State Legality Matrix / Forced Reset Triggers / Florida

Are Forced Reset Triggers Legal in Florida?

Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-28

Restricted

Restricted. Likely reached by the broad bump-fire-stock rate-of-fire definition, but untested as applied to forced reset triggers. Effective 2018-10-01.

Controlling law: Fla. Stat. § 790.222

Litigation Status and Details

Section 790.222 defines a prohibited bump-fire stock expansively as any conversion kit, tool, accessory, or device used to alter the rate of fire of a firearm to mimic automatic weapon fire. No Florida court has ruled on whether a one-pull-per-round FRT qualifies, but Florida firearms counsel read the definition as reaching FRTs and makers decline Florida shipments, so the class is treated as legally ambiguous, the same posture as binary triggers under the same statute.

Florida Law in Detail

Florida Statutes section 790.222 prohibits a bump-fire stock and defines the term broadly as a conversion kit, tool, accessory, or device used to alter a firearm's rate of fire so that it mimics automatic fire or increases the rate beyond what a person can achieve without assistance.

Unlike statutes limited to firing multiple rounds from one trigger function, Florida's definition turns on assisted rate increase and mimicking automatic fire. That language likely reaches an FRT even though the device resets between rounds, and no Florida court has resolved the question, which is why the state is treated as restricted rather than clearly legal.

Legislative and Court History

  • 2018-03-09Governor Rick Scott approved SB 7026 (Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act), creating the section 790.222 prohibition.
  • 2018-10-01The bump-fire-stock prohibition took effect per the Florida Senate's official bill summary.
  • 2026-03-13HB 6021 (2026 session), which would have repealed section 790.222, died in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

Practical Notes

Section 790.222 prohibits importing, transferring, distributing, selling, keeping for sale, possessing, or giving another person a covered device, with no general possession grandfather clause. Availability from an out-of-state seller does not resolve the Florida definition.

Sources

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are forced reset triggers legal in Florida?

Restricted. Likely reached by the broad bump-fire-stock rate-of-fire definition, but untested as applied to forced reset triggers. Effective 2018-10-01. Controlling law: Fla. Stat. § 790.222.

What law covers forced reset triggers in Florida?

The controlling law is Fla. Stat. § 790.222. Likely reached by the broad bump-fire-stock rate-of-fire definition, but untested as applied to forced reset triggers.

When did Florida's forced reset trigger restriction take effect?

Florida's rule took effect 2018-10-01. Section 790.222 defines a prohibited bump-fire stock expansively as any conversion kit, tool, accessory, or device used to alter the rate of fire of a firearm to mimic automatic weapon fire. No Florida court has ruled on whether a one-pull-per-round FRT qualifies, but Florida firearms counsel read the definition as reaching FRTs and makers decline Florida shipments, so the class is treated as legally ambiguous, the same posture as binary triggers under the same statute.

Are forced reset triggers legal under 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.

Why is Florida not analyzed under a one-shot-per-trigger-function test?

Section 790.222 uses a broader test: a device used to increase a firearm's rate of fire beyond what the shooter can achieve without assistance or to mimic automatic fire. That is why Florida is ambiguous for FRTs while states with traditional machine-gun definitions are not.

Did Florida repeal its bump-fire-stock statute in 2026?

No. HB 6021 proposed a repeal but died in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 13, 2026. Section 790.222 remains in force.

Related coverage

Full 50-State Map

See the full 50-state Forced Reset Triggers map

More Florida Gun Laws

Forced Reset Triggers Laws by State