Does Washington Have an Assault Weapons Ban?

Washington's RCW 9.41.010 definition combines a long named-firearm list, including the AR15, M16, and M4 in all forms, with feature tests and separate fixed-magazine and overall-length branches. For a semiautomatic centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine, one listed feature is enough, and the list includes a muzzle brake or recoil compensator as well as a flash suppressor and threaded barrel.

RCW 9.41.390 addresses manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, and offers for sale. It provides limited exceptions for inheritance, out-of-state disposition, dealer and gunsmith service or repair, and specified government or law-enforcement conduct.

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 courts and is not enforced, but federal SBR classification for a brace-equipped firearm still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder. Garland v. Cargill (2024) held that a bump stock is not a machine gun under federal law. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.

Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. 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.