In a press release published on July 27, 2026, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that, effective November 20, 2026, exports of “certain silencers, mufflers, and sound suppressors is subject to BIS’s Export Administration Regulations, rather than the State Departments U.S. Munitions List.”

According to BIS, this regulatory change aligns export controls for suppressors with those that already apply to firearms. As part of the transition, suppressors, silencers, and mufflers will be added to the Commerce Control List (CCL) and will require a BIS license for “certain exports, reexports, or in-country transfers of the newly controlled suppressors, including releases of related software and technology to foreign persons.”

BIS also noted that license exceptions currently available for firearms will be available for eligible suppressor transactions.

This change in export regulations will go into effect on November 20, 2026.

The BIS press release and links to Federal Register notices published by both BIS and the Department of State can be found here:

https://www.bis.gov/press-release/department-commerce-streamlines-export-controls-sound-suppressors