State Legality MatrixSuppressorsDelaware
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-10 · State detail verified 2026-07-31
Banned
No. Possessing a firearm silencer as a destructive weapon is a class E felony, even with a federal NFA stamp.
Controlling law: 11 Del. C. § 1444
Contested entry
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.
The statute in practice
Delaware Title 11, section 1444 places a firearm silencer within the destructive-weapons offense and supplies narrow exceptions for specified military, police, and wildlife-control work. Federal registration does not appear among the general civilian exceptions in that section.
Federal law
Suppressors are federally legal to own under the NFA. As of January 1, 2026 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 2025) zeroed the federal making and transfer tax on suppressors, formerly $200. Form 4 or Form 1, fingerprints, the NICS background check, and NFA registration are all still required; ATF eForm approvals currently run days to a couple of weeks.
Scope: Firearm suppressors (silencers) as defined by the NFA. Federal NFA compliance (Form 4 or Form 1, fingerprints, NICS, registration) is required everywhere they are legal.
Common questions
No. Possessing a firearm silencer as a destructive weapon is a class E felony, even with a federal NFA stamp. Controlling law: 11 Del. C. § 1444.
The controlling law is 11 Del. C. § 1444. Possessing a firearm silencer as a destructive weapon is a class E felony, even with a federal NFA stamp.
Suppressors are federally legal to own under the NFA. As of January 1, 2026 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 2025) zeroed the federal making and transfer tax on suppressors, formerly $200. Form 4 or Form 1, fingerprints, the NICS background check, and NFA registration are all still required; ATF eForm approvals currently run days to a couple of weeks.