Over the past several days, several clients have contacted me because they understood that a GOA member purchasing a suppressor from a seller protected by the recent federal injunction could simply complete an ATF Form 4473 and take possession without undergoing a background check. In other words, they believed that completing Form 4473 was the only remaining requirement once the Form 4 process was removed.
That understanding is incorrect.
Completing Form 4473 and undergoing a background check are related steps, but they are not the same thing. Form 4473 is the federal transaction record containing the purchaser’s identifying information, eligibility answers, and certifications. The background check is a separate inquiry initiated by the Federal Firearms Licensee through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or through the state point of contact that accesses NICS. In Virginia, that inquiry is submitted through the Virginia State Police.
For an injunction-protected suppressor transfer completed without an approved Form 4, the purchaser must still complete Form 4473 and, absent some separate and independently applicable exception, the FFL must still initiate the federally required background check.
The Injunction Does Not Eliminate the Gun Control Act
The injunction in Silencer Shop Foundation v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, No. 6:25-CV-056-H (N.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2026), prevents the federal defendants from enforcing specified National Firearms Act registration, application, and approval provisions against the protected plaintiffs and, where applicable, their members and customers. The final judgment identifies particular provisions of the NFA and its implementing regulations that may not be enforced in covered transactions.
The injunction does not suspend the Gun Control Act. It does not enjoin 18 U.S.C. § 922(t), the federal dealer background-check statute. It does not invalidate the Form 4473 regulations in 27 C.F.R. Part 478. It does not create a general background-check exemption for GOA members, and it does not enjoin the Virginia State Police from administering Virginia’s point-of-contact system.
The injunction therefore changes the NFA side of a covered transaction, but the purchaser and FFL must still comply with the separate requirements imposed by the Gun Control Act.
A Suppressor Remains a “Firearm” Under Federal Law
Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3)(C), the federal definition of “firearm” expressly includes a firearm muffler or firearm silencer. A suppressor consequently remains a firearm for Gun Control Act purposes even when the federal government is enjoined from requiring a Form 4 in a particular transaction.
That classification triggers the ordinary federal rules governing an FFL’s transfer of a firearm to an unlicensed purchaser.
18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(1) generally prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from transferring a firearm to a nonlicensee unless the licensee first initiates the required background-check inquiry and receives the response—or satisfies the applicable statutory waiting provisions—required by federal law. The corresponding regulation is 27 C.F.R. § 478.102.
Separately, 27 C.F.R. § 478.124 requires completion and retention of Form 4473 for an FFL’s over-the-counter transfer to an unlicensed person. One requirement does not replace the other.
Why an Approved Form 4 Normally Eliminates a Second NICS Check
The source of much of the confusion is the rule governing ordinary NFA transfers.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3)(B), the normal point-of-sale background-check requirement does not apply when the Attorney General has approved the transfer under 26 U.S.C. § 5812. Similarly, 27 C.F.R. § 478.102(d)(2) recognizes an exception for an NFA firearm that has been approved for transfer under Part 479.
In a traditional Form 4 transaction, ATF conducts the relevant background check during the NFA approval process. When the approved transferee later takes possession, the dealer still completes Form 4473, but ordinarily does not initiate a second NICS inquiry for the same person. The current Form 4473 expressly provides for that situation.
The injunction transaction is materially different. If no Form 4 was filed or approved, then:
- ATF did not conduct a background check through the Form 4 approval process;
- the Attorney General did not approve the transfer under § 5812; and
- the statutory NFA-transfer exception in § 922(t)(3)(B) has not been satisfied.
The injunction prevents enforcement of the Form 4 requirement in a protected transaction. It does not declare an unfiled Form 4 to be approved, and it does not transform the transaction into an approved § 5812 transfer. Without that approval, the FFL must fall back on the ordinary § 922(t) background-check process unless some different federal exception applies.
Put simply: an approved Form 4 ordinarily supplies both the NFA approval and the background check supporting the § 922(t)(3)(B) exception. When the Form 4 process is omitted under the injunction, that background-check exception is omitted with it.
How the Check Works in Virginia
Virginia is a full point-of-contact state for NICS transactions. A Virginia FFL ordinarily submits the purchaser’s information to the Virginia State Police Firearms Transaction Center through the state process, rather than contacting the FBI NICS Section directly. VSP then processes the inquiry using the applicable state and federal records systems.
Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2:2 requires background checks for firearms purchased from dealers, but it contains a narrower definition than federal law. For purposes of that particular section, Virginia defines “firearm” as a handgun, shotgun, or rifle capable of expelling a projectile by explosion. A standalone suppressor does not appear to fall within that state-law definition because it is not itself a handgun, shotgun, or rifle and does not expel a projectile.
That does not make a Virginia dealer’s suppressor transfer exempt from a background check. It means that the principal legal source of the check requirement for a standalone suppressor is federal § 922(t), not the independent command of Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2:2. Virginia remains the point of contact through which the FFL ordinarily performs the federally required check.
The Virginia State Police Dealer Procedures Manual recognizes this distinction. It explains that § 18.2-308.2:2 does not address federal “other firearm” categories, but directs dealers to use the state form category that best accommodates an “other” firearm requiring a NICS check. ATF’s Form 4473 instructions likewise place silencers in the “Other Firearm” category.
If the transaction includes both a suppressor and an actual handgun, rifle, or shotgun, Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2:2 would independently apply to the firearm included in the transaction.
What Purchasers Must Do
A purchaser relying on the injunction should expect the dealer to require both Form 4473 and a VSP/NICS background check. The purchaser should:
- verify that both the purchaser and the seller are actually within the injunction’s protected classes and that the particular transaction is covered;
- provide complete and truthful answers on Form 4473 and any required Virginia form;
- provide the identification and information needed for the VSP/NICS inquiry;
- wait until the dealer is legally permitted to complete the transfer; and
- continue to comply with all other federal and Virginia possession and eligibility restrictions.
Membership in GOA is relevant to the possible scope of the NFA injunction. It is not a NICS-exempt permit and does not authorize the purchaser to demand that an FFL skip the background check. A Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit also is not currently recognized by ATF as a qualifying alternative to the NICS check.
Purchasers should also remember that false statements on Form 4473 can create serious federal criminal exposure under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(6) and 924(a)(1)(A). Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2:2(K) separately penalizes an intentional, materially false statement on the state consent form or firearm transaction records required by federal law.
What FFLs Must Do
An FFL handling one of these transactions should not treat proof of GOA membership or proof of injunction coverage as a substitute for ordinary Gun Control Act compliance. The FFL should:
- Confirm and document the basis for concluding that the buyer, seller, and transaction fall within the injunction.
- Complete Form 4473 and classify the suppressor in the appropriate “Other Firearm” category.
- Initiate the federally required background check through VSP/VCheck unless another genuine § 922(t) exception applies.
- Record the VSP/NICS transaction information and response in the appropriate portion of Form 4473.
- Not mark the NFA-approval exception merely because the transfer is proceeding without a Form 4. That exception applies when there is an actual approved NFA transfer and the required person was checked during that approval process.
- Observe all remaining federal requirements, including prohibited-person, age, residency, identification, record-retention, and actual-buyer rules.
- Retain appropriate documentation supporting the dealer’s conclusion that the NFA injunction covers the transaction.
An FFL that skips the check based solely on the injunction risks violating the Gun Control Act and Part 478 even if the underlying no-Form-4 transfer is protected from enforcement under the NFA. Depending on the facts and the dealer’s state of mind, violations can produce criminal exposure, administrative action against the license, or both.
The Practical Rule
For a Virginia FFL transferring a suppressor to an unlicensed purchaser without an approved Form 4 under the protection of the injunction, the safest and legally supported rule is straightforward:
No Form 4 does not mean no background check.
The buyer completes Form 4473, and the dealer ordinarily initiates the required background check through the Virginia State Police. The dealer should not invoke the NFA-transfer exception on Form 4473 because no NFA transfer was approved and no background check occurred through the Form 4 process.
This remains a rapidly developing area. The injunction is limited to its terms and protected parties, and future ATF guidance, appellate proceedings, or additional court orders could affect implementation. Purchasers and dealers should obtain transaction-specific advice before relying on the injunction.
This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for advice concerning a particular purchaser, dealer, suppressor, or transaction.
Principal Authorities
- Silencer Shop Foundation v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, No. 6:25-CV-056-H, Memorandum Opinion and Final Judgment, ECF Nos. 136–137 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2026).
- 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(3)(C), 922(a)(6), 922(t), and 924(a)(1)(A).
- 26 U.S.C. § 5812.
- 27 C.F.R. §§ 478.102 and 478.124.
- ATF Form 4473 and current instructions.
- Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2:2.
- Virginia State Police, Dealer Procedures Manual, Appendix A, Question 21.
