ATF Form 4

**ATF Form 4** — formally the "Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm" — is the paperwork filed when a civilian buys an NFA-regulated item from a Class III dealer. It is the most common NFA form most suppressor and SBR buyers will ever see. The process: pick out your suppressor or SBR at a Class III dealer, the dealer or a third-party service files the Form 4 on your behalf, you pay the $200 tax stamp, and you wait. The item sits at the dealer until approval. Wait times have historically been the biggest friction point in NFA ownership — 9 to 14 months was standard for most of the 2010s. As of 2026, Form 4 via eForms has dropped wait times to the 30–90 day range for most applications, which has meaningfully changed the suppressor buying experience in the last two years.