Four Weeks After the NFA Injunction, ATF Still Hasn’t Posted the Rules

U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann (KS-01) sent ATF Director Robert Cekada a letter on August 27, 2026, after the Northern District of Texas injunction against remaining NFA registration for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs. Mann’s office captioned the case Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF. He asked how the ruling affects Form 4s, which registration requirements remain, how pending applications will be handled, and when ATF will publish official guidance.

Quote from Mann: “Law-abiding gun owners and businesses should not be left guessing about what federal law requires of them.” He added that without clear guidance, “law-abiding Americans and businesses are being left to determine for themselves how this ruling affects their rights, responsibilities, and livelihoods.” That letter is two weeks after the injunction took effect. It is still the live request.

On August 13, the Jensen v. ATF plaintiffs, supported by the Second Amendment Foundation, sent DOJ and ATF five questions: Will the government provide guidance? In what form, and when? Will it keep enforcing enjoined provisions against people outside the injunction? How will it avoid hitting people who are covered? If the injunction is later stayed, how will it treat NFA items made or transferred while it was in effect? SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut: “We need guidance from the government on all the details that will come with law-abiding Americans seeking to avail themselves of this injunction.” Four weeks from the August 5 opinion, those answers are not on ATF’s site. Getting it right is not a reason to leave FFLs guessing through September.