State Legality MatrixForced Reset TriggersMaryland
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-28 · State detail verified 2026-07-31
Banned
No. Prohibited as a rapid fire trigger activator. Effective 2018-10-01.
Controlling law: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-305.1
Contested entry
Bans transport, manufacture, possession, sale, and transfer; a narrow pre-October-2018 grandfather with ATF-authorization conditions exists, but there is no new lawful acquisition path.
The statute in practice
Maryland Criminal Law section 4-301 defines a rapid-fire trigger activator as a device that, when attached to a firearm, increases the rate at which the trigger is activated or the rate of fire. The definition excludes a replacement semiautomatic trigger that merely improves the firearm's performance and functionality over its stock trigger.
Section 4-305.1 applies the related restrictions to devices meeting that definition. The definition and offense should be read together when evaluating a particular mechanism.
Timeline
What it means for you
The statute reaches transport into Maryland, manufacture, possession, sale, offer for sale, transfer, purchase, and receipt. Its legacy-possession exception is narrow and conditioned on federal authorization rather than a general grandfather rule.
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 2026-07-28. 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. Prohibited as a rapid fire trigger activator. Effective 2018-10-01. Controlling law: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-305.1.
The controlling law is Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-305.1. Prohibited as a rapid fire trigger activator.
Maryland's rule took effect 2018-10-01. Bans transport, manufacture, possession, sale, and transfer; a narrow pre-October-2018 grandfather with ATF-authorization conditions exists, but there is no new lawful acquisition path.
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.