PSA Ships Short-Barreled Rifles to Buyers in 17 States Without ATF Form 4 Approval

Palmetto State Armory said on October 23 that it sells qualifying short-barreled rifles in 17 states without the ATF Form 4 approval that the National Firearms Act (NFA), the 1934 federal law that keeps a registry of such firearms, required. The announcement was a video on the company’s X account, and AmmoLand published its wording and the list of states on October 26.

Buyers in Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming take delivery through a participating dealer using only ATF Form 4473 and a background check, the same paperwork as any other gun purchase. Until now, buyers filed Form 4, submitted fingerprints and identifying information, and waited for approval. “Effective today, Palmetto State Armory has expanded the availability of eligible short-barreled rifles through our ship-to-FFL program in 17 states,” the company said.

A short-barreled rifle, or SBR, is a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches. ATF’s May 8, 2026 final rule in the Federal Register, which wrote the zero tax into its regulations, lists the thresholds the NFA covers.

Congress cut the transfer and making taxes to zero effective January 1, 2026, but the registration system stayed. On August 5, 2026, in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held in a 66-page opinion that the NFA’s regulatory provisions for untaxed firearms exceed Congress’s enumerated powers, since a tax of zero raises no revenue. He did not reach the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claims. His permanent injunction bars enforcement against the plaintiffs and their members and current and future customers, and he wrote that federal courts lack the power to issue universal injunctions for parties not before them.

The Justice Department then said it would not appeal, and ATF issued guidance on October 9. ATF will not enforce the approval requirement for making or transferring SBRs, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors and “any other weapons.” The $200 tax stays on machine guns and destructive devices.

PSA was a commercial plaintiff in the lawsuit alongside B&T USA and SilencerCo, so the court’s injunction protects its customers as well as the company. Buyers elsewhere rely on ATF’s policy. ATF’s FAQ says enforcement could resume if Congress imposes a new tax, the injunction is dissolved or overturned, or the Department rescinds its enforcement guidelines. It adds that federal law has no provisions that automatically grandfather unregistered NFA firearms.

Other rules still apply. The guidance does not supersede state and local laws, and dealers must still complete Form 4473s and run background checks. Moving an SBR across state lines still requires approval through Form 20. PSA says more states could be added as its compliance team reviews state restrictions.

ATF is drafting forms and regulations for a non-NFA approval process, and it will not enforce the Gun Control Act’s dealer approval requirement for SBRs until those rules exist. The FAQ, last updated October 16, 2026, sets no date.