Current Status — 2026
Suppressors remain regulated under the National Firearms Act as of 2026. Buying one still requires a $200 tax stamp, ATF Form 4 approval, and a wait time currently averaging 6–9 months. Nothing has changed in the regulatory framework — but the political environment around NFA reform is the most favorable it has been in decades, and several legislative efforts are actively moving.
This page tracks the current status of suppressor deregulation efforts, explains what the Hearing Protection Act would actually do, covers the separate issue of Forced Reset Triggers, and tells Alabama suppressor owners exactly what to expect under different legislative outcomes.
What Is the Hearing Protection Act?
The Hearing Protection Act (HPA) is proposed federal legislation that would remove suppressors from National Firearms Act regulation entirely. Under the HPA, purchasing a suppressor would require the same process as buying any other firearm — a standard Form 4473 background check through a licensed dealer, completed in minutes rather than months.
The $200 NFA tax stamp would be eliminated. The ATF approval wait would be eliminated. The NFA registry requirement would be eliminated. Suppressors would be treated like rifles, handguns, and shotguns for transfer purposes — regulated by the Gun Control Act but not the National Firearms Act.
Most versions of the HPA also include a provision to refund the $200 tax stamp to anyone who purchased a suppressor under the existing NFA process. If you paid your $200 stamp and the HPA passes, you would receive a refund check from the federal government.
What the HPA Would NOT Do
The HPA would not make suppressors legal in states where they are currently banned. California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, and several other states prohibit suppressors under state law. Removing federal NFA regulation would not override those state prohibitions. Alabama, where suppressors are already legal, would see the most direct benefit — the NFA process is the only current barrier, and the HPA removes it.
The HPA would also not affect other NFA items — machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and destructive devices would remain regulated under the NFA. The HPA is specifically and only about suppressors.
Legislative History & Timeline
Executive Action — Could ATF Act Without Congress?
A common question is whether the executive branch could remove suppressors from NFA regulation through ATF rulemaking, bypassing Congress entirely. The short answer is: not fully, but partially.
The ATF can modify how it implements NFA regulations — for example, streamlining the approval process, reducing paperwork, or changing how trusts and individuals are processed. The ATF cannot eliminate the $200 tax or the registration requirement without Congressional action, because those are statutory requirements written into the National Firearms Act itself. Only Congress can change the statute.
What the executive branch can do: direct the ATF to prioritize suppressor applications, reduce approval times through administrative efficiency, and potentially explore whether certain suppressor configurations meet the statutory definition of NFA items. Some legal scholars have argued that suppressors — as hearing protection devices — might be removable from NFA classification through a creative statutory interpretation. No administration has attempted this approach.
Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs) — Separate Issue, Also Unsettled
Forced Reset Triggers are a separate regulatory controversy that often comes up in NFA reform discussions. An FRT is a trigger mechanism that uses the bolt carrier group's rearward momentum to force the trigger to reset rapidly, allowing very high rates of fire while remaining — arguably — semi-automatic in operation.
Are Forced Reset Triggers Legal in Alabama?
As of April 2026, the answer depends on which federal circuit's law applies to you and the current status of ongoing litigation. The ATF's position is that FRTs are machine guns and therefore illegal to possess without NFA registration. Multiple courts have pushed back on this classification.
Alabama falls within the Eleventh Circuit. Decisions from that circuit and the current state of injunctions are determinative for Alabama residents. This is exactly the kind of rapidly-evolving legal question where internet research — including this page — cannot substitute for advice from a current Alabama firearms attorney.
What is not contested: if you own an FRT and the ATF classification holds, possession is a federal felony. Do not gamble on this based on forum posts or YouTube videos. The stakes are identical to a Glock switch — up to 10 years federal prison.
What Deregulation Would Mean for Alabama
Alabama is already one of the best states in the country for suppressor ownership. Suppressors are legal, hunting with suppressors is legal, and there are no state-level restrictions beyond federal NFA compliance. The NFA process — the Form 4, the $200 stamp, the wait — is the only meaningful barrier.
If the Hearing Protection Act passes, the practical effect for North Alabama shooters would be:
Same-day purchase. Walk into a dealer, pick your suppressor, run a background check, walk out with it the same day. No waiting period beyond the instant background check.
No tax stamp. The $200 goes away. Combined with the end of the wait, this makes suppressor ownership accessible to a much broader range of shooters — currently the $200 plus the psychological barrier of a year-long wait discourages many buyers.
No NFA registry. No requirement to notify the ATF if you move, no requirement to carry your tax stamp when hunting, no paperwork trail beyond the standard 4473.
Prices fall. NFA items carry a premium partly because the process creates artificial barriers to entry. With deregulation, suppressor prices would likely drop as competition increases and the market expands dramatically.
Current NFA Wait Times — 2026
ATF Form 4 wait times are one of the most-tracked statistics in the suppressor community. Here is the current picture as of 2026:
Wait times are tracked in near-real-time by the suppressor community at sites like NFATracker.com. For current average wait times broken down by manufacturer, caliber, and form type, that is the best live resource.