State Legality Matrix / Forced Reset Triggers / Maryland
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-28
No. Prohibited as a rapid fire trigger activator. Effective 2018-10-01.
Controlling law: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-305.1
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.
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.
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.