State NFA Restrictions:

If you are eligible to own any conventional firearm (rifle, shotgun, handgun), then you are also eligible to own an NFA weapon, provided that there are no state laws prohibiting such ownership. Click on any state in the map below to view a quick synopsis of state NFA restrictions.

For the latest information, refer to the 2005 edition of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives' Publication 5300.5 - State Laws and Published Ordinances - Firearms (2005 - 26th Edition), which is available online at:

• http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/statelaws/26thedition/index.htm,

The information on this page was created and copyrighted by James Bardwell and was last updated in 2001. It is an excellent general guide, but the information is no longer being updated by Mr. Bardwell.

Quoting Mr. James O. Bardwell:
Copyright by James O. Bardwell, 1994 - 2001. Permission is given to reproduce this document or portions thereof with attribution, for non-commercial, or non-governmental use only. No claim to U.S. statutes or regulations quoted herein. This is accurate, to the best of my knowledge, as of 12/30/2001. Nothing written here should be taken as legal advice. If you have a specific legal problem, you should talk to a lawyer.

Here is my attempt to list what state allows what in terms of NFA weapons. The "Y" indicates state law allows private individuals to own the weapon in question. Most of the "Y" states require the weapons be possessed in compliance with federal law to be legal under state law. Some of the "N" states may allow only police officers to possess them, or dealers, or neither. Basically if the privileged class was so narrow, by statute, I said "N". In many states the class of folks able to own NFA weapons is narrow by practice (California), or because no law enforcement officers will sign the certification needed for a transfer to an individual. Some of the "N" states may also have grandfathered weapons, the "N" applies to a current transaction. Some "N" states may also allow unserviceable weapons. Some states may regulate one or more of these weapons as handguns.

KEY:
MG - machine gun
SI - sound suppressor (silencer)
SR - short barreled rifle
SG - short shotgun
AOW - any other weapon
LBDD - large bore destructive devic
EXPDD - explosive, incendiary or poison gas destructive device
C&R - curio & relic
DEWAT - deactivated war trophy (made permanently non-functional)

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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
AK	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
AL	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	?
AR	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?	(state registration of pistol cal. MG's over .30)
AZ	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
CA	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(requires discretionary and rarely issued permit for mg, lbdd or expdd from state Dept. of Justice; no AOW pen guns; C&R sg, sr only)
CO	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(requires state explosives permit for expdd)
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
CT	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?	(no select fire mg's-full auto's only, after 1993 assault weapon ban, state registration of mg's)
DE	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	(no smooth bore pistol AOW's)
FL	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
GA	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(no incendiary expdd's)
HI	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
IA	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(only si, sr, sg, lbdd and expdd designated as collector's items by the Comm'r of Public Safety - they use the ATF C&R list)
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
ID	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
IL	N	N	N	N	Y	?	N
IN	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N
KS	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	DEWAT machine guns are OK.
KY	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?
LA	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(mg's require a permit to purchase - war relics only; mg's, sr, si, sg and some expdd's require a permit to purchase)
MA	Y	N	Y	N	N	Y	N	(license for mg's required; 1998 law bans covert firearms (AOW's), short shotguns)
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
MD	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	(mg's must be registered)
ME	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
MI	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(FFL needed to own machine guns; no incendiary expdd; C&R sr, sg only)
MN	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	?	(C&R mg, sg only, registration required)
MO	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	(C&R mg, sr, sg only to non-FFL holders; FFL holders (including C&R) any mg, sr, sg)
MS	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(as of 7/1/00, silencers are legal, but must be registered with the state)
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
MT	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	(state law banning silencers and requiring pistol cal. mg's over .30 be registered with state repealed 4/23/99)
NE	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N
NC	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(sheriff's permit required for mg's; must be FFL holder (including C&R) for mg, si, sr, sg lbdd and expdd, or fall into another exception, see comments below)
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
ND	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(fed. "licensees" required to register all NFA weapons with state when possessed for "protection or sale")
NH	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
NJ	Y	N	N	N	Y	N	N	(mg requires discretionary and rarely issued permit from state court)
NM	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
NV	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
NY	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	N	(AOW smooth bore handguns are allowed, on a state pistol license)
OH	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
OK	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
OR	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(no incendiary expdd's)
PA	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N
RI	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	?
SC	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?	In 2001, S.C. law was changed to permit all Federally registered items
SD	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
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STATE	Machine Guns	Silencers	Short-Barrel Rifles	Short-Barrel Shotguns	"Any Other Weapon" (novelty guns)	Large Bore (over 50 cal) Destructive Device	Explosive Destructive Device	Comments
TN	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?
TX	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
UT	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
VA	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(state registration of all mg's)
VT	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WA	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	N	(silencer may not be used on a gun)
WI	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	(permit required for expdd, no incendiary expdd's; no pistol caliber mg's w/o permit)
WV	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?
WY	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	?