State Legality MatrixPistol BracesDelaware
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-08-04
Banned
No. Braced AR- and AK-pattern pistols are prohibited copycat weapons because the magazine attaches outside the pistol grip. Effective 2022-06-30.
Controlling law: 11 Del. C. §§ 1465(6), 1466 (HB 450)
Contested entry
Delaware never mentions braces. The ban lands on the host through § 1465(6)c, a one-feature test for semiautomatic pistols that accept a detachable magazine, whose first listed feature is the ability to accept a magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip. Adding or removing a brace changes nothing. Section 1466 reaches manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, and possession, with possession before June 30, 2022 grandfathered under transport restrictions. Delaware has no standalone short-barreled rifle ban, but a Form 1 does not help because the resulting short rifle is itself a banned copycat weapon.
Federal law
The 2023 ATF stabilizing-brace rule was vacated nationwide and is not enforced, but that does not categorically make every brace-equipped firearm a pistol. Under 26 U.S.C. § 5845, federal classification still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder. A brace-equipped firearm that meets the short-barreled-rifle definition requires NFA approval and registration; a configuration that remains a pistol does not. Building an actual short-barreled rifle is still an NFA act: Form 1, fingerprints, CLEO notification, a NICS check, and registration all apply. The federal making tax has been $0 since January 1, 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and eForm approvals currently run days to a couple of weeks.
Scope: Pistol stabilizing braces (SB Tactical, Maxim Defense, A3 Industries and similar) and the braced pistols they mount on. Short-barreled rifles and state assault-weapon feature tests are tracked as separate classes.
Common questions
No. Braced AR- and AK-pattern pistols are prohibited copycat weapons because the magazine attaches outside the pistol grip. Effective 2022-06-30. Controlling law: 11 Del. C. §§ 1465(6), 1466 (HB 450).
The controlling law is 11 Del. C. §§ 1465(6), 1466 (HB 450). Braced AR- and AK-pattern pistols are prohibited copycat weapons because the magazine attaches outside the pistol grip.
Delaware's rule took effect 2022-06-30. Delaware never mentions braces. The ban lands on the host through § 1465(6)c, a one-feature test for semiautomatic pistols that accept a detachable magazine, whose first listed feature is the ability to accept a magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip. Adding or removing a brace changes nothing. Section 1466 reaches manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, and possession, with possession before June 30, 2022 grandfathered under transport restrictions. Delaware has no standalone short-barreled rifle ban, but a Form 1 does not help because the resulting short rifle is itself a banned copycat weapon.
The 2023 ATF stabilizing-brace rule was vacated nationwide and is not enforced, but that does not categorically make every brace-equipped firearm a pistol. Under 26 U.S.C. § 5845, federal classification still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder. A brace-equipped firearm that meets the short-barreled-rifle definition requires NFA approval and registration; a configuration that remains a pistol does not. Building an actual short-barreled rifle is still an NFA act: Form 1, fingerprints, CLEO notification, a NICS check, and registration all apply. The federal making tax has been $0 since January 1, 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and eForm approvals currently run days to a couple of weeks.