Howzit bra,
The National Firearms Act (NFA), enacted in 1934, imposes a statutory excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain firearms and mandates the registration of those firearms. The Act was passed shortly after the repeal of Prohibition. The NFA is also referred to as Title II of the Federal firearms laws. The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) is Title I (normal firearms).
All transfers of ownership of registered NFA firearms must be done through the federal NFA registry. The NFA also requires that permanent transport of NFA firearms across state lines by the owner must be reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF, or BATFE). Temporary transport of some items, most notably silencers and AOWs do not need to be reported.
Restriction under HRS 134-8 prohibite certain NFA items by name. They are machine guns, suppressors, and SBRs. Nonetheless, AOWs are never mentioned and Destructive Devises are specifically allowed and do not require registration!
The NFA currently allows three different types of transfers , they are an Individual , a Trust, or under a Corporation. The last two types do not require finger prints or a Chief of Law Enforcement (CLEO) signature. Since Individuals and Corporate transfers are less common in Hawaii, lets focus on the Trust.
Firstly, one must set up a Trust, this is required in Hawaii since not a single CLEO will sign off for a NFA transfer. There are numerous ways to get a Trust started. A notary public is all that is required by law to set up. Many online ads sells NFA trust for $99 to $199 , these are actually pretty good for basic NFA and be be done in a week or less. But as a recommendation, seek a lawyer for more in-depth advise.
Best of all with a trust, no FBI fingerprint checks are required and with the recently changes, the ATF has allow the use of Credit Cards to pay the NFA tax. This has shorten the wait time down to a record few weeks from the previous 6-8 months. Another advantage is worth noting. With a trust, you have the freedom to amend the list of trustees at any time. That means multiple people can be authorized to hold the NFA item in their possession. If you register as an individual, you have to be present whenever the NFA item is out of your safe. Just a note Hawaii has a 1% income tax on trust profits.
Find a tranfer FFL with a Speacial Occupacy Tax 3 (SOT3) normally called Class 3 dealers. According to the ATF listing there are a few in Hawaii. How do you think HPD transfers their MG to Hawaii. It must go through a SOT3.
NFA items is also know as Class 3 items, that are no more than extra paperwork and TAX.
With an AOW the transfer tax is only $5 (Form4) , yes that's right less than a plate lunch! However, to manufacture one (also know as a Form1) within your own home is $200. As for DDs they are $200 regardless if its manufactured or transferred.
Below are some indepth look at what AOW and DD are and the laws that pertain to them.
Most Destructive Devices (DD) are legal in Hawaii and do not require registration!Its a $200 manufacture or transfer tax per item to register with the BATF on a Form 1 or Form 4
A normal SOT 3 can handle only one or two DD transfer per tax year. Case by case per the ATF field office.
Some item not allowed in Hawaii are cannon, hand grenades and bombs.
HRS 134-3 (d)3All unserviceable firearms and destructive devices registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms of the United States Department of Justice pursuant to Title 27, Code of Federal Regulations.HRS 134-8Ownership, etc., of automatic firearms, silencers, etc., prohibited; penalties. (a) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of any of the following is prohibited: assault pistols, except as provided by section 134-4(e); automatic firearms; rifles with barrel lengths less than sixteen inches; shotguns with barrel lengths less than eighteen inches; cannons; mufflers, silencers, or devices for deadening or muffling the sound of discharged firearms; hand grenades, dynamite, blasting caps, bombs, or bombshells, or other explosives; or any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof coated with teflon or any other similar coating designed primarily to enhance its capability to penetrate metal or pierce protective armor; and any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof designed or intended to explode or segment upon impact with its target.National Firearms Act Definitions
Destructive Device
26 U.S.C. § 5845(F)For the purposes of the National Firearms Act, the term “Destructive Device” means:
A missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than 1/4 oz.
Any type of weapon by whatever name known which will, or which may readily be converted to expel a projectile, by the action of an explosive or other propellant, the barrel or barrels of which have a bore greater than one-half inch in diameter.
A combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a device into a destructive device and from which a destructive device can be readily assembled.LEGALNOT LegalObtaining AOW items in HawaiiThat right you can fly in your AOW from the mainland to hawaii and register them legally as normal pistols.
No form 5320.20 is required either. Silencers and AOW are exempt under 922 (a) 4.
HRS has no provision to ban certain AOW. Any "firearm" of any shape with a barrel less than 16" is a pistol under HRS; provided it does not meet the definition of an "assault pistol".
Any handgun / pistol with a fore grip is an AOW, With the shorty shotguns, HRS does not define a "shotgun" thus the term is carried over by BATF under 18 USC 921(a)5.
example : a sawed off shotgun is still a shotgun because it had a "stock" installed, a Serbu Shorty was a plain receiver from the factory and was never a shotgun by name because a "stock" was never installed.
example : a AR pistol with a permanent magazine is not an assault pistol and will be legal in Hawaii with a fore grip as an AOW.
HRS 134-1"Pistol" or "revolver" means any firearm of any shape with a barrel less than sixteen inches in length and capable of discharging loaded ammunition or any noxious gas.
"Assault pistol" means a semiautomatic pistol which accepts a detachable magazine and which has two or more of the following characteristics:
(1) An ammunition magazine which attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip;
(2) A threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward hand grip, or silencer;
(3) A shroud which is attached to or partially or completely encircles the barrel and which permits the shooter
to hold the firearm with the second hand without being burned;
(4) A manufactured weight of fifty ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded;
(5) A centerfire pistol with an overall length of twelve inches or more; or
(6) It is a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm;
but does not include a firearm with a barrel sixteen or more inches in length, an antique pistol as defined in
this section or a curio or relic as those terms are used in 18 USC.HRS 134-8Ownership, etc., of automatic firearms, silencers, etc., prohibited; penalties. (a) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of any of the following is prohibited: assault pistols, except as provided by section 134-4(e); automatic firearms; rifles with barrel lengths less than sixteen inches; shotguns with barrel lengths less than eighteen inches; cannons; mufflers, silencers, or devices for deadening or muffling the sound of discharged firearms; hand grenades, dynamite, blasting caps, bombs, or bombshells, or other explosives; or any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof coated with teflon or any other similar coating designed primarily to enhance its capability to penetrate metal or pierce protective armor; and any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof designed or intended to explode or segment upon impact with its target.USC26 USC 5845Any other weapon
The term “any other weapon” means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.18 USC 922(a)4for any person, other than a licensed importer, licensed
manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, to
transport in interstate or foreign commerce any destructive
device, machinegun (as defined in section 5845 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986), short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled
rifle, except as specifically authorized by the Attorney General
consistent with public safety and necessity;18 USC 921(a)5The term “Shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be [span style='color: red;']fired from the shoulder[/span], and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.LEGALNOT LEGALOK come and join the NFA club of HAWAII