The process of legally acquiring firearm suppressors in the United States has undergone significant changes in recent years.
Regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, suppressors require approval from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) before purchase. As these devices have grown in popularity among shooting enthusiasts and hunters, the approval process has attracted increased attention and scrutiny.
NFA wait times were infamous for the snail’s pace at which applications are processed. But why is that the case? Is there a way to speed up the process, and is there hope that the ATF might actually process applications in a timely fashion someday? It is happening now!
Historical Context
Before 2016, suppressor approval times routinely extended beyond 9 months, with some applicants waiting more than a year.
These delays stemmed from understaffing at the ATF’s NFA Division, paper-based application systems, and rising application volumes. The cumbersome process required submitting ATF Form 4, fingerprints, photographs, a $200 tax payment, and local law enforcement notification. This bureaucratic process deterred many potential suppressor owners and created widespread frustration.
Ben Hiller, the acting NFA branch leader, dove into the Form 4 approval process, finding that as much as 80% of the process being done manually was redundant, as a computer program had already done it.
The eForms Revolution
The relaunch of the ATF’s electronic filing system (eForms) in late 2021 marked a turning point for suppressor approvals.
After struggling with technical issues during its initial 2013 launch, the revamped system promised dramatic improvements in processing efficiency. The firearms industry greeted this development with cautious optimism, as initial data suggested that electronic submissions could reduce wait times from over a year to just a few months.
This digital transformation represented the first major procedural update in decades.
Current Approval Timelines
The average wait times are super low now as of April 2025. Just 17 days for a trust filing and 7 days for an individual filing! My most recent suppressor purchase was approved in that short timeframe. There are two ways to submit the Form 4.
You can send in a paper version through the mail, which is going to take a long time for approval (last reported at 286 days based off current data from the ATF). The preferred fashion is the eForm 4, which makes up the bulk of submissions these days. The process for approving eForm 4s is being looked at all the time, according to sources within the ATF and NFA.
However, the ATF Director was recently replaced, and some changes to federal employment have caused a slight delay in some approvals. The average approval time for individual filing went up from 24 days to 26 days.
We have been assured that the changes and delays are being sorted out and the ATF will get back on track with increasingly faster approvals, so don’t worry. Things will get better.
Regional and Dealer Variances
Interestingly, approval times can also vary significantly based on geographical location and dealer experience. Some regions consistently report faster approvals than others, though the ATF maintains that applications are processed in the order received.
Submissions through established, high-volume dealers often move through the system more efficiently than those from occasional sellers. Application quality matters significantly—forms with complete, accurate information typically avoid delays associated with correction requests.
Trust vs. Individual Applications
Following rule changes in 2016 (known as 41F), the approval time advantage previously enjoyed by NFA trusts has diminished considerably. The primary remaining advantage of trust ownership relates to succession planning and shared use rights rather than approval efficiency. This shift has led many buyers to reconsider their application strategy, with individual applications becoming increasingly common.
Per the ATF and other reports eFile Form 4 wait times average just 31 days for trust filing, and close to real time approvals for individuals, with an average of 26 days.
In some cases, people have seen Trust approvals coming in within a matter of days. On the flip side, some individual approvals are taking longer, usually due to name similarity issues.
The bottom line is simple – It is taking less time for you to get your suppressor, which is great news for shooting enthusiasts and hunters!
