[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 27, Volume 3]
[Revised as of April 1, 2009]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 27CFR479.105]

[Page 106-107]
 
            TITLE 27--ALCOHOL, TOBACCO PRODUCTS, AND FIREARMS
 
   CHAPTER II--BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES, 
                          DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 479_MACHINE GUNS, DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES, AND CERTAIN OTHER FIREARMS--Table 
 
          Subpart G_Registration and Identification of Firearms
 
Sec. 479.105  Transfer and possession of machine guns.

    (a) General. As provided by 26 U.S.C. 5812 and 26 U.S.C. 5822, an 
application to make or transfer a firearm shall be denied if the making, 
transfer, receipt, or possession of the firearm would place the maker or 
transferee in violation of law. Section 922(o), Title 18, U.S.C., makes 
it unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machine gun, except 
a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the 
United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a 
department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or any lawful 
transfer or lawful possession of a machine gun that was lawfully 
possessed before May 19, 1986. Therefore, notwithstanding any other 
provision of this part, no application to make, transfer, or import

[[Page 107]]

a machine gun will be approved except as provided by this section.
    (b) Machine guns lawfully possessed prior to May 19, 1986. A machine 
gun possessed in compliance with the provisions of this part prior to 
May 19, 1986, may continue to be lawfully possessed by the person to 
whom the machine gun is registered and may, upon compliance with the 
provisions of this part, be lawfully transferred to and possessed by the 
transferee.
    (c) Importation and manufacture. Subject to compliance with the 
provisions of this part, importers and manufacturers qualified under 
this part may import and manufacture machine guns on or after May 19, 
1986, for sale or distribution to any department or agency of the United 
States or any State or political subdivision thereof, or for use by 
dealers qualified under this part as sales samples as provided in 
paragraph (d) of this section. The registration of such machine guns 
under this part and their subsequent transfer shall be conditioned upon 
and restricted to the sale or distribution of such weapons for the 
official use of Federal, State or local governmental entities. Subject 
to compliance with the provisions of this part, manufacturers qualified 
under this part may manufacture machine guns on or after May 19, 1986, 
for exportation in compliance with the Arms Export Control Act (22 
U.S.C. 2778) and regulations prescribed thereunder by the Department of 
State.
    (d) Dealer sales samples. Subject to compliance with the provisions 
of this part, applications to transfer and register a machine gun 
manufactured or imported on or after May 19, 1986, to dealers qualified 
under this part will be approved if it is established by specific 
information the expected governmental customers who would require a 
demonstration of the weapon, information as to the availability of the 
machine gun to fill subsequent orders, and letters from governmental 
entities expressing a need for a particular model or interest in seeing 
a demonstration of a particular weapon. Applications to transfer more 
than one machine gun of a particular model to a dealer must also 
establish the dealer's need for the quantity of samples sought to be 
transferred.
    (e) The making of machine guns on or after May 19, 1986. Subject to 
compliance with the provisions of this part, applications to make and 
register machine guns on or after May 19, 1986, for the benefit of a 
Federal, State or local governmental entity (e.g., an invention for 
possible future use of a governmental entity or the making of a weapon 
in connection with research and development on behalf of such an entity) 
will be approved if it is established by specific information that the 
machine gun is particularly suitable for use by Federal, State or local 
governmental entities and that the making of the weapon is at the 
request and on behalf of such an entity.
    (f) Discontinuance of business. Since section 922(o), Title 18, 
U.S.C., makes it unlawful to transfer or possess a machine gun except as 
provided in the law, any qualified manufacturer, importer, or dealer 
intending to discontinue business shall, prior to going out of business, 
transfer in compliance with the provisions of this part any machine gun 
manufactured or imported after May 19, 1986, to a Federal, State or 
local governmental entity, qualified manufacturer, qualified importer, 
or, subject to the provisions of paragraph (d) of this section, dealer 
qualified to possess such, machine gun.

[T.D. ATF-270, 53 FR 10510, Mar. 31, 1988]