Machine Guns

Last reviewed October 31, 2026

Machine Guns: Where It Stands in 2026

Machine guns did not share in the NFA wins of 2026. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut the NFA tax to $0 only for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs, and ATF’s October 9, 2026 non-enforcement letter covers only those four categories. For machine guns, the $200 transfer tax, federal registration, fingerprints and ATF pre-approval all remain fully in force.

The bigger barrier is 18 U.S.C. 922(o), added by the Hughes Amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act, signed May 19, 1986. It bans civilian possession or transfer of machine guns not lawfully possessed and registered before that date. As a result, the civilian market is limited to a fixed pool of pre-1986 registered guns, and prices have climbed far beyond what the same firearms cost new. Gun-rights advocates point out that legally registered machine guns are almost never used in crime and argue that a ban on an entire class of arms owned by law-abiding citizens cannot survive the text-history-tradition test of NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022).

Courts have not agreed so far. In January 2026 a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel in United States v. Wilson affirmed a 922(o) conviction, holding that its 2016 precedent in Hollis v. Lynch (machine guns are “dangerous and unusual”) survived Bruen. Other circuits have reached similar results. On the regulatory side, owners won ground: the Supreme Court held in Garland v. Cargill (June 14, 2024) that ATF exceeded its authority by classifying bump stocks as machine guns, and on May 16, 2025 DOJ settled the forced reset trigger litigation with Rare Breed Triggers, ending the government’s effort to treat those triggers as machine guns.

Key Facts

• June 26, 1934: National Firearms Act enacted; machine guns taxed and registered.
• May 19, 1986: Firearm Owners Protection Act signed; 922(o) freezes the civilian-transferable registry.
• June 14, 2024: Garland v. Cargill (6-3): bump stocks are not “machineguns” under federal law.
• May 16, 2025: DOJ settlement with Rare Breed Triggers resolving forced reset trigger cases.
• January 2026: United States v. Wilson (5th Cir.) upholds 922(o) under Bruen.
• October 2026: $200 NFA tax, Form 4, registration and ATF approval still required for transferable machine guns; Form 20 still required for interstate transport.

What Gun Owners Should Know

• Only machine guns registered before May 19, 1986 can be transferred to ordinary civilians, and every transfer still needs an approved ATF form before possession.
• The 2026 suppressor and SBR changes do not apply. Do not assume the zero-tax rules cover machine guns or conversion devices.
• Conversion devices, including “auto sears” and pistol “switches,” are themselves machine guns under federal law. Possessing an unregistered one is a serious federal felony.
• Many states add their own machine gun bans or licensing; check state law before buying.
• Follow the litigation on the Court Cases page and at NFA Buyers Guide.com. See also the National Firearms Act (NFA) overview.

Sources

• 18 U.S.C. 922(o) (Cornell LII)
• Hughes Amendment (Cornell LII Wex)
• DOJ: Settlement of Litigation with Rare Breed Triggers (May 16, 2025)
• AmmoLand: Fifth Circuit Upholds Post-1986 Machine Gun Ban (Jan. 2026)
• American Rifleman: ATF NFA Guidance (Oct. 9, 2026)