothing to do with the NFA provisions the Court enjoined.
The barrier is in the Gun Control Act, not the National Firearms Act. Federal licensees like PSA still cannot sell or deliver a short-barreled rifle or shotgun (or a machine gun or destructive device) to a customer without specific authorization from the Attorney General (18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(4)). That requirement was not challenged in this case and was not enjoined. In practice, the only way to get that authorization is the approved NFA transfer — so an SBR or SBS purchase from us still requires the full Form 4 process.
So: SBR and SBS purchases at PSA are unchanged, at every location, online and in store.
Can I Convert My Own Firearm Into an SBR?
Possibly, if you are a member of one of the plaintiff associations in the case and your state and local laws allow it.
This is not legal advice — it is general information based on our understanding at this time.
We highly recommend that you speak with a qualified attorney in your state before you reconfigure your firearm.
Who is a covered individual for this purpose.
You are covered for purposes of this section if you are a current member of any of the plaintiff associations in the case:
- Gun Owners of America, Inc.
- Gun Owners Foundation
- Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc.
- Texas State Rifle Association
- FPC Action Foundation
- Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
As we understand it, the keys to making and possessing an SBR are:
- Membership in one of the plaintiff associations;
- Compliance with all state and local laws; and
- Compliance with all remaining federal laws, including the marking requirements that were not enjoined.
This information applies only if state and local law do not prohibit or restrict you from making, owning, or possessing an SBR.
Please know that a majority of states prohibit the possession of SBRs unless they are registered or in compliance with the NFA.
What changed. For years, if you owned an AR pistol with a barrel under 16 inches and wanted to put a stock on it, that configuration was treated as a short-barreled rifle under federal law. The same was true of configuring a complete rifle with a barrel under 16 inches. Either meant a Form 1, fingerprints, a photograph, registration with ATF, and waiting for approval before making the change.
The Court blocked enforcement of those making requirements as to the plaintiffs and their members (26 U.S.C. § 5822; 27 C.F.R. § 479.62(a)–(d)). So for a covered individual, the Form 1 process that used to apply before creating an SBR no longer applies:
- No Form 1
- No fingerprints submitted as part of that Form 1 process
- No photograph
- No waiting for separate ATF Form 1 approval before making the covered configuration change
A covered individual may configure an AR pistol with a stock. A covered individual may configure a complete rifle with a shorter-barreled upper.
See
Important Limitations below.
There are also limits that apply specifically to SBRs. Please read all of the following.
Serial number and marking requirements were not enjoined — for anyone. The rule requiring a maker to add their own markings to a firearm, even one that already has a manufacturer's serial number, still applies to everyone (26 U.S.C. § 5842(a); 27 C.F.R. § 479.102). Whether and how that rule applies when a covered individual reconfigures an already-serialized firearm hasn't been addressed by the Court or ATF.
We cannot tell you the answer, and we are not going to guess. Ask an attorney about this specific point before you reconfigure.
State and local law still applies. This ruling changes the federal landscape for covered transactions. It does not erase state registration requirements, permits, restrictions, or prohibitions. Some states outright ban SBRs. Other state laws tie legal ownership to registration under, authorization from, or compliance with the NFA — which, until those laws are changed, may prevent you from owning an unregistered SBR in that state. Those restrictions apply even if you are a covered individual.
Know and understand your state and local laws BEFORE reconfiguring your firearm.
Again, we highly recommend that you consult with a qualified attorney before reconfiguring a firearm into an SBR.
Important Limitations
The limits below apply to everything described on this page — a suppressor bought online, a suppressor bought in one of our stores, and a short-barreled rifle created by reconfiguring a firearm you already own. Please read all of them before you buy or reconfigure anything.
- This protection is not nationwide, and it may not be permanent. The Court declined to issue a universal injunction. Protection reaches PSA, PSA's customers, and the members of the plaintiff associations — not the general public, and not customers of all other retailers. The government also may still appeal. An appellate court could pause or reverse this ruling. What would happen to an unregistered suppressor or SBR that you already purchased or made if that occurs is an unresolved question that no court has answered. You should assume that risk before you buy or reconfigure.
- All other federal, state, and local restrictions are unchanged. The Gun Control Act applies in full. If you are prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal or state law, you may not possess a suppressor, an SBR, or any other covered firearm. Serial number and marking requirements still apply to you — do not remove, alter, or deface the serial number. It is your responsibility to confirm that your acquisition, making, and possession of a covered firearm comply with all federal, state, and local laws that apply to you now and in the future.
- Taking it across a state line is an open question. It's still against federal law to transport, deliver, or receive an unregistered NFA firearm in interstate commerce (26 U.S.C. § 5861(j)) — that provision was not enjoined and remains fully enforceable. Neither the Court nor ATF has said how it applies to a covered firearm you lawfully acquired or made under this injunction.
- Selling, giving, or leaving it to someone else is an open question. The injunction protects your covered purchase, or your own covered making and possession — it does not extend to a later transfer by you to anyone else, including a family member, a dealer, a trust, or an heir through your estate. There is currently no ATF process for transferring a covered firearm that isn't in the federal registry, and no guidance on whether or how such a transfer may lawfully occur. Anyone who receives the firearm from you is not protected by this order unless they are independently covered. Do not transfer a covered firearm to anyone without first consulting an attorney.
- Your household members are not covered. The Court declined to extend the injunction to resident family members of covered individuals. A spouse, roommate, or other household member who has access to the firearm is not protected by this order.
- All sales are final and are made without any warranty as to legal status. PSA cannot and does not give legal advice. This notice is general information, not legal advice about your circumstances. If you have questions, consult a licensed attorney before purchasing.
