Are Forced Reset Triggers Legal in Alabama?

Alabama Law in Detail

Alabama's conversion-device statute, Code section 13A-11-82.1 (2025), defines a machine gun as a weapon that fires automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger, and prohibits parts intended to convert a pistol into a machine gun.

The statute expressly excludes a device that increases a pistol's rate of fire but does not enable the pistol to fire more than two shots by a single trigger function. A rifle FRT producing one round per trigger function does not meet the machine-gun test, and the conversion-device offense is framed around pistols.

Legislative and Court History

• 2025Alabama added Code section 13A-11-82.1, creating a felony offense for specified parts intended to convert a pistol into a machine gun.

Practical Notes

Section 13A-11-82.1 is directed at pistol conversion parts and includes exceptions for registered machine guns, official law-enforcement activity, and rate-increasing pistol devices that do not enable more than two shots per single trigger function. It contains no FRT-specific shipping, surrender, or grandfather provision.

Sources

• https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=13A-11-82.1
• https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2025RS/7BB382V-1.pdf

Federal baseline

Under the 2025 DOJ settlement with Rare Breed Triggers, an FRT fires one round per trigger function and is not an NFA machine gun federally. The settlement covers rifles and grip-forward pistols; it does not extend to grip-fed handguns (Glock, S&W M&P, Canik), whose federal FRT status remains less settled. State bans operate independently of federal law through broader state machine-gun, trigger-activator, or rate-of-fire definitions.

Scope: Forced reset triggers (Rare Breed FRT-15, Dairyland Defender, and similar) and forced-reset selectors (AR Super Safety, ARC-Fire). One round per trigger function. Binary triggers are a separate class.

Forced Reset Triggers Worth Buying

If your state is green on the map, these are the FRTs we recommend. The Rare Breed FRT-15 line is the settlement-covered original, and the Triggered Company's Disruptor and LAT are the strongest alternatives on the same one-pull-per-round mechanism.

Triggers & Fire Control • $450

Rare Breed Triggers FRT-15L3

The original forced reset trigger with an ambidextrous 3-position safety and full hardware kit

• 4-4.5 lb semi / 5.5-6 lb FRT pull
• Forced reset
• Ambidextrous 3-position safety

$450.00 MSRP

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Triggers & Fire Control • $250

The Triggered Company Partisan Disruptor FRT

Drop-in forced reset trigger with 3-position safety for rapid follow-up shots

• 3.75-4.1lb pull
• Forced reset
• Tool steel construction

$275.00

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Triggers & Fire Control • $324.99

The Triggered Company LAT FRT

Match-grade assisted reset FRT, a refinement of the Disruptor with a cleaner 3-3.5 lb pull and 17-4 stainless internals

• 3-3.5 lb pull
• Forced reset (ARSE)
• 17-4 stainless / 4140 chromoly

$324.99

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Triggers & Fire Control • $43

Hoffman Tactical Trigger Kicker

Active-reset disconnector swap that adds forced reset behavior to a mil-spec AR-15 fire control group

• Active-reset disconnector
• Drop-in disconnector swap
• Hardened 4130 alloy steel

$43.00 MSRP

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Full picks and fitment notes: FRT Buyer's Guide 2026