Binary triggers sit in a legal gray zone in Florida, and the short answer to whether binary triggers are legal in Florida is that no one can tell you for certain. Federal law does not treat them as machine guns, and Florida’s own machine gun definition does not reach them either. But a separate Florida statute, § 790.222, bans any device that increases a semiautomatic firearm’s rate of fire beyond what a shooter can achieve unassisted. That language is broad enough to cover a binary trigger, no Florida court has ruled on the question, and possession could expose you to a third-degree felony.
How a Binary Trigger Works
A standard semiautomatic trigger fires one round when you pull it. A binary trigger fires one round on the pull and a second round when you release it, producing two shots per trigger cycle. The shooter still performs two distinct actions, and most binary triggers include a selector that switches the device back to standard single-fire mode.
That two-action design is what keeps binary triggers outside the federal machine gun definition. It is also what makes them a target for state laws written in broader terms.
Federal Law Does Not Treat Them as Machine Guns
Under federal law, a machinegun is any weapon that fires more than one shot by a single function of the trigger without manual reloading.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5845 – Definitions The ATF has generally taken the position that binary triggers do not meet this definition because each shot requires a separate action: one pull, one release. Neither action alone produces more than one round.
The ATF has issued classification letters to specific binary trigger manufacturers confirming that their products are not machine guns. Those letters are product-specific rather than blanket rulings, but they reflect a consistent federal reading. Possessing an unregistered machine gun under federal law carries up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, so the distinction matters.
Florida’s Machine Gun Statute Also Does Not Reach Them
Florida defines a machine gun as any firearm designed to fire more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.001 – Definitions That tracks the federal definition closely. Under this provision alone, a binary trigger would not make a firearm a machine gun, because firing on the pull and firing on the release are two separate trigger functions.
If the state’s machine gun law were the only statute in play, binary triggers would clearly be lawful in Florida. It isn’t.
The Real Problem: Florida’s Bump-Fire Stock Ban
In 2018, Florida enacted § 790.222, which prohibits possessing, selling, importing, or transferring a “bump-fire stock.” The statute defines that term far more broadly than the name suggests. A bump-fire stock, under the law, is any conversion kit, tool, accessory, or device that either alters a firearm’s rate of fire to mimic automatic fire or increases the rate of fire beyond what a person can achieve without the device.3Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.222 – Bump-Fire Stocks Prohibited
Read that definition carefully. It is not limited to the recoil-driven stocks the name describes. It reaches any accessory that increases the rate of fire faster than a shooter can manage unassisted. A binary trigger, by design, doubles the number of rounds per trigger cycle. A prosecutor could argue that firing two rounds where you would normally fire one qualifies as increasing the rate of fire beyond what you can do without the device.
The statute does not name binary triggers. No published Florida court opinion has addressed whether a binary trigger meets the statutory definition. That ambiguity is the core of the problem. The law is broad enough to encompass binary triggers, but no court has confirmed or rejected that reading. If you possess one in Florida and a prosecutor decides to charge you, your defense is an argument of first impression with a felony on the line.
Why the Cargill Decision Does Not Help in Florida
In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in Garland v. Cargill that the ATF overstepped its authority when it reclassified bump stocks as machine guns by regulation. The Court held that a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger and therefore does not meet the federal statutory definition of a machine gun.4Supreme Court of the United States. Garland v. Cargill, No. 22-976
That decision invalidated the federal bump stock regulation. It does not touch Florida’s state law. Cargill addressed whether the ATF could classify bump stocks as machine guns under a federal statute. Florida’s § 790.222 is a separate state law with its own, broader definition that does not depend on federal machine gun classification. Even after Cargill, Florida’s bump-fire stock ban remains fully in effect, and its expansive language still reaches any device that increases the rate of fire.
Penalties if You Are Charged
Violating Florida’s bump-fire stock ban is a third-degree felony.3Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.222 – Bump-Fire Stocks Prohibited A third-degree felony in Florida carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The statute also prohibits importing, selling, distributing, and transferring the device, so a dealer or manufacturer shipping binary triggers into Florida faces the same exposure.
A prosecutor could also attempt a charge under the machine gun statute, which is a second-degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. That charge is harder to sustain given the definitional mismatch, but it is on the table. Federal prosecution for an unregistered machine gun is unlikely given the ATF’s own classification history for binary triggers, though the ten-year, $250,000 ceiling under the National Firearms Act is a reminder of how seriously the law treats anything near the machine gun line.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5845 – Definitions
Forced reset triggers face the same uncertainty under § 790.222 that binary triggers do, for the same reasons: even if they are not machine guns, the statute’s catch-all language can reach them.
Driving or Moving Through Florida With a Binary Trigger
Federal law provides a safe-passage provision for transporting firearms interstate. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you can transport a firearm through a state where you cannot legally carry it, as long as the firearm is unloaded and locked away from the passenger compartment and you can lawfully possess it at both your origin and destination.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms That provision specifically covers firearms and ammunition. Whether it protects a standalone accessory like a binary trigger is not settled.
If you are driving through Florida with a binary trigger installed on a rifle, the safe-passage provision may cover the firearm as a whole, but you are still in a state that may ban the accessory. If you are shipping a binary trigger into Florida or carrying one separately, you have even less federal protection. The safest course for anyone traveling through or relocating to Florida is to remove the binary trigger before you enter the state.
The Practical Bottom Line
Federal law is on your side. Florida’s machine gun definition is on your side. The catch-all language of § 790.222 is not, and no court has drawn the line. Some Florida firearms dealers have stopped selling binary triggers in-state because of that uncertainty. Until a court addresses the question directly or the legislature clarifies the statute, possessing a binary trigger in Florida means accepting the risk of a felony prosecution where your defense would be a test case. If you own one and live in Florida, talking to a Florida firearms attorney before you make any decision about possession, sale, or transport is the only responsible next step.