Can You Buy AR Parts in Illinois? PICA, FOID, and Penalties

You can buy AR parts in Illinois, but the shopping list is shorter than it used to be. Optics, slings, lights, lower-capacity magazines, and non-regulated internal components remain available at retail. Pistol grips, threaded barrels, flash suppressors, telescoping or folding stocks, buffer tubes, barrel shrouds, and standard-capacity magazines do not, because the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), signed January 10, 2023, classifies them as “assault weapon attachments” and bans their sale.¹

What You Can Still Buy

The Illinois State Police has published a list of items that do not qualify as banned attachments. These are things you can order online, ship to your house, and install without an FFL transfer:

Scopes and scope mounts
Red dot sights, holographic sights, and their mounts
Laser sighting devices
Flashlights and other lighting devices
Slings and sling mounts

Cleaning kits, tools, and general maintenance accessories also sit outside PICA’s restrictions.¹ The ISP’s reasoning is that items integral to a firearm generally, or items not specifically designed for firearms at all, aren’t the kind of conversion parts the law targets.

A bare upper receiver without a barrel or other prohibited features isn’t itself on the restricted list. The catch is what you build onto it. The moment you add a threaded muzzle, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud, you’ve crossed into regulated territory. If you’re sourcing an upper, every feature counts individually.

What’s Off the Table Under PICA

PICA defines “assault weapon attachment” to cover devices specifically designed for making or converting a firearm into an assault weapon. The ISP’s illustrative list of banned attachments includes:

Folding, telescoping, thumbhole, or detachable stocks, or any stock that reduces the weapon’s overall dimensions or improves concealability
Pistol grips, thumbhole stocks, or any protruding grip the non-trigger hand can hold
Flash suppressors
Threaded barrels and barrel shrouds that let you hold the firearm without being burned
Buffer tubes, arm braces, or similar parts that protrude behind the pistol grip and allow shoulder firing
Grenade launchers

The ISP has stated the list isn’t exhaustive. Other components can qualify if they fit the statutory definition.¹ That matters because the law also sweeps in any part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert a firearm into a banned configuration. A kit that doesn’t name any of the listed features but produces the same result can still be regulated.

Lower Receivers and Magazines

Two parts come up constantly, and each has its own wrinkle.

Lower Receivers

Under federal and Illinois law, the lower receiver is the firearm. The ATF’s updated frame-and-receiver rule, effective August 2022, grandfathered the AR-15/M-16 classification, so the lower remains the serialized component on these platforms.² The ISP has confirmed that receivers designed or intended to convert a firearm into an assault weapon are regulated under PICA.¹ A stripped lower that can be assembled into a prohibited configuration falls under the ban. Because it’s a firearm, any purchase requires an FFL transfer, a background check, and ATF Form 4473, just like a complete rifle.

Magazines

PICA bans magazines, drums, belt-fed devices, and similar feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds for long guns or more than 15 rounds for handguns. The ban covers any combination of parts that could be assembled into such a device.¹ Standard 30-round AR-15 magazines are out. Magazines at or below the 10-round rifle limit remain legal to buy.

The Rimfire Exception

PICA carves out tubular magazines designed to accept and operate only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. The statute excludes them from both the “fixed magazine” definition and the high-capacity magazine ban.³ A lever-action .22 with a tube magazine holding more than 10 rounds isn’t treated as having a prohibited high-capacity magazine.

The carve-out is narrow. PICA’s list of banned firearms by name includes specific .22 LR AR-style rifles like the Armalite M15 22LR Carbine. A rifle banned by name stays banned regardless of caliber. The exemption applies to the magazine type, not to the rifle it’s attached to.

FOID Card, FFL Transfer, and Waiting Period

Any firearm or ammunition purchase in Illinois requires a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card from the Illinois State Police.⁴ That covers a box of .22 rounds and a stripped lower receiver alike. No FOID, no purchase.

Because a lower receiver counts as a firearm, buying one means a transfer through a Federal Firearms Licensee. You’ll fill out ATF Form 4473 and go through a NICS background check.⁵ Online receiver purchases ship to the dealer, not to you. Illinois also imposes a 72-hour waiting period on all firearm deliveries, measured from the time buyer and seller agree to the purchase.⁶ FFL transfer fees typically run $25 to $50 on top of the price of the part.

Non-firearm parts (optics, handguards without restricted features, slings, lights) can ship directly to your home without any FFL involvement.

If You Already Own a Grandfathered AR

Owners who legally held assault weapons, attachments, or high-capacity magazines before January 10, 2023, were allowed to keep them if they filed an electronic endorsement affidavit through the ISP’s FOID portal. The original deadline for existing residents was January 1, 2024.⁷ The ISP has confirmed the portal remains open for late submissions with no separate fine, though a local prosecutor could still deem a late filing insufficient and treat possession as a violation.¹

Repairs are allowed, with limits. You can personally fix your own registered firearm as long as the parts you need aren’t themselves assault weapon attachments. A trigger spring or a gas ring is fine. If the broken part is a regulated attachment, such as a telescoping stock or a buffer tube, you can’t buy a replacement at retail. Instead, you bring the firearm to an FFL or gunsmith, who orders and installs the attachment. The repair can’t include additional attachments beyond what’s needed to make the firearm functional.¹ A valid endorsement affidavit also has to be on file before you can lawfully transport the firearm to the shop.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Possessing an assault weapon or prohibited attachment without proper registration is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense, with fines up to $2,500. A second or subsequent possession charge is a Class 2 felony with fines up to $25,000. Manufacturing, selling, or delivering assault weapons or attachments is a Class 3 felony, also carrying fines up to $25,000.

A Class 2 felony in Illinois carries a potential prison sentence of three to seven years. If you aren’t sure whether a part counts as a regulated item, the cost of guessing wrong is high enough to warrant a call to a gunsmith or a lawyer before you click buy.

Pending Court Challenge

PICA is being challenged in federal court. In Harrel v. Raoul, plaintiffs argued the law violates the Second Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in July 2024, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in September 2025. A decision could narrow or strike down parts of the law. Until that happens, every restriction above remains in force.

1
Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons
2
Federal Register. Definition of Frame or Receiver and Identification of Firearms
3
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 – Manufacture, Possession, Delivery, Sale, and Purchase of Assault Weapons
4
Illinois.gov. Apply for a Firearm Owners Identification Card
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
6
Illinois Firearm Dealer Portal. Frequently Asked Questions
7
Cornell Law School. Illinois Admin Code Title 20, 1230.15 – FOID Card and Assault Weapon Electronic Endorsement Affidavit Requirement