ATF Brace Ban is Coming - Learn How to Comply with the New Regulations - August 2022

**UPDATE** - There is a new decision timeline.  There should be a decision on the brace ban coming in December. 

"On June 10, 2021, defendants published in the Federal Register a proposed rule on “Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces', 86 Fed. Reg. 30,826 (June 10, 2021). The proposed rule provided for a 90-day public comment period, during which the agency received 211,564 comments. The agency has since processed all of those comments and is presently in the process of drafting the final rule, which includes preparing responses to comments and engaging in other deliberative activities. The agency currently expects to publish a final rule in December 2022."  View source here.

The ATF published the schedule for the brace ban.  The Final action date was supposed to be August, 2022, but has since changed to December 2022 (see above). 

You can view the entire document: Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” here. 

HOW TO COMPLY: You do have options to comply (see below).  The most common that we are seeing is people applying to make an SBR using the ATF's eForm 1 application website. 

A. Current Unlicensed Possessors

In order to comply with the provisions of the NFA, current unlicensed possessors of a firearm equipped with a “stabilizing brace” and a barrel length of less than 16 inches that would qualify as a “short-barreled rifle” as indicated on the ATF Worksheet 4999 contained in this proposed rule would need to take one of the following actions before the effective date of a final rule.

1)  Permanently remove or alter the “stabilizing brace” such that it cannot be reattached, thus converting the firearm back to its original pistol configuration (as long as it was originally configured without a stock and as a pistol) and thereby removing it from regulation as a “firearm” under the NFA. Exercising this option would mean the pistol would no longer be “equipped with” the stabilizing brace within the meaning of the proposed rule.

2)  Remove the short barrel and attach a 16-inch or longer barrel to the firearm thus removing it from the provisions of the NFA.

3)  Destroy the firearm. ATF will publish information regarding proper destruction on its website, www.atf.gov.

4)  Turn the firearm into your local ATF office.

5)  Complete and submit an Application to Make and Register a Firearm, ATF Form 1 (“Form 1”). As part of the submission, the $200 tax payment is required with the application. Pursuant to 27 CFR 479.102, the name, city, and state of the maker of the firearm must be properly marked on the firearm. All other markings, placed by the original manufacturer, should be adopted. Proof of submission of the Form 1 should be maintained by all possessors. Documentation establishing 43 submission of Form 1 includes, but is not limited to, eForm submission acknowledgement, proof of payment, or copy of Form 1 submission with postmark documentation.

B. Federal firearms licensees not having paid special (occupational) tax (“SOT”) as a Class 2 manufacturer under the NFA.  In order to comply with the provisions of the NFA, Federal firearm licensees not having paid SOT as a Class 2 manufacturer under the NFA currently in possession of a firearm equipped with a “stabilizing brace” and a barrel length of less than 16 inches that would qualify as a “short-barreled rifle” under the ATF Worksheet 4999 contained in this proposed rule would be required to take one of the following actions before the effective date of a final rule.

1) Options 1–4 listed above.
2) Complete and submit an ATF Form 1. As part of the submission, the $200 tax payment is required with the application. Pursuant to 27 CFR 479.102, the name, city, and state of the maker of the firearm must be properly marked on the firearm. All other markings, placed by the original manufacturer, should be adopted. Proof of submission of the Form 1 should be maintained by all possessors. Documentation establishing submission of Form 1 includes, but is not limited to, eForm submission acknowledgement, proof of payment, or copy of Form 1 submission with postmark documentation. An importer, manufacturer, or dealer licensed under the GCA, but not the NFA, may not engage in the business of dealing in NFA firearms prior to compliance with the payment of the SOT.

C. Manufacturers licensed under GCA and qualified under NFA