State Legality MatrixForced Reset TriggersCalifornia
Statute-cited, not legal advice, last verified 2026-10-20
Banned
No. FRTs are classified as prohibited multiburst trigger activators.
Controlling law: Cal. Penal Code § 32900; § 16930 (definition)
Contested entry
A June 2, 2025 Attorney General law enforcement bulletin states that FRTs are, at a minimum, multiburst trigger activators under § 16930, so § 32900 prohibits their manufacture, import, sale, offer for sale, giving, lending, and possession.
The statute in practice
California prohibits multiburst trigger activators under Penal Code section 32900. Section 16930 defines the term to include a device that lets a semiautomatic firearm discharge two or more shots in a burst by activating the device, and a manual or power-driven trigger activating device that increases a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire.
On June 2, 2025 the California Department of Justice issued a law enforcement bulletin stating that forced reset triggers remain illegal under California law, qualifying at minimum as multiburst trigger activators under section 16930, and that the federal Rare Breed settlement did not change California law.
Timeline
What it means for you
Under the June 2025 bulletin, an FRT cannot be owned, sold, offered for sale, manufactured, imported, given away, or lent in California, and the DOJ advised California residents not to request the return of FRTs surrendered to or seized by ATF. Rare Breed Triggers lists California as a no-ship jurisdiction.
Federal law
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.
Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. 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.
Common questions
No. FRTs are classified as prohibited multiburst trigger activators. Controlling law: Cal. Penal Code § 32900; § 16930 (definition).
The controlling law is Cal. Penal Code § 32900; § 16930 (definition). FRTs are classified as prohibited multiburst trigger activators.
No. California uses its own multiburst trigger activator definition in Penal Code section 16930, which reaches devices that increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire regardless of how the federal definition treats them.
No. The California Department of Justice stated that the federal settlement did not change California law and that FRTs remain prohibited as multiburst trigger activators.