Suppressor Laws by State (2026)

Exempts law enforcement agencies listed in Penal Code § 830.1, the military, and on-duty peace officers authorized by their agency (§ 33415).

Ownership under the federal NFA is permitted; only hunting use is banned. Verified current as of July 2026: 2025-2026 bills sought to repeal the hunting-use ban but it still stands.

Exempts military members, authorized Delaware police, and certified state or federal wildlife biologists for wildlife disease or population control. No 2025-2026 repeal has passed; the ban remains in force.

Silencers are grouped with automatic firearms and other prohibited devices; conviction carries a mandatory 5-year term without probation.

Ban remains in force in 2026. A federal challenge was rejected: the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois upheld the ban, holding suppressors are not arms under the Second Amendment.

Exempts federally licensed manufacturers selling to law enforcement, the municipal police training committee, and sworn law enforcement officers on duty. Punishable by up to 5 years in state prison.

Exempts armed forces and National Guard members and duly authorized on-duty law enforcement, plus a narrow special deer-management permit exception. Manufacture, transport, and sale are separately barred by N.J. Stat. § 2C:39-9.

The state ban applies even with an approved federal Form 4. Possession is also addressed under Penal Law §§ 265.00 and 265.01; a repeal bill was pending but not enacted as of 2026.

Exempts law enforcement tactical-team officers acting within official duties under direct supervision. Punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year and one day.

Section 4010 also limits making and importing. Act 161 of 2024 removed the former sunset on suppressor hunting, making that hunting authority permanent.

Section 22-4514 is the possession prohibition and contains no ordinary civilian or federal-registration exception.

Manufacture, possession, transport, sale, or transfer is otherwise a class C felony. Alaska has not said whether an injunction-covered but unregistered suppressor satisfies the state registration defense. SB 243 remained pending as of August 20, 2026.

Arizona has no separate suppressor permit. Section 17-251 protects lawful suppressor possession and hunting use, subject to other hunting-method rules.

Colorado issues no separate civilian suppressor permit; ordinary owners rely on federal approval. State law does not resolve whether the 2026 party-specific federal injunction satisfies this affirmative defense, and local governments may adopt stricter accessory rules.

Georgia has no separate suppressor permit, but the statute expressly keys the civilian exception to NFA registration. No controlling state authority currently addresses injunction-covered unregistered devices.

Section 724.1A requires law-enforcement certification only when federal law or regulation requires it; it is not a standing Iowa suppressor permit.

HB 2501 deleted suppressors from K.S.A. 21-6301 and related exception language in 21-6302. It added a sentencing enhancement for specified felonies committed with a suppressor.

Louisiana has no second suppressor registry, but section 40:1785 independently demands federal registration and transfer. Its application to injunction-covered unregistered possession remains unresolved.

Michigan has no separate suppressor permit. Attorney General Opinion 7260 confirms the federal-approval exception; the state has not addressed injunction-covered unregistered possession.

Minn. Stat. § 609.66 criminalizes only suppressors not lawfully possessed under federal law; there is no separate state or local suppressor permit. The 'MN requires a local LE permit' line is an outdated talking point.

Federal noncompliance is an element of the Missouri offense, not a separately worded exception. The statute covers possession, manufacture, transport, repair, and sale.

Montana has no separate suppressor permit. Because federal registration carries state evidentiary weight, the effect of the 2026 federal injunction on an unregistered device is unresolved.

The possessor bears the burden of establishing federal licensure, authorization, or permission. Nevada has not addressed the party-specific injunction's effect on that burden.

The state statute covers possession, storage, transport, sale, purchase, and parts combinations. No controlling North Carolina authority currently addresses injunction-covered unregistered possession.

Noncompliance is a class C felony. North Dakota has not said whether an injunction-covered but unregistered suppressor meets the state condition.

The 2026 federal injunction does not itself place a device in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. SB 214 passed the Senate but was not enacted as of August 20, 2026.

Oregon has no separate registry, but the federal-registration defense is critical. State law does not resolve its application to an injunction-covered unregistered suppressor.

The defendant bears the burden of proving the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Pennsylvania has not addressed injunction-covered unregistered possession.

Washington has not addressed use of an injunction-covered unregistered suppressor. A suppressor or threaded barrel can also affect whether a semiautomatic host meets the state's assault-weapon definition.

The baseline offense is a class H felony. Wisconsin has not addressed whether an injunction-covered unregistered suppressor satisfies the state exception.