Also is my understanding that I do not need to carry a copy of my paperwork, is this correct? The RSO asked if I had it "in case ATF happens to show up and ask".

Who knows.....

Conventional wisdom is yes, you should have a copy of your tax stamp with you. I keep a copy in my range bag, plus I have them all scanned and accessible from my cell phone.

*shrug* Paranoia, probably. But especially with a homemade can, probably not a bad idea.

I think when and to whom you must provide proof of NFA registration can depend upon both Federal and State laws.

26 U.S. Code § 5841 says this:




The fine print on page 3 of ATF Form 1/Form 4 says something similar:




It's not clear to me whether you must provide proof of registration to any other LEO, or only ATF. It's also not clear to me whether you are required to keep the proof of registration with the NFA firearm at all times, or whether having proof at home in your safe satisfies the aforementioned retention requirement.


Then there's state law. My understanding is that some states, such as Texas, require that proof be provided upon request by any LEO. I don't see anything in RCW 9.41 that touches on this issue.


My 2 cents:

It costs me next to nothing to make copies of my forms. It's also a very minor inconvenience to keep those copies with my NFA firearms. So, required or not, I'm going to carry copies at all times so that I don't have to deal with a potentially much larger hassle. And like Madpick said, it's not a bad idea to have electronic copies accessible from your computer or mobile devices. All my forms are available in PDF through Dropbox on all my devices.

Never thought about it but I can log in to atf website and see my stamp too.

I wouldn't rely on that...The ATF website is prone to failures.

I keep copy's in my range bag. And small copy's in my wallet. There is plenty of room in my wallet after buying all the tax stamps!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I keep photo copies in the pistol grip compartments of my SBRs. Copies for the suppressors go into the bag of tools/attachments for each different can. This way, I rarely (never?) have the NFA item without a tax stamp nearby.