Key Takeaways
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told law enforcement and prosecutors that law-abiding Floridians may possess short-barreled rifles and shotguns without prosecution.
- Floridians no longer need National Firearms Act registration or a federal tax stamp to legally possess short-barreled rifles or shotguns under state law.
- A federal court in Texas permanently blocked the ATF from enforcing NFA prior-approval and registration requirements for short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and silencers.
- ATF announced it would stop enforcing NFA registration and prior-approval requirements nationwide for short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and silencers on October 9.
- Uthmeier stated his office will not defend a conviction on appeal related to possession of short-barreled rifles or shotguns under Florida law.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told the state’s law enforcement agencies and prosecutors on Friday, Nov. 6, that law-abiding residents may possess short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns without fear of prosecution under Florida law. They no longer need National Firearms Act registration or a federal tax stamp to do it.
Uthmeier announced the change in a post on X: “Law-abiding Floridians may possess SBRs and SBSs without NFA registration, a tax stamp, or fear of prosecution under Florida law. We are issuing guidance and will not defend a conviction on appeal. This office will always defend the Second Amendment rights of peaceable citizens.”
The guidance is a memo dated the same day and addressed to “Florida’s Law Enforcement Agencies and Prosecuting Authorities.” In it, Uthmeier writes that his office reviewed a series of recent legal developments “and determined that it is no longer unlawful to possess an SBR or SBS under section 790.221, Florida Statutes.”
How it got here
The memo lays out the chain of events. It starts with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in which Congress cut the NFA’s making and transfer taxes to zero for short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and silencers. Congress kept those taxes on machine guns and destructive devices.
With the tax gone, a federal court in Texas stepped in. In Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the NFA’s prior-approval and registration requirements could no longer stand. Those rules require ATF sign-off before you make or transfer one of these firearms, and registration once you have it. The court found they could no longer be justified under Congress’s taxing power or any of its other powers.
The court permanently enjoined the federal government from enforcing those provisions. In plain terms, it issued a standing court order blocking enforcement. That order only protected the plaintiffs and their members and customers. The plaintiffs include Gun Owners of America, the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition and the Gun Owners Foundation. According to the memo, the United States declined to appeal.
ATF then went further than the court required. On Oct. 9, the agency confirmed it would stop enforcing the NFA’s prior-approval and registration requirements nationwide for SBRs, SBSs and silencers, whether or not a person belongs to one of the plaintiff groups. ATF also said it would temporarily stop enforcing 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(4). That provision requires licensed transfers of SBRs and SBSs to be “specifically authorized by the Attorney General.” The pause runs while ATF updates its regulatory process.
Why Florida had to answer separately
Federal non-enforcement only speaks to federal law. Florida has its own statute on these firearms, and until the state weighed in, a Floridian with an unregistered SBR or SBS was left to guess where state prosecutors stood. Uthmeier’s memo answers that for state law. His office will not defend a conviction on appeal.
The memo has limits. It speaks to short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns, and to law-abiding residents. Under federal law, the NFA’s requirements still apply to machine guns and destructive devices. The NFA defines destructive devices to include bombs, grenades, mines and rockets.
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The right mindset here is to know exactly what changed and what did not before buying, building or carrying anything. For the rest of the state’s rules on carrying a firearm, see my guide to Florida concealed carry laws.
I will continue tracking ATF’s regulatory changes on licensed SBR and SBS transfers and any further guidance from Florida’s attorney general.
