State Legality Matrix / Assault Weapon Feature Bans / New York
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-10
Yes. One-feature test plus a named-model list; sale, transfer, and manufacture are banned and possession of unregistered post-2013 assault weapons is prohibited. Effective 2013-01-15.
Controlling law: N.Y. Penal Law § 265.00(22) (SAFE Act)
Triggering features: folding stock, telescoping stock, pistol grip, thumbhole stock, flash suppressor, muzzle brake, grenade launcher, bayonet mount, threaded barrel, forward grip.
SAFE Act one-feature test for detachable-magazine semi-auto rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Pre-2013 weapons had to be registered with the State Police; unregistered covered firearms are illegal to possess and no new registrations of banned configurations are allowed.
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, transfer, and manufacture are banned and possession of unregistered post-2013 assault weapons is prohibited. Effective 2013-01-15. Controlling law: N.Y. Penal Law § 265.00(22) (SAFE Act).
The controlling law is N.Y. Penal Law § 265.00(22) (SAFE Act). One-feature test plus a named-model list; sale, transfer, and manufacture are banned and possession of unregistered post-2013 assault weapons is prohibited.
New York's rule took effect 2013-01-15. SAFE Act one-feature test for detachable-magazine semi-auto rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Pre-2013 weapons had to be registered with the State Police; unregistered covered firearms are illegal to possess and no new registrations of banned configurations are allowed.
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