ATF May Finally Kill CLEO Notification

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

ATF is proposing to remove the CLEO notification requirement from the NFA process, which could finally kill one more pointless paperwork headache for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, AOWs, machine guns, and other NFA firearms.

The NFA Permission Slip Problem May Finally Be Ending

The National Firearms Act (NFA) regulates machine guns, Short Barreled Rifles (SBR), Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS), Silencers, Destructive Devices, and Any Other Weapon with a process of registration and taxation. While the tax aspect was removed from SBR, SBS, Silencer, and AOW activities in 2025, the registration aspect remains intact for all categories. Until 2016, the process required the signature of a Chief Law Enforcement Officer, commonly referred to as the “CLEO”, having jurisdiction over the applicant’s address. Those licensed to engage in the business of NFA firearms were exempt.

That CLEO signature requirement was almost universally hated in the collector world, and for good reason. Many applicants were denied access to these firearms for reasons beyond their control and not related to any misconduct on their part. Some CLEOs were ideologically opposed to ownership of such firearms, and others were genuinely worried about being blamed for someone else’s misuse of the firearm and having that signature used against them.

Why Collectors Hated The Old CLEO Signature System

My first trip to the sheriff for this “permission slip” fell into the second category. As he signed the form, he said, “Please don’t do anything stupid with this,” and it was easy to tell his worry was genuine. Here was someone he had never met, with no knowledge of, asking for his name to be associated with a machine gun acquisition and text in the certification regarding him having no knowledge that I would misuse the firearm. Over the years, a few lawsuits were attempted to address this extraconstitutional restriction, but were unsuccessful.

The first step in reforming this constraint took effect in 2016 when ATF, acting on a petition from the National Firearms Act Trade & Collector’s Association (NFATCA), updated the regulations to require a CLEO notification instead of a signature. While a significant improvement, it was still a hassle and left some discomfort with some applicants. How do you prove you delivered it? If you mailed it, are you responsible for a lost or misplaced letter? How do you prove delivery if you did so in person?

ATF’s New NFA Proposal Takes Aim At CLEO Notification

Now, in the current proposed regulation change, this impediment may finally be a thing of the past in its entirety. ATF cited multiple reasons for removing the CLEO notification requirement. All seem very logical and unsurprising:

1. ATF has no information that the CLEO notification meaningfully aids criminal investigations or serves a significant purpose for local law enforcement. Additionally, ATF does not need the notices for purposes of approving or disapproving firearm transfers.
2. All applicants to make or transfer NFA firearms are subject to a thorough background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
3. ATF makes its own assessment of state and local law to determine whether specific NFA firearms are lawful in the maker’s or transferee’s jurisdiction and no longer relies on local law enforcement for that information.
4. In the nearly ten years this system has been in place, it has not worked as intended. During this time period, ATF is not aware of CLEOs performing independent background checks or filing objections to making or transferring a firearm. The general feedback to ATF regarding the CLEO notification has been that law enforcement agencies simply discard these notices.

What Removing CLEO Notification Would Actually Change

If approved as proposed, the implementing regulations of the making and transfer applications, 27 CFR 479.62 and 479.84, respectively, would be modified by removing subparagraph (c) from each regulation and simply removing the notification requirement. While it may seem to be a small step, this would be a positive development for every applicant who seeks to make or transfer an NFA firearm in the future.

Please note that this is a proposed regulation change, so for the time being, it’s business as usual, and the CLEO notification requirement remains in place. That word matters. Proposed means the old system is still alive until the rule is finalized.

Comment Deadline For The ATF CLEO Notification Rule

The comment period for this change ends on July 6, 2026. Those who are so inclined may submit comments here: Federal Register :: Removing CLEO Notification Under the National Firearms Act

This regulation change is only one of many, which you can read on the “ATF’s New Era of Reform” page: ATF’s New Era of Reform | ATF

The Bottom Line For NFA Applicants

This may not sound like a revolutionary change on paper, but anyone who has wrestled with NFA forms knows how much small friction matters. Killing the CLEO notification requirement would not erase NFA registration, and it would not remove the background check process, but it would eliminate one more awkward, useless, and widely disliked step from the path to lawful NFA ownership.

For collectors, suppressor buyers, SBR makers, SBS owners, and anyone else dealing with the NFA system, that is nothing. Sometimes reform comes as a lightning bolt. Sometimes it comes as one stupid form copy, finally getting shown the door.

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