(LOOTPRESS) – Federal gun regulators are moving to overhaul one of the most commonly used National Firearms Act (NFA) forms — and the changes could significantly simplify life for West Virginia gun owners and dealers.
On October 30, 2025, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) published proposed revisions to ATF Form 5320.1 (“Form 1”), the application used when individuals, trusts, or other entities want to make and register an NFA firearm such as a suppressor, short-barreled rifle (SBR), short-barreled shotgun (SBS), or “any other weapon” (AOW).
The proposal is open for public comment through December 1, 2025.
What ATF Is Proposing to Change
According to the ATF notice and related summaries, the Department of Justice is revising Form 1 under the federal Paperwork Reduction Act and in anticipation of statutory changes that zero out the tax on most NFA items starting in 2026.
Key proposed changes include:
1. $200 “Making” Tax Zeroed Out for Most NFA Items
The form is being updated to reflect new law reducing the excise tax to $0 for making and transferring most NFA firearms — including suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs — starting January 1, 2026. Machine guns and destructive devices remain subject to the $200 tax.
In practice, that means a West Virginia resident filing a Form 1 to build a suppressor or convert an AR into an SBR would no longer pay the traditional $200 tax stamp once the change is fully implemented. The registration and background check requirements still apply; the “free tax stamp” just removes the financial barrier.
2. CLEO Notification Requirement Removed
ATF proposes to remove the requirement that applicants send a copy of their Form 1 to their Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) — typically the county sheriff or city police chief.
This notification has long been criticized as redundant, since ATF already performs the background checks. Its removal would mean West Virginia applicants no longer have to figure out which CLEO to notify or mail extra paperwork locally; the process would be entirely between the applicant, their dealer or trust attorney, and ATF.
3. More Flexible Photo and Signature Requirements
The proposal would:
ATF is also updating the fillable PDF/eForm version so that information entered on the main copy automatically populates the second copy, reducing duplicative data entry.
4. Electronic Fingerprints and Modernized Instructions
The broader change package references electronic fingerprints, clearer references to ATF’s eForms system and pay.gov, and additional instructions including how married couples can jointly make and register an NFA firearm as “other legal entities.”
Other tweaks include combining race/ethnicity checkboxes, correcting typos, and publishing dedicated contact emails for NFA questions.
Why This Matters in West Virginia
West Virginia is one of the most NFA-friendly states in the country. Suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, AOWs, and other NFA items are legal to own for those who comply with federal law, and suppressors are specifically permitted for hunting.
State law broadly preempts local gun control ordinances, centralizing firearms regulation at the state level. And West Virginia’s Second Amendment Preservation and Anti-Federal Commandeering Act restricts the extent to which state and local law enforcement can be “commandeered” to enforce federal gun laws. The Act, 2021’s House Bill 2694, which was championed by the West Virginia Citizen’s Defense League and Lead Sponsored by Delegate Brandon Steele during the 2021 session of the West Virginia Legislature, was the first of its kind to withstand Department of Justice scrutiny. Similar acts in other states were ultimately struck down by federal courts while the specific tailoring of the West Virginia Act has survived federal scrutiny, making West Virginia’s a model for other states to follow.
Against that backdrop, the Form 1 changes land in three big ways:
1. Lower Cost, Same Paperwork – More Suppressors and SBRs
If the $200 making tax is truly reduced to zero for most NFA items, barrier-to-entry drops significantly for:
West Virginia dealers already report strong demand for suppressors and other NFA items; many advertise Class III sales as a core part of their business model.
With “free tax stamps” on Form 1 builds, you can expect:
2. Less Friction With Local Law Enforcement
Ending the CLEO notification requirement aligns neatly with the state’s anti-commandeering stance. Federal law will no longer force West Virginia sheriffs or police chiefs into the loop on every Form 1 application as a matter of federal paperwork.
Practically, for West Virginia applicants:
For local law enforcement, it removes a paperwork burden that never actually gave them a veto, only a notification.
3. Streamlined Workflow for Dealers and Trust Lawyers
Although Form 1 is used by individuals and entities rather than by dealers for direct retail transfers (that’s typically Form 4), many West Virginia FFLs and attorneys effectively function as guides through the NFA maze.
The proposed changes:
Given West Virginia’s strong gun culture and relatively small legal community, those paperwork efficiencies matter.
A Bigger Picture: ATF “Reform” and Rural States
The Form 1 revamp is part of a broader ATF initiative that has been described by some industry observers as a “new era of reform,” with the agency talking more about partnership with FFLs and making forms easier to use.
Critics of ATF will fairly point out that form simplification doesn’t erase controversies over past rulemakings or enforcement actions. Supporters of the changes, including many in the NFA community, see this as a rare example of Washington actually reducing red tape rather than adding to it.
For a rural, pro-gun state like West Virginia — where suppressors are legal, hunting with them is allowed, and local preemption is strong — the net result is likely:
The open question is whether Congress or future administrations will treat these changes as a first step toward deeper reform of the NFA system, or simply a one-time modernization of the forms.
What’s Next
The ATF proposal is in a 30-day public comment period that closes on December 1, 2025. After that, the agency may finalize the revisions, modify them based on feedback, or withdraw the proposal entirely.
For West Virginia firearms owners, dealers, hunters, and manufacturers who want their voices heard, the public comment portal is open.
To submit your own comment directly to ATF:
Visit the official rulemaking page here:
👉 https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations
(ATF posts all open proposed rules under its current “Rules and Regulations” section, including links to the Federal Register comment submission portal.)
Lootpress will continue tracking the proposal as it moves toward a final rule and as West Virginians begin to see what “free tax stamps” and a streamlined Form 1 process look like in practice.
