State Legality MatrixPistol BracesHawaii
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-08-04
Banned
No. Braced AR- and AK-pattern pistols are prohibited assault pistols, and Hawaii bans every rifle with a barrel under 16 inches. Effective 1992-07-01.
Controlling law: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 134-1, 134-4(e), 134-8(a)
Contested entry
Hawaii's assault pistol definition is a two-characteristic test covering a magazine attaching outside the pistol grip, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud, an unloaded weight of 50 ounces or more, a centerfire pistol with an overall length of 12 inches or more, and semiautomatic versions of automatic firearms. An AR or AK pistol trips two of those before a brace is involved. The brace still matters at the margin on a conventional handgun, where it can push overall length past 12 inches and supply the second characteristic. There is no NFA safe harbor: § 134-8(a) bans rifles under 16 inches flatly, so a Form 1 is unavailable, and only assault pistols registered in state before July 1, 1992 are grandfathered.
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 assault pistols, and Hawaii bans every rifle with a barrel under 16 inches. Effective 1992-07-01. Controlling law: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 134-1, 134-4(e), 134-8(a).
The controlling law is Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 134-1, 134-4(e), 134-8(a). Braced AR- and AK-pattern pistols are prohibited assault pistols, and Hawaii bans every rifle with a barrel under 16 inches.
Hawaii's rule took effect 1992-07-01. Hawaii's assault pistol definition is a two-characteristic test covering a magazine attaching outside the pistol grip, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud, an unloaded weight of 50 ounces or more, a centerfire pistol with an overall length of 12 inches or more, and semiautomatic versions of automatic firearms. An AR or AK pistol trips two of those before a brace is involved. The brace still matters at the margin on a conventional handgun, where it can push overall length past 12 inches and supply the second characteristic. There is no NFA safe harbor: § 134-8(a) bans rifles under 16 inches flatly, so a Form 1 is unavailable, and only assault pistols registered in state before July 1, 1992 are grandfathered.
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.