Florida Clears SBRs Statewide

Florida's top prosecutor just told every cop and DA in the state to stand down on short-barreled rifles and shotguns.

What happened: Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a five-page memorandum November 6 declaring that law-abiding Floridians can possess SBRs and SBSs without NFA registration, ATF approval, or a tax stamp — and directing law enforcement to stop treating the absence of that paperwork as a crime.

"I am issuing this memorandum to inform law enforcement and prosecuting authorities that all law-abiding residents of the State of Florida may now possess a short-barreled rifle ('SBR') or short-barreled shotgun ('SBS') without fear of prosecution."

How we got here: This traces back to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act zeroing out NFA making and transfer taxes on SBRs, SBSs, and suppressors. A federal judge ruled in August that once the tax is zero, the registration and approval scheme built around that tax loses its constitutional footing under Congress's taxing power. The Justice Department didn't appeal. ATF confirmed October 9 it would stop enforcing those requirements nationwide.

Florida's own statute, § 790.221, still makes possession of an SBR or SBS a second-degree felony — but it's always carried an exemption for firearms lawfully possessed under federal law. Uthmeier's memo concludes that because the feds no longer require registration or a stamp, that exemption now covers SBRs and SBSs outright.

The enforcement teeth: This isn't just an opinion letter. Uthmeier's guidance does three concrete things:

• No reasonable suspicion: Possessing an SBR or SBS alone doesn't justify a stop, search, or seizure.
• No prosecution: His office won't defend a § 790.221 conviction on appeal if the only basis is missing NFA paperwork.
• No local workarounds: Florida's preemption statute, § 790.33, blocks cities and counties from layering on their own restrictions.

Uthmeier also leaned on Bruen, arguing that treating Florida's statute as an independent ban — separate from its federal-law exemption — would raise serious Second Amendment problems the state likely couldn't win.

Yes, but: This is attorney general guidance, not a new statute or court ruling, and it doesn't touch federal law outside the NFA. Dealers still run background checks and keep transfer records under the Gun Control Act. Prohibited persons remain prohibited. Restricted locations are still restricted. And crossing state lines with an SBR or SBS can still require a Form 20 under federal law — Uthmeier's memo doesn't change that.

What gun owners should know: If you registered your SBR or SBS and paid the tax stamp before all this, hang onto that paperwork anyway — Uthmeier specifically warns that voluntary registration doesn't guarantee grandfathering if federal policy shifts again. Nothing here is permanent; it's a legal interpretation riding on a federal enforcement posture that could change with the next administration or a reversed court ruling.

The bottom line: Florida just became the clearest state in the country on SBR and SBS legality post-NFA-tax-zeroing — not through new legislation, but through the state's chief legal officer telling cops to leave law-abiding owners alone.