ATF NFA Form 1 Engraving Services for SBRs and Suppressor Tubes

Guide to DIY NFA Registered Firearms

So, are you ready to make the jump into National Firearms Act (NFA) registered firearms?  This can be a daunting step learning all of the rules, regulations, and filling out the required paperwork.  Well fear not, many have gone before you and come out the other side with an awesome firearm and sense of accomplishment after completing all of the steps.  The $200 tax stamp is no longer the barrier to entry it once was, so don't let that stand in your way.  Whatever your reason for wanting an NFA firearm, such as "All Legal Purposes" this guide will help you get started, but keep in mind, this is not legal advice, that is between you and your attorney.

To begin, you will need to determine your eligibility.  Chances are, if you can own a firearm and are 21+ years old, you are good to go.  There are some less friendly states that may have additional regulations or straight out outlaw NFA firearms, so be sure to check with local law enforcement or firearms dealers for up to date information.  Once you have determined eligibility, you will need to decide whether or not you want the firearm to be owned by a trust, or yourself personally.  The ATF has changed the rules in recent years and there is no longer a significant benefit to going the trust route, and if it is an added hurdle to get a trust, you may as well skip it at this point and just register the firearms in your name.  It may be wise to consult with a firearm attorney in your state to go over the pros and cons either way, or there are probably 10k firearm blog posts about whether or not you need a trust, read a few of them.

Next you will need to decide on the details of your build.  This can be sort of tricky if you are doing a silencer build, as you will not be able to possess the components until your form has been approved, so you will have to do your best to get the overall length estimated prior to purchasing the materials.  For a short barreled rifle build, you can have the firearm assembled as a pistol and have much better idea of the length from this, but make sure to hold off on purchasing the stock for this item until your form has been approved.  If you are unsure about this step, please consult a firearm attorney, you alone are responsible for obeying the letter of the law. 

When you have the details of the build down, you can fill out and submit the paperwork.  There are several guides that go through this step by step, so we won’t beat a dead horse here, but follow them and do your best with the paperwork. It may help if you have a local NFA firearm dealer you can have help you to look over the paperwork and provide any assistance.  Most are more than happy to lend a hand to fellow enthusiasts.  Once the paperwork, fingerprinting, photos and check are ready, send it in to the ATF NFA Branch for processing.  This is the hardest part, the wait.  Depending on how you file (paper, e-file, etc) the processing time may be short, or up to a year sometimes.  But, the sooner you get the paperwork in, the sooner you get approved.  During this wait time, if you are building a short barreled rifle, short barreled shotgun, or something similar, you can have the receiver of your firearm engraved with the required NFA engraving markings.  Typically, if you are creating a firearm from an existing firearm, you can adopt the model, serial, and caliber from the existing firearm.  So you would only be required to mark the maker and city/state.  For maker, this would be your First Name/Last Name, or Trust Name, and then the city or state that is on the form 1 that you sent to the ATF.  If you move during the process, it still needs to be the matching city/state that is on the form 1.  Some people include their middle name, this is not required, but it is not a problem either way. 

If you are building a DIY silencer/suppressor, once you have the approved form 1 in hand, you can begin purchasing or making the components.  Prior to final assembly the tube or suppressor body will need to be engraved with all of the details from the form 1.  This would include:

-Maker Name (your name or trust name)

-Model (if applicable, a model is not required, but if it is on your form it must be included)

-Caliber
-Serial Number

The regulations on the markings are somewhat vague, with the only specified requirements that the serial number text be no smaller than 1/16”, and engraved to a depth of .003”.  In order to stay well clear of the minimum regulations, we engrave text slightly larger in all caps, and to a depth far greater than .003”.  We usually say, if somebody only engraved .003” you would be dissatisfied with the engraving depth and want your money back, it is barely a scratch.  You may be able to feel it with your fingernail, but that is about it.  It will not stand up to any kind of coating such as cerakote, duracoat, paint, etc... the paint will cover the engraving and you will be a sad camper.  We have seen people try to engrave with a rotary tool by hand.  I’ll just stop you here – DON’T.  We don’t charge a lot of money to do it, and we do it professionally, so just bite the bullet and get it done and move on.  We have also had to redo engravings done by local trophy shops, jewelry shops, and other amateurs that didn’t engrave to the proper specifications.  Again, we do not charge very much for this service, probably less than your local shop does, so just send it in and have it done correctly.  The last thing you want to do is have to re-make a tube because of the engraving. We may have harped here on the engraving portion, but we are the experts here and just want to simplify things for you in the long run, so you are legal, and left with a professional looking NFA firearm that you will be able to pass on into perpetuity.  After all, that is what we are hoping for in doing it ourselves, is to have exactly what we want done to our standards, so make something you will be proud of.  If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to ask our staff NFA Engraving experts.  We are here to serve the shooting community and make it easier now more than ever to participate.  Let us take care of your SBR Engraving, NFA Engraving, SBS Engraving, or any other engraving needs with the professional level of service we have provided and will continue to provide.