How to buy a suppressor
Buying your first NFA item can feel extremely overwhelming, because there are a lot of steps involved. Here’s a quick and dirty overview of the steps involved to hopefully make this all feel a bit less intimidating.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Pick the suppressor or SBR you want. There’s major information overload here, so reach out to us and we’ll help you get what you need.
Step 2: Buy it from us. It usually takes about two weeks for it to arrive, whether you’re buying it locally from us or having it shipped to a local FFL if you’re out-of-state. (If you want to come in and purchase it in person, we can do Step 5 while you’re in the shop.) You’ll also need to pay the feds for your “tax stamp” which we can handle for you as well to make things easier. And if you ever find a better price listed somewhere than we have on our site, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’ll see if there’s an opportunity to sharpen our pencils.
In the two weeks while you wait, you’ve got four quick things to do…
Step 3: Create a SilencerShop account. If you’re buying an NFA item from us, you’ll get an automated email with instructions on how to do that. You’ll need to fill out your vital stats and upload a selfie. Click here, then click “LOGIN” then click “Register as a New User”
Step 4: Fingerprints. You’ll need to upload fingerprints to your SilencerShop portal. Book at time to come in and roll your fingerprints, and we’ll take care of getting them scanned and uploaded into your account.
Step 5: If you want to create a trust, you can do that now. Here’s some information on how to get one. Essentially, you’ll order the trust online and within about an hour it’ll be in your email inbox. Print it out, date and sign it in about six places, have two witnesses sign it as well. Then take it to your local or online notary to have it notarized. Once you’re done, scan it and upload it to your SilencerShop Portal.
Step 6: Create an ATF eForms account. Again, just fill out your vital stats here. It’ll assign you a username and you’ll create a 4-digit PIN number. Remember these two things because we’ll need them later on. Click here, then click the green “Register” button.
All done with the administrative stuff? Excellent.
Step 7: When all the above steps are done, and the NFA item is in-hand, we’ll do what’s called “certifying” (which is more-or-less like filling out your 4473 if you were buying a firearm). We can do this remotely online together and it only takes about 10 minutes. Remember your eForms username and password. You’ll get an email link from us to log into your eForms account at the same time as us — it’s like a Zoom meeting from the 80’s.
Now, just kick back and wait for 6-8 months. Try not to get too hung up on the wait time because you’ll go crazy. Obviously the best thing for your emotional health is to buy a new suppressor every 2-3 months, so you’ve always got something in the hopper getting out of jail soon. Here are the approximate current wait times: https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/current-processing-times