Double H GunsmithingBlanch, North Carolina

Firearm and NFA Transfers

Double H Gunsmithing handles FFL and NFA transfers at our shop in Blanch, North Carolina. We accept transfers from all legal sources within the United States (we don't have ITAR to accept imports), including private individuals. The prices below are North Carolina sales-tax-included cash prices.

Silencer Shop and NFA transfers

Double H Gunsmithing is a Silencer Shop Powered By dealer. Suppressor laws are changing quickly. For a current visual map of state rules, including whether North Carolina requires a tax stamp for suppressors, please see Silencer Shop’s guide at silencershop.com/how-to-buy-a-silencer.

Please note: we can only complete transfers of suppressors, other NFA items, handguns, and receivers for North Carolina residents.

Tax stamps, the Texas order, and North Carolina

This is general information drawn from public laws and court papers. It is not legal advice. We are a gunsmith shop, not a law firm. These rules are still moving, and an enforcement policy can be changed or withdrawn. Please talk with an attorney about your own situation before you rely on this page. If you are planning to ship an item to us, contact us first.

The federal tax is $0 for some NFA firearms

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act became Public Law 119-21. Section 70436 of that law rewrote the National Firearms Act making tax, 26 U.S.C. § 5821, and transfer tax, 26 U.S.C. § 5811.

For a machine gun or a destructive device, the tax stays $200 each time one is made and each time one is transferred. For every other firearm the National Firearms Act regulates, the tax is $0. That $0 group includes silencers (suppressors), short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and the firearms the statute calls “any other weapon.” Before this change, the transfer tax on an “any other weapon” was $5, not $200. The making tax on those items had been $200.

Section 70436 says the tax change applies to calendar quarters that begin more than 90 days after July 4, 2025. The first quarter that meets that test begins January 1, 2026. ATF states that same effective date in its May 8, 2026 rule. The act changed the tax rate. It did not, by itself, repeal registration, the application process, or the penalties in the National Firearms Act.

The Texas order covers certain people, not everyone

On August 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, in the San Angelo Division of the Northern District of Texas, entered a final judgment in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, No. 6:25-cv-00056. That case was consolidated with Jensen v. ATF, No. 6:26-cv-227. The docket and the court’s opinion are public.

The judgment permanently bars ATF and the Department of Justice from enforcing listed National Firearms Act provisions for the firearms whose making and transfer tax is now $0. Those provisions include approval before making or transferring the firearm, registration in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, and the related prohibitions. The bar runs against the plaintiffs and, where the order says so, their agencies, political subdivisions, members, and customers, both current and future. The court refused a nationwide order. It said a federal court cannot give that relief to people who are not before the court. The order does not bind other federal courts or the North Carolina courts.

Two limits are written on the judgment. It does not cover the Jensen plaintiffs as to “any other weapons.” A separate pair of marking provisions is enjoined only as to the Jensen plaintiffs and, where applicable, their members and customers. Machine guns and destructive devices are outside this order. The court stayed the judgment for seven days, so it took effect on August 12, 2026.

North Carolina is not one of the state plaintiffs. Do not assume the order covers you because of where you live, or because you belong to a group, until an attorney compares the order with your own facts. Some state plaintiffs have asked the court to say whether the order reaches every transfer inside their states. The government answered on October 12, 2026, and argued that it does not. We have not seen an order that widens the judgment.

ATF’s October 9, 2026 letter is an enforcement policy

On October 9, 2026, ATF Director Robert Cekada issued an open letter to federal firearms licensees and the public. ATF posted questions and answers with it.

The letter says the Texas injunction applies only to the plaintiffs and certain other specified persons. ATF then says it is using enforcement discretion so the same approach applies to everyone. Effective October 9, 2026, ATF will no longer require its approval before a person makes or transfers a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, silencer, or “any other weapon,” and it will no longer require those items to be registered. ATF says that policy applies to anyone who would otherwise have to comply, not only the plaintiffs. ATF also says it will still accept a voluntary Form 1, Form 3, or Form 4 from someone who wants the item registered.

The letter lists limits, and they matter:

ATF says the policy can end. Congress could tax these items again, a court could undo the injunction, or the Department could withdraw the guidance. ATF also says federal law does not automatically grandfather an unregistered item, and does not promise a later amnesty, if enforcement starts again.

North Carolina still has its own felony statute

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-288.8 makes it a Class F felony, unless an exception applies, to manufacture, assemble, possess, store, transport, sell, offer to sell, purchase, offer to purchase, deliver, give, or acquire a “weapon of mass death and destruction.”

The definition includes a firearm capable of fully automatic fire, a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches or an overall length under 26 inches, a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches or an overall length under 26 inches, and “any muffler or silencer for any firearm,” whether or not that firearm is itself on the list. A suppressor is covered. The definition also includes certain bombs, grenades, rockets, missiles, and mines, and certain weapons with a bore larger than one-half inch. The statute does not use the federal label “any other weapon.” Some of those federal items may fall inside this definition, and some may not. Read the particular item against the statute.

