If you’re here, you’ve probably already done some reading on your options where owning NFA (or Class III) items are concerned. I’d like to take a bit to discuss some of these options, and their strengths and weaknesses.

First, let’s talk about individual ownership. When you send your application packet to the ATF, you will submit duplicate copies of a photo of yourself and fingerprint cards with your fingerprints on them. Once your approved application is returned, the item (suppressor, SBR, etc) will belong to you. You will be the sole individual capable of legally transporting it and will need to be present any time it is in use. In the event of your death or incapacitation, your item will have to be surrendered until a member of your family applies and passes the same application process you did when you bought it.

Next, we will talk about forming a Living Trust. The ATF currently recognizes Living Trusts as entities capable of owning physical assets. Because of this, a Trust can own a suppressor. Since a trust doesn’t have a face or fingerprints, these things aren’t submitted during the application process. As an entity, a Trust can have multiple trustees. This means that more than one person can be in legal possession of the item. A Trust can also be worded in such a way that the succession of trustees is laid out in it. What this means is that because the item belongs to the Trust, the executor of the Trust determines what happens to the item in the event of his/her death or incapacitation. It’s all spelled out and no one has to go through the application process again, because they have simply become the new executor of the Trust, which is the owner of the item.

The down side of a Trust is that it has to be formed, which usually involves hiring a lawyer to write the trust, which also means additional expense. The other potential downside is that you want to put adequate thought into who you put on the trust- relationships sometimes come and go.

Last, we will discuss having an LLC, or Limited Liability Company. If you own your own business, it may be chartered as an LLC. If it is, the Company is also considered an entity capable of owning physical assets. The LLC may apply to own a Class III item the same way, and with the same benefits as a trust.