Ohio NFA Laws: Suppressors, SBRs and Machine Guns

NFA items

Ohio lets a private resident own a machine gun, short-barreled rifle or shotgun, or suppressor only through an exemption from its dangerous ordnance ban. For an ordinary resident the path is federal: once the item is registered to you in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, you are exempt under R.C. 2923.17(C)(5). Ohio adds no state registration, permit, or law enforcement sign-off for that item. Without an exemption, possession is a felony of the fifth degree.

Who this applies to

Ohio groups automatic firearms, sawed-off firearms, and firearm mufflers or suppressors with explosive and incendiary devices as dangerous ordnance under R.C. 2923.11(K). Each class is read with the exceptions in division (L) of that section. This part applies to anyone who owns or plans to acquire one of these items.

An automatic firearm is any firearm designed or specially adapted to fire a succession of cartridges with a single function of the trigger, and it is dangerous ordnance under R.C. 2923.11(K)(1). Any combination of parts the owner intends for converting a firearm or other device into dangerous ordnance is itself dangerous ordnance under R.C. 2923.11(K).

Ohio calls a short-barreled long gun a sawed-off firearm, R.C. 2923.11(F). That means a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches, or either gun under 26 inches overall. The term excludes a firearm at least 26 inches overall that ATF has both approved for sale under the Gun Control Act and found not regulated under the National Firearms Act. Under R.C. 2923.11, a sawed-off firearm is dangerous ordnance.

Ohio classes a firearm muffler or suppressor as dangerous ordnance.

Ohio treats a destructive device as dangerous ordnance through two of the classes in R.C. 2923.11: any explosive device or incendiary device, and any firearm, rocket launcher, mortar, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, torpedo, or similar weapon designed and manufactured for military purposes, with its ammunition. A device expressly excepted from the federal definition of a destructive device under 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4) is not dangerous ordnance, R.C. 2923.11(L)(6). Those classes also exclude a pistol, rifle, or shotgun designed or suitable for sporting purposes, including a military weapon as issued or as modified, unless it is an automatic or sawed-off firearm, R.C. 2923.11(L). Ohio has no any-other-weapon category of its own, so a federal any-other-weapon is dangerous ordnance in Ohio only if it falls within one of those classes, R.C. 2923.11.

The same list also reaches these items:

• A zip-gun or ballistic knife, R.C. 2923.11(K)(1).
• The listed high explosives, explosive compositions, and blasting agents, R.C. 2923.11(K)(3).

The rule

R.C. 2923.17 bars knowingly acquiring, having, carrying, or using dangerous ordnance unless an exemption applies. A violation is unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance, a felony of the fifth degree, R.C. 2923.17(D).

No person may manufacture or process an explosive anywhere in Ohio without a license, certificate of registration, or permit from a local fire official or the state fire marshal's office, R.C. 2923.17(B). Doing so without it is a separate offense, a felony of the second degree, R.C. 2923.17.

Ohio imposes no state registration, permit, or law enforcement sign-off on a person who holds a federally registered NFA item. Federal registration in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record is itself the exemption under R.C. 2923.17(C)(5).

An exemption in R.C. 2923.17(C) lifts only that possession ban. It does not lift Ohio's weapons under disability law, so a person under disability may not acquire or have a suppressor. Carrying dangerous ordnance concealed on your person or ready at hand is still carrying concealed weapons, a felony of the fourth degree. The concealed handgun license exception to that offense reaches only handguns.

Exceptions

The possession ban does not apply to the following:

• Officers, agents, and employees of Ohio, another state, or the United States, members of the armed forces or organized militia, and law enforcement officers, when authorized and acting within the scope of their duties.
• Importers, manufacturers, dealers, and users of explosives holding a license or user permit under the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970.
• Importers, manufacturers, and dealers licensed to deal in destructive devices or their ammunition under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
• Persons who received surplus ordnance from the secretary of the army under federal law.
• Owners of dangerous ordnance registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
• Carriers, warehouses, and others in the business of transporting or storing goods for hire.
• Holders of a state dangerous ordnance license or temporary permit, for the purposes and manner it specifies.
• Owners of a suppressor attached to a gun authorized for hunting who are authorized to use it.

Ohio's own dangerous ordnance license or temporary permit is separate from federal registration and is available only for the purposes the licensing statute lists. An issuing authority may issue one only if all of these apply:

• The applicant is not otherwise prohibited by law from acquiring, having, carrying, or using dangerous ordnance, R.C. 2923.18(C)(1).
• The applicant is age twenty-one or over, if a natural person, R.C. 2923.18(C)(2).
• The applicant appears competent to handle the ordnance safely and will take proper security and safety precautions, R.C. 2923.18(C)(3).
• The ordnance will be lawfully acquired, possessed, carried, and used for a legitimate purpose, R.C. 2923.18(C)(4).

A license holder may use the dangerous ordnance anywhere in Ohio, R.C. 2923.18(F). A temporary permit holder may use it only within the issuing authority's territorial jurisdiction.

At a glance

Common questions

Do I need an Ohio permit or registration for my federally registered suppressor?

No. Ohio imposes no state registration, permit, or law enforcement sign-off on a person who holds a federally registered NFA item. Registration in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record is itself the exemption under R.C. 2923.17(C)(5).

Does my concealed handgun license let me carry a suppressor concealed?

No. Carrying dangerous ordnance concealed on your person or ready at hand is carrying concealed weapons, a felony of the fourth degree. The concealed handgun license exception reaches only handguns.

Can I use a suppressor for hunting?

A person who owns a suppressor attached to a gun authorized for hunting, and who is authorized to use it, is exempt under R.C. 2923.17(C). That exemption does not lift the weapons under disability bar.

Who is exempt from the possession ban?

The statute lists these categories:

• Officers, agents, or employees of Ohio, another state, or the United States, members of the armed forces or organized militia, and law enforcement officers, to the extent each is authorized to acquire, have, carry, or use dangerous ordnance and is acting within the scope of that person's duties.
• Importers, manufacturers, dealers, and users of explosives licensed under the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970.
• Importers, manufacturers, and dealers licensed to deal in destructive devices under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
• Persons who received surplus ordnance from the secretary of the army under federal law.
• Owners of dangerous ordnance registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
• Carriers, warehouses, and others in the business of transporting or storing goods for hire.
• Holders of a state dangerous ordnance license or temporary permit, for dangerous ordnance lawfully acquired, possessed, carried, or used for the purposes and in the manner that license or permit specifies.
• Owners of a firearm muffler or suppressor attached to a gun authorized for hunting, who are authorized to use that dangerous ordnance.

What does an application for the state license ask for?

The application must contain the following:

• Name, age, address, occupation, and business address for a natural person, or name, address, and principal place of business for a corporation, R.C. 2923.18(B)(1).
• A description of the dangerous ordnance for which a permit is requested, R.C. 2923.18(B)(2).
• A description of where and how the dangerous ordnance will be kept, carried, and used, R.C. 2923.18(B)(3).
• A statement of the purposes for which the dangerous ordnance is to be acquired, possessed, carried, or used, R.C. 2923.18(B)(4).
• Any other information the issuing authority requires, R.C. 2923.18(B)(5).

What happens if I have one without an exemption?

Knowingly acquiring, having, carrying, or using dangerous ordnance outside the exemptions is unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance, a felony of the fifth degree, R.C. 2923.17(D).