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Pennsylvania Suppressors & Silencers Laws (2026)

Conditional: Suppressors are legal to own in Pennsylvania if you have registered them under the federal National Firearms Act (NFA). Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 908 a firearm "specially made or specially adapted for ... silent discharge" is an offensive weapon (first-degree misdemeanor), but § 908(b)(1) lets the owner defend the charge by proving NFA compliance — keep your registration paperwork with the suppressor. The Game Code's former ban on hunting with a silencer, 34 Pa.C.S. § 2308(a)(5), is "(Deleted by amendment)"; the Pennsylvania Game Commission regulates suppressor use in hunting.

ConditionalVerified Oct 22, 2026

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Official source: palegis.us →

What the official source says
“18 Pa.C.S. § 908(a): "A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if, except as authorized by law, he makes repairs, sells, or otherwise deals in, uses, or possesses any offensive weapon." (b)(1): "It is a defense under this section for the defendant to prove by a preponderance of evidence that ... he complied with the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.)". (c) "Offensive weapons." ... "firearm specially made or specially adapted for concealment or silent discharge". 34 Pa.C.S. § 2308(a)(5): "(Deleted by amendment)".”

Read on Oct 22, 2026 from palegis.us. Quoted as published there; the summary above is LawLert’s plain-language reading of it.

Checked against the official source once on Oct 22, 2026. A check re-reads the source and tries to refute the published wording; when it fails, the wording is rewritten from the source and logged in Corrections.

How this entry has changed (1 correction)
  1. Until Oct 22, 2026, this entry said:

    Suppressors are legal in Pennsylvania once you register them with the federal government. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 908 a silent-discharge firearm is an "offensive weapon," but 908(b)(1) makes compliance with the National Firearms Act (NFA) a complete defense. Hunting with a suppressor is permitted.

Each rewrite followed a re-read of the official source; the full log is on /corrections.

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