State Legality Matrix / Assault Weapon Feature Bans / District of Columbia
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-10
Yes. Named list plus a feature test; assault weapons cannot be registered, and because possession requires registration, covered firearms are effectively prohibited. Effective 2009-03-31.
Controlling law: D.C. Code §§ 7-2501.01(3A) & 7-2502.02(a)(6)
Triggering features: folding stock, telescoping stock, pistol grip, thumbhole stock, flash suppressor, grenade launcher, threaded barrel, forward grip, bayonet mount.
The District adopts a California-style assault-weapon feature and model definition and bars registration of any assault weapon. No grandfather registration path.
There has been no federal assault weapons ban since the 1994 ban expired in 2004; no feature restrictions apply federally to semi-automatic rifles or pistols. The 2023 ATF pistol-brace rule was vacated by the Fifth Circuit and is not enforced, so braced pistols are not SBRs under federal law. Cargill v. Garland (2024) made bump stocks federally legal. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.
Scope: State laws restricting semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns by configuration features: threaded barrels, pistol grips, folding or telescoping stocks, flash suppressors, forward grips, and similar. Magazine capacity limits are tracked as a separate class.
Yes. Named list plus a feature test; assault weapons cannot be registered, and because possession requires registration, covered firearms are effectively prohibited. Effective 2009-03-31. Controlling law: D.C. Code §§ 7-2501.01(3A) & 7-2502.02(a)(6).
The controlling law is D.C. Code §§ 7-2501.01(3A) & 7-2502.02(a)(6). Named list plus a feature test; assault weapons cannot be registered, and because possession requires registration, covered firearms are effectively prohibited.
District of Columbia's rule took effect 2009-03-31. The District adopts a California-style assault-weapon feature and model definition and bars registration of any assault weapon. No grandfather registration path.
There has been no federal assault weapons ban since the 1994 ban expired in 2004; no feature restrictions apply federally to semi-automatic rifles or pistols. The 2023 ATF pistol-brace rule was vacated by the Fifth Circuit and is not enforced, so braced pistols are not SBRs under federal law. Cargill v. Garland (2024) made bump stocks federally legal. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.
In a feature-ban state, swapping the pistol grip for a featureless grip is the cheapest path to a compliant rifle that keeps its detachable magazine. These grips are purpose-built for that test.
Wider fin-style featureless grip with a fuller palm shelf for shooters who want more support than the Simple grip.
Fin-style featureless grip that replaces the protruding pistol grip on a feature-restricted AR-15 build.
Billet aluminum featureless grip for California AR-15 builds that keeps a standard magazine release.
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Full picks and fitment notes: Featureless AR Build Guide