Can I Carry a 15-Round Magazine in Maryland?

You can carry a 15-round magazine in Maryland only if you already lawfully owned it before the state’s 10-round cap took effect, and only within the same rules that govern how you carry or transport the handgun itself. Buying, selling, receiving, or otherwise acquiring a new one is prohibited. Simple possession of a pre-ban magazine is not.

The Possession vs. Acquisition Line

Maryland Criminal Law § 4-305 bans manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, receiving, or transferring a detachable magazine that holds more than 10 rounds.¹ The restriction took effect October 1, 2013. A 15-round magazine is squarely over the line, so every commercial or private transaction involving one is off-limits in the state.

What the statute does not do is outlaw possession. If you lawfully acquired a 15-round magazine before October 1, 2013, or lawfully owned one out of state and brought it in before the ban, keeping it is not itself a crime, and there is no registration requirement for it. But “possess” is narrower than it sounds. You cannot hand it to a friend, sell it, give it to a relative, or receive one from anyone else inside Maryland. Every form of transfer is covered, not just commercial sales.¹

Carrying It on Your Person

Carrying a handgun in Maryland, whether openly or concealed, on your person or in a vehicle on public roads, is prohibited by Maryland Criminal Law § 4-203 unless an exception applies.² The usual exception is a Maryland Wear and Carry Permit issued under the Public Safety Article. With a valid permit, you can carry your handgun loaded with any magazine you legally possess, including a grandfathered 15-round magazine. The magazine capacity law restricts transfers; it does not strip a lawfully possessed magazine of its lawful status when you carry under a permit.

Transporting It Without a Permit

Without a Wear and Carry Permit, you can still move a handgun from place to place, but the conditions are strict. The handgun must be unloaded and enclosed in a case or holster, and the trip must be between specific locations:

Your residence or a second bona fide residence
Your place of business, if you substantially own and operate it
A licensed repair shop
A place of legal purchase or sale
A shooting range, hunting activity, target practice, or similar event

Each of these requires the firearm to be unloaded and enclosed.² A grandfathered 15-round magazine can be in the handgun during that transport provided no ammunition is loaded. A loaded magazine stored loose, separate from the gun, sits in a gray area; the safer practice is to keep ammunition out of the magazine entirely while in transit.

If You’re Just Driving Through

If you live in a state with no magazine cap and your route passes through Maryland, federal law offers a narrow protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you may transport a firearm through any state so long as you can lawfully possess it at both your origin and destination, the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor the ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment.³ In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

This covers continuous travel only. Once you stop in Maryland for anything beyond what travel reasonably requires, Maryland law governs. For a 15-round magazine, that means locked in the trunk, separate from the handgun, and no unnecessary stops.

Who’s Exempt From the Cap

Two exemptions appear directly in § 4-305. Tubular magazines on .22 caliber rifles are excluded from the capacity restriction entirely. Active law enforcement officers and people who retired in good standing from a federal, Maryland state, or Maryland local law enforcement agency can purchase, possess, and carry magazines over 10 rounds without restriction.¹ Federal law backs this up for qualified officers through 18 U.S.C. § 926B, whose definition of “firearm” includes ammunition.⁴

Penalties if You Get It Wrong

A first offense for manufacturing, selling, purchasing, receiving, or transferring a magazine over 10 rounds is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 3 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. Each transaction counts separately.⁵

Using a magazine over 10 rounds while committing a felony or crime of violence triggers a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison, up to 20 years, for a first enhanced violation. The 5 years cannot be suspended, no parole is available during that period, and the sentence runs on top of the sentence for the underlying offense. A second enhanced violation carries a 10-year mandatory minimum, still with a 20-year maximum, and must run consecutively with the sentence for the underlying felony.⁵

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-305 – Detachable Magazines – Prohibited
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-203 – Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Handguns
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 926B – Carrying of Concealed Firearms by Qualified Law Enforcement Officers
5
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-306 – Penalties