What is a Gun Trust?

Recently on the news I heard one of our elected politicians say something about "closing the gun trust loop hole".

Can really recall which one was it but I tried to do some research on what a gun trust was and came across this quote in a gun trust website

NFA firearms (also called NFA weapons) are certain guns and accessories regulated by the National Firearms Act. They are sometimes called “Class 3 weapons.” NFA firearms include all fully automatic and select fire weapons, short barreled rifles, shotguns and sound suppressors (silencers). An NFA trust is also known as Gun Trust. These types of trusts are specifically tailored to comply with the NFA regulations of Title III items.

Here are some of the Advantages of an NFA Gun Trust:

No annual tax reporting requirements or fees
Easy to make changes/or amend
You will NOT need a signature from your local Chief Law Enforcement Officer(CLEO)

Source: Texas Gun Trust

I still do not get what a gun trust allows you to do.

Why would a person need a signature from their law enforcement chief to purchase a gun but with a gun trust they do not?

Can anyone explain to me in layman's terms what exactly does a gun trust allow you to do?

It sounds like a Tax Stamp
or a Class 3 license.

Its so you can posses
things like SBR's, Suppressors, & Full Auto.

I guess its just a different
way of going about it

reply to post by YapTalk


Certain types of guns are regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 and require the purchaser to basically apply for a permit to own it and pay a fee. These include transferable machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, noise suppressors and some other weapons. The payment is usually $200 but some items are $5. An NFA item can be owned by a person or a corporation or a trust.

If a person buys the weapon, part of the application includes submitting passport style photos as well as getting a chief law enforcement officer from your county to sign off on your ability to purchase the weapon. For instance, you have to get the Sheriff or Police Chief to sign your application. However, if you purchase the weapon through your corporation, you eliminate the law enforcement officer having to sign off on the purchase and you eliminate the passport photos with your application. You do not eliminate the $200 you have to pay (even if you are turned down). Regardless of how you apply for an NFA item, there is a significant wait period. It currently runs over 6 months before you can actually be in possession of the item you've bought.

To be more specific about the Trust. It is most similar to having a corporation except you do not have to pay annual franchise taxes on on the corporation, income tax, sales tax, etc... as you would if you operated a corporation. If you have a firearms trust, you can have multiple people that are members (like your wife and kids) so that they could also be in possession of the weapon. If you did not do that, only the person who applied for the item could legally be in possession of it.

Hope this helps clarify what you were were wondering about.

reply to post by YapTalk


Here is an article that explains gun trusts in some detail. I'd' wondered how long it would take for the gun grabbing little Nazi's to discover and try to outlaw this as well. They absolutely WILL NOT STOP until the only guns of any meaningful size or power are *ONLY* held by police or Government.

They have a snowball's chance in hell itself of actally GETTING that fantasy-land dream to ever happen in this real world we live in....but some of these nut cases LIVE in a world where reality bends to their will...not like they have to conform their thinking and attitude to it.

Overview of Gun Trusts

Put VERY VERY simply, it's a legal structure by which you can buy and own a large number of NFA/Class III weapons (among other things) without the same draconian and downright brutal laws that accompany such a weapon in your possession now. It doesn't change MUCH.....and it's no friggin loophole, but it makes it possible for a FAMILY to enjoy a collection of weapons, for instance.

Under current law, if I own a Class III M-16, for instance and go down to shoot it at the range? Well.. I'm fine and dandy ...until I hand it to my son to fire a few rounds from. Err... That's grey these days (and shouldn't be) ..but depends on what ATF agent saw you and how Super- he thought his Super-Agent powers were that day.

Now if I handed it to my son and then ran off to the bathroom while my wife supervised? To my understanding, I'll have a few years in a federal prison to think about how badly I *REALLY* needed that bathroom break.

The Trust addresses some of that..at least, that's my understanding after listening to it talked about off and on for over a year on a gun talk show I used to catch on Satellite Radio.

Thank you all for your replies. I now know what a gun trust is!

Here is that story about these trusts being a 'legal loophole'.

A growing number of shooting enthusiasts are creating legal trusts to acquire machine guns, silencers or other items whose sale is restricted by federal law — a mechanism that bypasses the need to obtain law enforcement approval or even undergo criminal background checks.

But because of a loophole in federal regulations, buying restricted firearms through a trust also exempts the trust’s members from requirements that apply to individual buyers, including being fingerprinted, obtaining the approval of a chief local law enforcement officer and undergoing a background check.

Trusts Offer a Legal Loophole for Buying Restricted Guns

Took me all day to remember where I read this story.