CAN I REGISTER MY SHORT-BARRELED RIFLE EQUIPPED WITH A “STABILIZING BRACE” PURSUANT TO ATF FINAL RULE 2021R-08F TO MY TRUST?

Answer: In short, a trust may not register a firearm equipped with a “stabilizing brace” that is a short-barreled rifle pursuant to ATF Final Rule 2021R-08F unless the trust can establish through documentary evidence that the trust possessed the firearm prior to the date the final rule is published in the Federal Register.

Under the final rule, the Attorney General has authorized a tax forbearance that allows current possessors of firearms equipped with a “stabilizing brace” that meet the definition of “rifle” and have a barrel or barrels less than 16 inches to register the firearms tax-free. A current possessor is a person who possessed the firearm with an attached “stabilizing brace” prior to the date the final rule is published in the Federal Register.

Accordingly, any trust that seeks to register a firearm with an attached “stabilizing brace” that is a short-barreled rifle pursuant to Final Rule 2021R-08F must include with the eForm 1 application evidence that establishes the trust possessed the firearm prior to the date the final rule is published in the Federal Register. This evidence will generally include the signed, dated, and notarized terms of the trust or trust schedules that list or provide a description of the property held in trust. For trust applicants, ATF will perform a thorough review of the trust documents provided with the eForm 1 application to ensure the firearm sought to be registered to the trust was property possessed by the trust prior to the date the final rule is published in the Federal Register. Therefore, any Form 1 application to register a firearm equipped with a “stabilizing brace” to a trust will be disapproved if the applicant fails to demonstrate the trust possessed the firearm prior to the date the final rule is published Federal Register.