Are Suppressors Legal in South Carolina?

South Carolina's machine-gun chapter at sections 16-23-210 through 16-23-280 defines and regulates machine guns and short-barreled firearms but does not include silencers in those definitions. ATF's current South Carolina compendium likewise lists no suppressor-specific possession entry, leaving the federal registration record as the device-level requirement.

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.