State Legality MatrixPistol BracesDelaware
Statute-cited, not legal advice, last verified 2026-10-20
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 is an NFA firearm; a configuration that remains a pistol is not. Since October 9, 2026, ATF does not enforce the NFA's Form 1 approval and registration requirements for SBRs, as a matter of enforcement discretion, but an SBR still needs an approved Form 5320.20 before interstate transport, state law still applies, and ATF says enforcement could resume if the policy changes. The federal making tax has been $0 since January 1, 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Federal baseline verified 2026-10-09. 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.