State Legality MatrixBinary TriggersIllinois
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-31
Banned
No. Prohibited under PICA's ban on devices that increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire. Effective 2023-01-10.
Controlling law: 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
Contested entry
PICA bars any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts designed and functioning to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm above its standard rate; binary triggers fall within this. Illinois' machine-gun definition (single function of the trigger) does not independently reach binaries, so the PICA rate-of-fire provision is the operative hook.
The statute in practice
The Protect Illinois Communities Act, at 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9, defines a rapid-fire device through its design and function of increasing a semiautomatic firearm's rate above the standard rate. That device provision is distinct from Illinois's separate machine-gun definition and does not depend solely on whether one or two trigger functions occur.
Timeline
Federal law
Binary triggers are legal under federal law and are not machine guns under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b); ATF treats the trigger pull and the trigger release as two separate functions of the trigger, so one round is fired per function. Cargill v. Garland (2024) concerned bump stocks, not binary triggers, and does not change this.
Federal baseline verified 2026-07-31. Scope: Binary triggers (Franklin Armory BFSIII and similar): fire one round on trigger pull and one on release. Forced reset triggers are a separate class.
Common questions
No. Prohibited under PICA's ban on devices that increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire. Effective 2023-01-10. Controlling law: 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9.
The controlling law is 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9. Prohibited under PICA's ban on devices that increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire.
Illinois's rule took effect 2023-01-10. PICA bars any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts designed and functioning to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm above its standard rate; binary triggers fall within this. Illinois' machine-gun definition (single function of the trigger) does not independently reach binaries, so the PICA rate-of-fire provision is the operative hook.
Binary triggers are legal under federal law and are not machine guns under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b); ATF treats the trigger pull and the trigger release as two separate functions of the trigger, so one round is fired per function. Cargill v. Garland (2024) concerned bump stocks, not binary triggers, and does not change this.