Are Forced Reset Triggers Legal in Washington?

Litigation Status and Details

RCW 9.41.010 defines machine gun as a mechanism not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot; an FRT still requires a trigger function per round, so it falls outside RCW 9.41.190. Binary triggers ARE effectively banned in WA (separate class).

Washington Law in Detail

Washington defines a machine gun as a firearm or other mechanism or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot. A one-shot-per-trigger-function FRT does not satisfy that definition, which is why Washington sits in the legal column despite banning binary triggers through the same chapter.

Washington separately prohibits bump-fire stocks, defined as a butt stock that uses recoil energy to generate reciprocating action and repeated trigger activation. That definition does not describe an internal forced reset trigger, although Rare Breed declines Washington orders as a matter of company policy.

Legislative and Court History

• 2018-03-06Governor Jay Inslee signed ESB 5992 as Chapter 7, Laws of 2018, creating Washington's bump-fire-stock definition and prohibition.
• 2018-06-07ESB 5992's bump-fire-stock provisions took effect.

Practical Notes

RCW 9.41.190 prohibits manufacturing, owning, buying, selling, loaning, furnishing, transporting, or possessing machine guns and bump-fire stocks. The FRT conclusion rests on an FRT falling outside both definitions. Rare Breed Triggers nevertheless lists Washington as a no-ship jurisdiction.

Sources

• https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.010
• https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.190
• https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?billnumber=5992&year=2017
• https://rarebreedtriggers.com/faqs/

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