NFA background checks more than doubled in September. Is your shop ready?

NSSF’s figures for September 2026 show 149,614 NFA checks (Forms 1 and 4), up 129.2 percent from 65,273 in September 2025. In the same month the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure, the industry’s usual stand-in for retail gun sales, was 1,152,077, down 2.3 percent from a year earlier. For the third quarter as a whole, adjusted checks were up 2.5 percent.

Put simply: overall demand was flat, and NFA items were where the growth was. That was before ATF’s October 9 letter ended federal registration for silencers, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs.

What the numbers do and do not say

• A background check is not a sale. One check can cover several guns, and NSSF removes permit checks so the adjusted figure is a better proxy, not an exact count.
• NSSF only began publishing NFA check figures in 2026, so there is little history to compare against.
• National numbers hide your state. Several states restrict NFA items, and demand there will not look like this.

If you sell NFA items

• Stock: the cheapest in-stock suppressor changes daily across distributors. Know which of yours carry the brands your customers ask for.
• Process: buyers will ask what changed. Have one written answer, and point them to our summary of the ATF letter.
• Website: label NFA items clearly and say how your store handles them, including what you need from the buyer.
• Staff: a counter built around waiting for approval will see a different flow now. Walk through it before the holiday rush.

ArmoryFlow storefronts label NFA items on every product card and product page. A dealer with a valid SOT can sell them for in-store pickup, and every dealer can show them with prices.

See distributor stock behind a storefront