One exception, subsection (b)(5), is for a person who lawfully possesses or owns one of these weapons “in compliance with” the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53, sections 5801 through 5871. That is the federal chapter that contains the registration, making, and transfer rules. The exception is written as compliance with that chapter. It does not say that ATF’s current enforcement choices are enough. The same subsection says it does not limit a sheriff’s discretion when the sheriff executes the federal paperwork for the weapon. Other exceptions exist, including for certain federal or state licensees while they are doing what the license allows. Those exceptions are narrower than a general pass for a customer.

ATF’s October 9 letter says the Texas order and the new policy do not affect state or local law. In the questions and answers, ATF says to check with state and local authorities. ATF also says it cannot tell you whether an unregistered firearm or silencer, kept only because ATF is choosing not to enforce the federal statute, will count under state law as lawfully held or registered under federal law. The letter does not amend § 14-288.8, and it does not stop a North Carolina prosecution.

We will not tell you that skipping federal registration is safe in this state. The state exception people usually rely on is written around compliance with the National Firearms Act. Have an attorney confirm that your item and your paperwork actually fit that exception before you make, buy, or bring a covered item into North Carolina. Contact us before you have a suppressor, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or other NFA item shipped here.

Transfer fees

Guns

  • First gun: $35
  • Each additional gun in the same transaction: $20
  • Multiple Sales form, when required: $20 once per transaction, in addition to the additional-gun fee

Suppressors

  • Ordered through Silencer Shop: $0
  • All other suppressor vendors: $60

Rifle builds

  • If we started with a receiver and completed a rifle-type firearm: $35
  • If you purchased the receiver from us and we completed the rifle build: $0

Who we accept transfers from

We accept transfers from all legal sources within the United States (we don't have ITAR to accept imports), including private individuals.

What must ship in the box

Our FFL file copy

We do not provide our FFL license copy to customers as a general handout. We provide it only to individuals preparing a shipment to send to us, and to other licensees upon request.

If you have obtained a copy of our FFL file copy, you are not permitted to use our FFL for a transfer, or to present it to a vendor to authorize a shipment, without our knowledge or permission.

Before you have something shipped to us

If we have not dealt with a particular seller before, that seller will usually need a signed file copy of our FFL before releasing the firearm. Email us first. We will send the file copy to that seller for the shipment. We send FFL copies by email only. We do not send or receive faxes. The seller must be able to accept email, or another non-fax method that we can use.

To get started, please email [email protected] and include the seller’s email address, your order confirmation or auction details, lot number and paddle number for auction purchases, your name and a phone number where we can reach you, and any other information the seller requires before shipping. We will send our FFL to the seller and confirm when we are ready for the shipment. A copy sent for that shipment is not permission to use our FFL again, or to present it to another vendor, unless we have agreed.

Common vendors we work with

Buying local

If you want to avoid shipping charges and our transfer fee, consider buying from a local retail shop. At a local shop the transfer is included in the sale, with no additional charge. A few of the shops nearby:

Thank you to the local shops that refer gunsmithing work to us.

Auctions and classifieds

Manufacturers

Discount dropshippers

These sellers generally never see the gun. They dropship it from a distributor at wholesale and make a small profit through inflated shipping and processing fees. The total might run about $50–$60 over the list price, and it is often still the cheapest place to buy online. Many do not collect sales tax. Margins are thin, and they have no direct control over the shipment, so customer service is virtually non-existent and each purchase carries a small risk. If you want better support and faster shipping, pay a bit more at a better-known online vendor such as Bud’s Gun Shop, Palmetto State Armory, Primary Arms, or Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore.

Price index sites

We do not recommend Guns.com. It presents itself as one store with inventory, but it is a veneer that generates sales leads for pawn shops and small retail stores and collects a commission when it matches a seller with a buyer. That presentation is misleading. There is no seller reputation system, so guns are often packed poorly and sometimes arrive damaged. You cannot vet the actual seller before you buy.

What to expect

Transfers are completed in person at our shop. Please bring a valid government-issued photo ID. The name and address on the ID must match the information used for the transfer. We cannot complete a transfer with expired or insufficient identification.

You will complete ATF Form 4473. We then run the required background check through NICS, or through the system that applies to your transfer. Transfers are subject to federal and North Carolina law, including age and eligibility rules for the firearm or NFA item involved.

Background check results

  • Proceed: We can complete the transfer, subject to any other legal requirements.
  • Delayed: The check needs more time. We follow federal timing rules. A delay is not a denial. Please remain reachable. We will contact you when we have a final response, or when the law allows us to proceed.
  • Denied: We cannot transfer the firearm or NFA item to you. A denial is a determination by the background-check system. It is not a discretionary decision by our shop.

If your transfer is denied

You may have the right to appeal or to request the reason for a NICS denial through the FBI’s NICS process, or through the process described in your denial notice. We can point you to the official appeal information. We cannot override a denial or complete the transfer while a denial stands.

Other notes

Please allow extra time for NFA items, out-of-state paperwork, and busy periods. We may decline a transfer that appears unlawful or that we cannot complete in compliance with the law. If you have questions about documents, timing, or a specific situation, please contact us before you have something shipped to our shop.