Suppressors are legal in Maine. The state adds no permit, registration, or waiting period on top of federal law, and as of January 1, 2026, the federal transfer tax on a suppressor dropped from $200 to $0 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. You still have to register the suppressor with the ATF and wait for approval before you can take it home, but the cost barrier that kept many Mainers out of the market for decades is gone.
What Maine Requires
Nothing beyond federal law. There is no state suppressor registry, no state permit, and no Maine-specific background check. If the ATF approves your purchase, Maine recognizes it.
Hunting with a suppressor is also allowed. Maine used to require a separate Warden Service permit to hunt with a suppressor-equipped firearm, but that requirement was eliminated.1Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Laws Pertaining to Hunting Equipment: Laws and Rules You can now hunt with a properly registered suppressor in Maine without any additional state paperwork.
What Federal Law Still Requires
The National Firearms Act of 1934 treats suppressors as regulated firearms, grouped with machine guns and short-barreled rifles.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act The statutory definition in 26 U.S.C. § 5845 covers “any silencer.”3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5845 – Definitions Every suppressor in the country has to be entered in the ATF’s National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, and you cannot legally possess an unregistered one in Maine or anywhere else.
Registration happens through the ATF approval process when you buy or make a suppressor. The $200 transfer tax that applied for 90 years is now $0 as of January 1, 2026, for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons.” The approval process itself did not go away.
Who Cannot Own a Suppressor
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) bars certain people from possessing any firearm, suppressors included.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The main disqualifiers are a felony conviction, being a fugitive, unlawful drug use or addiction, a mental health commitment or adjudication, unlawful immigration status, a dishonorable discharge, renounced U.S. citizenship, a qualifying domestic violence restraining order, and a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.
Maine’s prohibited-persons statute at Title 15, § 393 largely mirrors the federal list but adds restrictions tied to certain juvenile adjudications and extreme risk protection orders. Violations are classified as Class B, C, or D crimes depending on the underlying prohibition.5Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 15 393 – Possession of Firearms Prohibited for Certain Persons
You also need to meet age and residency requirements. Buying from a licensed dealer requires you to be at least 21. Private transfers between individuals, and possession as a trust beneficiary, require you to be at least 18.
How to Buy a Suppressor in Maine
The purchase runs through a dealer who holds both a Federal Firearms License and a Special Occupational Taxpayer designation, often called a Class 3 dealer. You pick the suppressor, pay for it, and leave it with the dealer. You cannot take it home until the ATF approves the transfer.
The dealer submits an ATF Form 4 on your behalf.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. eForms Applications You can register as an individual, through an NFA trust, or through a legal entity. The application includes fingerprint cards and a passport-style photograph, and the ATF runs a background check.
Electronic filing through the ATF’s eForms system is faster than paper. As of February 2026, individual eForms were averaging around 10 days and trust eForms around 26 days, compared to roughly 21 to 24 days for paper submissions.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times Volume shifts those averages, and individual applications occasionally take longer when the ATF needs more information. When approval comes through, the dealer contacts you to pick up the suppressor. Most dealers charge a transfer handling fee on top of the suppressor’s price, commonly between $25 and $100.
Making Your Own
Federal law lets you manufacture a suppressor for personal use, but only after ATF approval. The form is ATF Form 1, not Form 4. You submit the application, fingerprints, and a photo or copy of a valid photo ID, pass a background check, and wait for approval before cutting any metal. Building a suppressor without an approved Form 1 is a federal felony.
Several changes took effect January 1, 2026, that simplified the process. The making tax is now $0, the requirement to notify your local chief law enforcement officer is gone, and the updated form supports additional digital signature types. Once the suppressor is complete, you have to engrave it with a serial number, your name, and your city and state, following ATF marking requirements.
Using an NFA Trust
Many buyers register through an NFA gun trust instead of as an individual. The practical reason is shared possession: anyone listed as a trustee can legally possess and use the suppressor. With individual registration, only the registered owner can.
The tradeoff is paperwork. Every “responsible person” on the trust, meaning anyone who can exercise control over the trust’s firearms, has to submit fingerprints, a photo, and pass a background check each time the trust acquires a new NFA item. Beneficiaries and successor trustees generally do not count as responsible persons. Trusts also tend to take longer at the ATF: around 26 days for trust eForms versus around 10 days for individual eForms in early 2026.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times
Traveling and Transferring
Suppressors do not require ATF Form 20 approval for interstate travel, unlike machine guns and short-barreled rifles.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. eForms Applications You can drive out of Maine with a suppressor without telling anyone. The limit on that freedom: eight states and the District of Columbia prohibit civilian suppressor possession outright (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island). Bringing your suppressor into any of them is a criminal offense regardless of your Maine registration. Keep a copy of your approved Form 4 or Form 1 with the suppressor when you travel; it proves the registration if anyone asks.
Selling or gifting a suppressor to another person requires a new Form 4 and a fresh ATF approval, even if both parties live in Maine. The $0 tax does not change the approval step.
Inheritance works differently. When the registered owner dies, the executor can hold the suppressor during probate without that counting as a transfer. The heir then uses ATF Form 5, a tax-exempt estate transfer, to register it in their name, and still has to pass a background check. If the heir is a prohibited person or lives in a state where suppressors are illegal, the suppressor has to go to an eligible person or be surrendered. A trust avoids this: because the trust owns the suppressor, a successor trustee takes over without a Form 5 or probate for the item.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Possessing an unregistered suppressor is a federal felony. Under 26 U.S.C. § 5871, an NFA violation carries up to $10,000 in fines and up to 10 years in federal prison.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5871 – Penalties A prohibited person caught with a suppressor in Maine faces separate state charges of Class B, C, or D under Title 15, § 393, with a Class B crime carrying up to 10 years of imprisonment.5Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 15 393 – Possession of Firearms Prohibited for Certain Persons Federal and state charges can stack. With the transfer tax now at zero, there is no financial reason left to skip the registration.