Nfa Items | Arizona Concealed Carry

NFA Items in Arizona

The Headline

Arizona's "prohibited weapons" statute, A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(8), names the same hardware federal law treats as NFA items: short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors, machine guns, certain incendiary and gas devices, bombs, grenades, and improvised explosive devices. The state then carves out a complete federal-compliance exemption at A.R.S. 13-3101(B): when those items are "possessed, manufactured or transferred in compliance with federal law," they are not "prohibited weapons" under Arizona law. The practical result is that Arizona is one of the most permissive NFA jurisdictions: the federal NFA process governs and Arizona piggybacks on it without adding a separate state registration or permit layer.

Possession or manufacture of a "prohibited weapon" outside the federal-compliance exemption is criminalized by A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(3).

The Statutory Anchors

• A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(8): defines "prohibited weapon" to include the federal NFA categories.
• A.R.S. 13-3101(B): exempts those items when possessed, manufactured, or transferred in compliance with federal law.
• A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(3): criminalizes manufacturing, possessing, transporting, selling, or transferring a prohibited weapon (the dry-ice carve-out at the end of (A)(3) is the only intent-based variation).
• A.R.S. 13-3102(M): classification ladder for misconduct involving weapons; A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(3) violations are class 4 felonies under the standard ladder.
• A.R.S. 13-3108: state preemption of local firearms regulation, which bars cities and counties from layering additional restrictions on NFA items.

The 13-3101(A)(8) List

A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(8)(a) defines "prohibited weapon" to include the following items:

1. A bomb, grenade, or rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces, or a mine, that is explosive, incendiary, or poison gas (item (i)).
2. A device designed, made, or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm (item (ii)) - i.e., a suppressor or silencer.
3. A firearm capable of shooting more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger (item (iii)) - i.e., a machine gun.
4. A rifle with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches, a shotgun with a barrel length of less than eighteen inches, or a firearm made from a rifle or shotgun that, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches (item (iv)) - i.e., short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and Title II configurations.
5. A breakable container holding flammable liquid with a wick or similar device capable of being ignited (item (v)) - i.e., a Molotov-type device.
6. A chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds, or materials (including dry ice) possessed or manufactured to generate a gas causing mechanical failure, rupture, bursting, or detonation (item (vi)).
7. An improvised explosive device (item (vii)).
8. Any combination of parts or materials designed and intended for use in making or converting a device into items (i), (v), or (vii) (item (viii)).

A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(8)(b) excludes from the "prohibited weapon" definition any state-law-compliant fireworks, propellant-actuated devices and industrial tools manufactured for their intended purposes, and devices commercially manufactured primarily for illumination.

The Federal-Compliance Exemption (A.R.S. 13-3101(B))

The single most important provision for NFA owners is A.R.S. 13-3101(B): "The items set forth in subsection A, paragraph 8, subdivision (a), items (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this section do not include any firearms or devices that are possessed, manufactured or transferred in compliance with federal law."

The items the exemption covers are exactly the federally regulated NFA categories most concealed-carry holders ask about:

• (i) - bombs, grenades, rockets, mines (i.e., NFA "destructive devices").
• (ii) - sound suppressors.
• (iii) - machine guns.
• (iv) - short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and reconfigured firearms below the 26-inch overall length threshold.

What "in compliance with federal law" means in practice: registration on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record under 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53 (the NFA), payment of any applicable making or transfer tax, completion of the appropriate ATF form (Form 1 for making, Form 4 for transfer, Form 5 for tax-free government and estate transfers, Form 5320.20 for interstate transportation of certain items), and compliance with the Gun Control Act's restrictions on prohibited possessors at 18 U.S.C. 922(g).

Note that items (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) of A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(8)(a) - Molotov-type devices, chemical gas devices, improvised explosive devices, and IED parts kits - are not covered by the federal-compliance exemption. Possession of those items remains criminal under Arizona law regardless of any federal registration.

What This Means for Common NFA Items

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Manufacturing, possessing, transporting, selling, or transferring a prohibited weapon outside the federal-compliance exemption is misconduct involving weapons under A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(3). Under the classification ladder at A.R.S. 13-3102(M), an A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(3) violation is a class 4 felony in the default ladder, with elevated treatment when the conduct is tied to certain enumerated offenses or to gang, criminal-syndicate, or racketeering activity (see A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(9), (15), and (16)).

A federally registered NFA item carried or stored outside the federal-compliance envelope (for example, a registered SBR transferred to a non-licensed buyer without the required Form 4 approval) loses the A.R.S. 13-3101(B) exemption and exposes both transferor and transferee to A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(3) liability in addition to the federal NFA violation.

State Preemption (A.R.S. 13-3108)

A.R.S. 13-3108(A) blocks Arizona cities and counties from enacting "any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use of firearms or ammunition or any firearm or ammunition components or related accessories." Localities cannot add a permit requirement, a registration requirement, or a ban on NFA items beyond what state law provides. The narrow exceptions in subsections B through G of A.R.S. 13-3108 cover government-property rules, noise regulation, and the like, none of which displace the A.R.S. 13-3101(B) exemption for federally compliant NFA items.

Operational Checklist for Arizona NFA Owners

1. Hold a current, complete copy of every Form 1, Form 4, or Form 5 approval for each NFA item you own. The ATF "approved" stamp is your federal-compliance proof.
2. Keep the tax stamp with the item during transport. Arizona law has no separate state document, but a peace officer or prosecutor evaluating A.R.S. 13-3101(B) will look for the federal paperwork.
3. Use a Form 5320.20 when crossing state lines with an SBR, SBS, machine gun, or destructive device, per 27 C.F.R. 478.28.
4. NFA items remain subject to 18 U.S.C. 922(g) prohibited-person disabilities. A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(7) lists Arizona's parallel prohibited-possessor categories.
5. Local airport, sports venue, and event-organizer rules under A.R.S. 13-3102(A)(10) still apply; A.R.S. 13-3101(B) is a status-of-the-item exemption, not a location-of-carry exemption.

This summary is informational and is not legal advice. NFA enforcement turns on facts and on the ATF's interpretation of federal forms; consult an Arizona attorney and your federal NFA paperwork before relying on the rules above.

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Federal context

Bump stocks - Garland v. Cargill (2024). In Garland v. Cargill, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal regulation classifying bump stocks as machineguns under the National Firearms Act. As a matter of FEDERAL law, bump stocks are no longer NFA-regulated. State law may still independently restrict bump stocks; consult your state's RESTRICTIONS section for any state-level bump-stock prohibition.

P.L. 119-21 NFA tax (2026). Effective January 1, 2026, P.L. 119-21 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025) reduced the federal NFA making and transfer tax to $0 for silencers, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs. Machine guns and destructive devices retain the $200 tax. The federal registration requirements (Form 1 / Form 4, fingerprints, photographs, CLEO notice) remain unchanged.