State Legality Matrix / Assault Weapon Feature Bans / Illinois
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-10
Yes. One-feature test plus a named-model list; sale, manufacture, and purchase are banned, and possession is prohibited except for pre-2023 owners who filed an endorsement affidavit. Effective 2023-01-10.
Controlling law: 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 & 5/24-1.10 (Protect Illinois Communities Act)
Triggering features: pistol grip, folding stock, telescoping stock, thumbhole stock, forward grip, flash suppressor, grenade launcher, barrel shroud, threaded barrel, muzzle brake.
PICA is enforceable as of July 2026: on July 9, 2026 the Seventh Circuit (Barnett v. Raoul, 2-1) reversed the district-court injunction and upheld the act. Grandfathered owners had to file an endorsement affidavit with the Illinois State Police by January 1, 2024. Related Supreme Court cases are set for fall 2026.
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. One-feature test plus a named-model list; sale, manufacture, and purchase are banned, and possession is prohibited except for pre-2023 owners who filed an endorsement affidavit. Effective 2023-01-10. Controlling law: 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 & 5/24-1.10 (Protect Illinois Communities Act).
The controlling law is 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 & 5/24-1.10 (Protect Illinois Communities Act). One-feature test plus a named-model list; sale, manufacture, and purchase are banned, and possession is prohibited except for pre-2023 owners who filed an endorsement affidavit.
Illinois's rule took effect 2023-01-10. PICA is enforceable as of July 2026: on July 9, 2026 the Seventh Circuit (Barnett v. Raoul, 2-1) reversed the district-court injunction and upheld the act. Grandfathered owners had to file an endorsement affidavit with the Illinois State Police by January 1, 2024. Related Supreme Court cases are set for fall 2026.
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