Forced Reset Trigger Guides
Are Forced Reset Triggers Legal? Federal Yes, States Vary
Aug
The short answer: yes federally, and it depends where you live. Forced reset triggers stopped being a federal problem in May 2025, when the Department of Justice settled with Rare Breed Triggers and abandoned the position that FRTs were machine guns. What did not change is state law, and that is where almost everyone gets caught out.
I went looking for a clean answer to are forced reset triggers legal and found four published state lists that contradict each other. This page explains the federal position, shows exactly where those lists disagree, and tells you how to check your own state properly. It is not legal advice, and I will flag the limits as I go.
On this page
- What actually changed in May 2025
- Why an FRT isn’t a machine gun under federal law
- Why every state list you’ll read disagrees
- “We don’t ship there” isn’t the same as “it’s illegal there”
- How to actually check your own state
- What this means if you’re buying
- Common questions
- What this page is and isn’t
What actually changed in May 2025
For roughly four years the ATF took the position that certain forced reset triggers were machine guns under the National Firearms Act, and it seized them on that basis. In May 2025 the Department of Justice settled with Rare Breed Triggers and abandoned that position. The agency then published notice that seized FRT-15 and Wide Open Trigger units would be returned to their owners — you can read the ATF’s own notice directly rather than take my word for it.
Congress’s own research service summarised the state of play in a July 2025 CRS report, which is the most neutral account you will find on this subject. It is worth ten minutes if you want the primary material instead of a retailer’s summary.
One caveat that most pages skip: a settlement is not a statute. It resolved the government’s enforcement position; it did not write FRTs into law as permanently protected. The CRS report notes plainly that Congress could legislate in either direction.
Why an FRT isn’t a machine gun under federal law
The statutory definition turns on one thing: how many rounds fire per function of the trigger. A machine gun keeps firing while the trigger is held. A forced reset trigger fires one round per pull — the bolt carrier simply returns the trigger forward faster than your finger would, so the next pull comes sooner. Each shot is still a separate, deliberate pull — our forced reset trigger guide walks through that mechanism and what a rifle needs to run one.
The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Garland v. Cargill was a bump stock case rather than an FRT case, but it reinforced that single-function-of-the-trigger reading, and it is the analytical backdrop for the settlement that followed a year later.
Why every state list you’ll read disagrees
Here is the part nobody tells you. The published state lists do not match. I compared four sources on the same day:
| Source | Count claimed | Notable difference |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overview | 14 + DC | Includes Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada |
| The Takedown Tools | 13 | Includes Connecticut and Washington; omits CO/MN/NV |
| NSPEC Innovations | 14 | Includes Connecticut; omits CO/MN/NV |
| Rifle Configurator | 16 jurisdictions | Broadest reading of the statutes |
What every source agrees on. Forced reset triggers are restricted in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.
What they disagree on. Connecticut, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota and Nevada appear on some lists and not others.
The disagreement is not sloppiness. Most of these states never legislated the phrase “forced reset trigger” at all. They ban a category — “multiburst trigger activator”, “rapid-fire device”, “trigger crank or similar device” — written years before FRTs existed in this form. Whether an FRT falls inside that wording is an interpretation of the statute, and careful readers land in different places. It is also why a list can be right in January and wrong by June.
Which is the honest reason there is no fifty-state table on this page. If one row is stale, someone commits a felony on my say-so. I would rather show you where the uncertainty actually sits.
“We don’t ship there” isn’t the same as “it’s illegal there”
Most FRT retailers block more states than the law strictly requires. A shipping policy is a risk decision, not a legal finding. It weighs how broadly a parts-possession charge could be read, how local agencies enforce ambiguous items, and pressure from payment processors and insurers.
Florida is the clearest example: no state-level FRT ban, but plenty of sellers still will not ship there because the litigation climate makes it not worth the exposure. So do not read a checkout restriction as a legal conclusion in either direction. A retailer shipping to your state is not clearing you legally, and one refusing is not proof you would be breaking the law.
How to actually check your own state
Three steps that beat any list, including this one.
- Search your state’s penal or criminal code for multiburst, rapid fire, trigger activator and machine gun rather than “forced reset trigger”. The phrase you are looking for usually is not in the statute.
- Check your state Attorney General’s site for a published position. California’s is explicit, for instance, and leaves no room for interpretation.
- If the wording is ambiguous where you live, ask a firearms attorney licensed in your state. This is a cheap question to ask and an expensive one to get wrong.
What this means if you’re buying
If you are in one of the eleven jurisdictions every source agrees on, the answer is no. If you are in one of the five disputed states, get an opinion before you order rather than after. Everywhere else, federal law is not your obstacle.
Assuming you are clear, the questions stop being legal and start being mechanical. A forced reset design is driven by bolt carrier speed, so it wants an M16-profile bolt carrier group and usually a heavier buffer — an H2 is the common starting point — before it will reset consistently. Budget for those alongside the trigger, not after it. Our forced reset triggers page covers what we stock, and the Para 15 is the drop-in unit most people here start with.
Common questions
Can I own an FRT trigger?
Under federal law, yes — the May 2025 settlement ended the ATF’s machine gun classification. Whether you can lawfully own one where you live is a separate question governed entirely by state law.
What states are forced reset triggers illegal in?
Every published source agrees on California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and DC. Connecticut, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota and Nevada are treated differently depending on which source you read, which is why you should verify your own state directly.
Will FRTs become illegal again?
Possibly. The current federal position rests on a settlement rather than legislation, and the CRS report notes Congress could clarify the status in either direction. States also continue to introduce their own bills.
Does Virginia allow forced reset triggers?
Virginia does not appear on any of the four restriction lists compared above. That is not the same as a guarantee — check the current Virginia code and your local ordinances before ordering.
Are they legal again, or were they never banned?
Both framings appear in forum threads, and the distinction matters. FRTs were never banned by statute; the ATF classified certain models as machine guns and enforced on that basis. The settlement ended that enforcement position rather than repealing a ban.
Where can I buy one?
From any retailer that ships to your state, once you have confirmed your state allows it. We sell the Para 15 Trigger, and confirming that it is lawful where you are remains your responsibility before ordering.
What this page is and isn’t
This is a summary of public legal developments, written for general information. It is not legal advice, we are not your attorney, and laws change — sometimes quickly. Verify current federal, state and local rules before buying, possessing or using any trigger device.
