What is a Title 1 Firearm? What is a Title 2 Firearm?
What is the difference between Title I and Title II firearms?
Title I Firearms:
Title I firearms are ordinary rifles, pistols, revolvers & shotguns. Title I firearms can be owned by citizens and can be built by citizens.
Ownership Requirements: Can be owned by anybody who isn't considered to be a prohibited person by the ATF.
Form Used: The ATF 5300.9 - 4473 Firearms Transaction Record is required if you are purchasing your Title I firearm from a FFL Dealer. Some states allow for person to person transfers.
Title II Firearms:
Title II firearms are machine guns, silencers/suppressors/mufflers, short barreled-rifles, short-barreled shotguns, any other weapons (AOW).
Ownership Requirements: Can be owned by anybody who isn't considered to be a prohibited person by the ATF and receives an ATF approved Tax Stamp back from the ATF.
Forms Used: ATF 5320.1 Application to Make and Register a Firearm, ATF 5320.4 Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm, and or ATF 5320.5 Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm. In conjunction with the aforementioned ATF Paperwork, the purchaser can purchase Title II Firearms as an individual, using a NFA Gun Trust, or as a legal entity.
- ATF 5320.1 Application to Make and Register a Firearm - The ATF 5320.1 form is used to make or manufacture a National Firearms Act [NFA] Firearm. This includes the ability to alter the configuration of an existing firearm, to manufacture a NFA firearm yourself or to purchase an already made or manufactured NFA firearm.
- ATF 5320.4 Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm - The ATF 5320.4 form is used to apply for a paid tax stamp and to register a National Firearms Act [NFA] Firearm. NFA Firearms that are registered using this form are already manufactured NFA Firearms that are being purchased from the manufacture, through a Special Occupational Taxpayer Dealer (SOT), or through an individual transfer (person to person, no dealer is involved).
- ATF 5320.5 Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm - The ATF 5320.5 form is used to apply for a tax exempt tax stamp or a tax exempt transfer of a National Firearms Act [NFA] Firearm. NFA Firearms that are registered using this form are already manufactured NFA Firearms. There are four options to register for a tax exempt tax stamp for a NFA Firearm.
Other NFA Gun Trust and ATF Related Blog Posts
ATF Changes the Passport Photo Expiration Time
With the new ATF Form revisions, comes other changes. One of which is the passport photo expiration date. Before the January 2026 revisions, passport photos were valid for 1 year prior to the date...
ATF to Soon Release Updated ATF 5320.23
On January 1, 2026, the ATF released the new revisions of the ATF Form 1 and ATF Form 4 due to the change of the cost of the tax stamp. The $200 fee for the making of and transferring of most NFA ...
ATF eForm 4 Now Offers Individual to FFL with SOT
In the first version of the new 2026 ATF eForm's site, the ATF eForm 4 lacked the option to transfer an NFA firearm from an individual to an FFL with a SOT. The only individual option to an FFL wa...