U.S. Code » Title 26 » Subtitle Subtitle E— Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 53— MACHINE GUNS, DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES, AND CERTAIN OTHER FIREARMS › Subchapter Subchapter C— Prohibited Acts

26 U.S.C. § 5861

Prohibited acts

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It shall be unlawful for any person—(a) to engage in business as a manufacturer or importer of, or dealer in, firearms without having paid the special (occupational) tax required by section 5801 for his business or having registered as required by section 5802; or(b) to receive or possess a firearm transferred to him in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or(c) to receive or possess a firearm made in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or(d) to receive or possess a firearm which is not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; or(e) to transfer a firearm in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or(f) to make a firearm in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or(g) to obliterate, remove, change, or alter the serial number or other identification of a firearm required by this chapter; or(h) to receive or possess a firearm having the serial number or other identification required by this chapter obliterated, removed, changed, or altered; or(i) to receive or possess a firearm which is not identified by a serial number as required by this chapter; or(j) to transport, deliver, or receive any firearm in interstate commerce which has not been registered as required by this chapter; or(k) to receive or possess a firearm which has been imported or brought into the United States in violation of section 5844; or(l) to make, or cause the making of, a false entry on any application, return, or record required by this chapter, knowing such entry to be false.(Added Pub. L. 90–618, title II, § 201, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1234.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

A prior section 5861, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 729, relating to penalties, was omitted in the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 90–618.

Provisions similar to those comprising subsecs. (a), (b), (d), (g), (j), and (k) of this section were contained in prior sections of act Aug. 16, 1954, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 90–618, as follows:

Present subsecs.:

Prior sections

(a)

5854.

(b)

5851.

(d)

5854.

(g)

5852.

(j)

5855.

(k)

5853.

The prior sections 5851 to 5853, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, are set out in 68A Stat. 728.

The prior sections 5854 and 5855, Pub. L. 85–859, title II, § 203(i)(1), Sept. 2, 1958, are set out in 72 Stat. 1428.

A prior section 5862, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 729, relating to the forfeiture and disposal of any firearm involved in any violation of the provisions of this chapter or any regulation promulgated thereunder, was omitted in the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 90–618. The provisions of prior section 5862 of this title are covered by section 5872 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Section effective on first day of first month following October 1968, see section 207 of Pub. L. 90–618, set out as a note under section 5801 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2,717 cases (190 in the last 5 years), 1958–2026 · leading case: United States v. Randeep Mann, 701 F.3d 274 (8th Cir. 2012).
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United States v. Randeep Mann, 701 F.3d 274 (8th Cir. 2012). · cites it 28× “§ 844 (i); possession of unregistered grenades in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d); possession of an unregistered machinegun in violation of 26 U.”
United States v. Cox, 906 F.3d 1170 (10th Cir. 2018). · cites it 17× “Counts 2, 3, and 4 each charged Cox with possessing an unregistered firearm-a destructive device, a short-barreled rifle, and another destructive device, 3 respectively-in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d). Count 5 accused both Cox and Kettler of conspiring, under 18 U.”
Staples v. United States, 511 U.S. 600 (1994). · cites it 10× “" 26 U. S. C. § 5861 (d). Nevertheless, silence on this point by itself does not necessarily suggest that Congress intended to dispense with a conventional mens rea element, which would require that the defendant know the facts that make his conduct illegal.”
Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551 (2004). · cites it 4× “See 26 U. S. C. § 5861 (requiring registration, but not banning possession of, certain firearms).”
United States v. Bryant, 523 F.3d 349 (D.C. Cir. 2008). · cites it 12× “*350 EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge: Appellant William Bryant and his codefendant, Timothy Walker, were arrested *351 on February 9, 2005 and subsequently charged with possession of an unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d), and possession of a firearm and…”
United States v. Lloyd Taylor, 728 F.2d 864 (7th Cir. 1984). · cites it 16× “Defendant-Appellant, Lloyd Taylor, appeals his conviction in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, for possession of an unregistered machine gun and an unregistered silencer in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d) (1976). We affirm. I The evidence at…”
United States v. Arnold Jackson, 124 F.3d 607 (4th Cir. 1997). · cites it 9× “OPINION WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge: A jury found Arnold Jackson guilty of possessing an unregistered firearm (a sawed-off shotgun) in violation of 26 U.S.C.A. § 5861 (d) (West 1989), and of possessing the firearm despite a previous felony conviction in violation of 18 U.”
United States v. Paul Suarez, 879 F.3d 626 (5th Cir. 2018). · cites it 4× “16-41267 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d). Suarez moved for acquittal on Counts III and IV under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29, but the district court denied the motion.”
Reynaldo Castillo v. United States, 816 F.3d 1300 (11th Cir. 2016). · cites it 4× “Federal authorities then convicted Castillo of illegally possessing and making guns, 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861 , 5871. He later filed a motion to vacate, 28 U.”
United States v. Carmel, 548 F.3d 571 (7th Cir. 2008). · cites it 12× “Defendant David Carmel pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an unregistered machine gun in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 , reserving his right to appeal from the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress, its denial of his motion for a hearing pursuant to Franks v.”
United States v. Bryan Burwell, 690 F.3d 500 (D.C. Cir. 2012). · cites it 6× “United States, when it implied a mens rea requirement in 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d), a provision that made it “unlawful for any person … to receive or possess a firearm which is not [federally] registered.”
United States v. Leonard Joseph Yannott, 42 F.3d 999 (6th Cir. 1995). · cites it 6× “§ 922 (g), and possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d). On appeal, the issues are (1) whether the district court properly denied defendant’s motion to quash or dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction over the offenses charged, (2)…”
Show all 2,717 citing cases →
— 26 U.S.C. § 5861(b) — 1 case
United States v. Britton, 306 F. Supp. 94 (S.D. Tex. 1969).
— 26 U.S.C. § 5861(c) — 4 cases
United States v. John K. Briggs, Robert Wayne Beverly & John C. Chambers, 514 F.2d 794 (5th Cir. 1975).
United States v. Amos Lane Bridges, 499 F.2d 179 (7th Cir. 1974).
United States v. Isaiah Louis Tweed, A/K/A Isaiah Lewis Tweed, 503 F.2d 1127 (7th Cir. 1974).
United States v. Talbott (4th Cir. 1998).
— 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) — 36 cases
United States v. Arnold Jackson, 124 F.3d 607 (4th Cir. 1997). “OPINION WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge: A jury found Arnold Jackson guilty of possessing an unregistered firearm (a sawed-off shotgun) in violation of 26 U.S.C.A. § 5861 (d) (West 1989), and of possessing the firearm despite a previous felony conviction in violation of 18 U.”
United States v. Theo Donald McDaniel, 550 F.2d 214 (5th Cir. 1977).
United States v. Justin Rone, United States of Am. v. Roy Dupont Little, 598 F.2d 564 (9th Cir. 1979).
United States v. Keith M. Freisinger, 937 F.2d 383 (8th Cir. 1991).
United States v. John Wesley Tootle, Jr., 65 F.3d 381 (4th Cir. 1995).
— 26 U.S.C. § 5861(i) — 1 case
United States v. LeaSure (4th Cir. 1997).
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