Illinois Handgun Ban: Models, Magazine Limits, and Exemptions

The Illinois handgun ban, enacted as part of the Protect Illinois Communities Act on January 10, 2023, prohibits the sale, purchase, and manufacture of semi-automatic pistols that meet a feature-based definition or appear on a list of named models, along with handgun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. If you already owned an affected handgun before that date, you can keep it, but only if you registered it with the Illinois State Police through an endorsement affidavit.

Handgun Features That Make a Pistol Illegal

A semi-automatic pistol that accepts a detachable magazine is classified as an assault weapon if it has any one of the following:

A threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward grip, or silencer
A second pistol grip or any protruding grip the non-trigger hand can hold
A shroud attached to or encircling the barrel that lets you fire without burning your hand (a standard slide enclosing the barrel does not count)
A flash suppressor
The ability to accept a detachable magazine that attaches somewhere other than the pistol grip
A buffer tube, arm brace, or similar part extending horizontally behind the pistol grip that allows firing from the shoulder

One feature is enough. The buffer tube and arm brace provision sweeps in many AR-style pistols that were previously sold as braced pistols rather than rifles.

A separate rule covers semi-automatic pistols with fixed magazines. If the fixed magazine holds more than 15 rounds, the pistol is banned regardless of any other feature.¹

Named Pistol Models on the Ban List

Beyond the feature test, the statute bans specific models by name along with their copies, duplicates, variants, and altered versions. The list is long, running from AK-type pistols like the Draco, Mini Draco, CZ Scorpion, and PAP M92 to AR-type pistols from Bushmaster, Daniel Defense, DPMS, Olympic Arms, Rock River Arms, and POF USA. It also carries forward older prohibitions on models like the Intratec TEC-9, Ingram MAC 10/11, UZI pistol, Heckler & Koch MP5K and SP-89, Beretta 93R, Skorpion, and Calico pistols.²

The Illinois State Police publishes the full list and updates it every October. If you own a pistol and aren’t sure whether it’s covered, the ISP list is the definitive reference. A rebranded clone with similar capabilities is treated the same as the named original.³

The 15-Round Magazine Limit

Handgun magazines and similar feeding devices holding more than 15 rounds cannot be sold, bought, or manufactured in Illinois. Possession of new high-capacity magazines became illegal 90 days after signing, roughly April 10, 2023.⁴

Magazines you legally owned before January 10, 2023 can be kept, but only in limited places:

Your own private property
Another person’s private property not open to the public, with permission
A licensed firearms dealer or gunsmith for lawful repair
A licensed firing range or competition venue
While traveling directly to or from one of the above, unloaded and in a case or container

You cannot carry a grandfathered high-capacity magazine on your person in public, even with a concealed carry license.⁵

Switches and Conversion Devices

Any device designed to convert a firearm into an assault weapon, and any part or combination of parts that increases the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm beyond its standard rate, is treated as an “assault weapon attachment” and regulated the same way. That captures the “switches” or auto sears used to convert pistols to fully automatic fire.⁵

These devices were already illegal under federal law. The National Firearms Act classifies any part designed to convert a weapon into a machine gun as a machine gun itself, so unregistered possession is a federal crime independent of PICA.⁶

Who Is Exempt

The ban does not apply equally to everyone. Several categories may legally possess and carry otherwise-banned handguns:

Peace officers as defined in Illinois law, including active-duty police and sheriffs
Qualified active and retired law enforcement officers covered by the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA)
Correctional officers at the state or county level who meet the specified qualifications
Active military personnel in the Armed Services, Reserve Forces, or National Guard while on duty or traveling to and from duty

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LEOSA lets qualified active and retired officers carry concealed firearms across all 50 states, but it does not cover machine guns, silencers, or destructive devices, and it does not override private property rules or restrictions on carrying in government buildings like courthouses or schools.⁷

Keeping a Handgun You Already Owned

If you lawfully owned a handgun that now qualifies as an assault weapon before January 10, 2023, you may keep it. You were required to submit an endorsement affidavit to the Illinois State Police through the FOID Portal by January 1, 2024. The affidavit asked for your Firearm Owner’s Identification card number along with the firearm’s make, model, caliber, and serial number.⁵

Possession is limited to the same locations that apply to grandfathered magazines: your private property, someone else’s private property with permission, a licensed range or competition, or a licensed dealer for repair. When you move a grandfathered handgun between those places, it must be unloaded and enclosed in a case.⁵

New residents who move to Illinois with an affected handgun must apply for a FOID card and complete the endorsement affidavit within 60 days of establishing residency. A FOID card costs $10 and requires a valid Illinois driver’s license or state ID.⁸

If You Missed the January 1, 2024 Deadline

The FOID Portal remains open for endorsement affidavit submissions. ISP has confirmed the portal did not close after the January 1, 2024 deadline, because PICA sets different deadlines for different situations (pre-existing possession, inheritance, relocation). There are no separate fines or penalties specifically for filing late.⁵

Possessing a regulated item without a completed affidavit after January 1, 2024 still violates the FOID Act and the Criminal Code. ISP has stated that individuals who violate these requirements may be arrested and charged, with sentencing ranges set out in 430 ILCS 65/14 and 720 ILCS 5/24-1(b). The court hearing a case could also deem a late-filed affidavit invalid or insufficient. Filing late is better than not filing, but it isn’t a guaranteed cure.⁵

Traveling Through Illinois With a Banned Handgun

If you don’t live in Illinois but need to pass through, federal law provides some protection. The Firearm Owners Protection Act allows you to transport a firearm through any state as long as you can legally possess it at both your origin and destination. The firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, it must be in a locked container that isn’t the glove compartment or center console.⁹

For air travel, TSA rules require firearms to be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case, and checked as baggage. You must declare the firearm at the ticket counter. Magazines, loaded or empty, must be checked and either securely boxed or placed inside the hard-sided case with the unloaded firearm.¹⁰

The federal safe-passage provision protects travel through Illinois, not extended stops. Checking into a hotel for the night or stopping longer than travel requires can cost you the protection and expose you to Illinois law.

Where the Law Stands in Court

PICA is currently enforceable statewide. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that had initially blocked the law in Macon County, and the ISP actively enforces the Act.⁵

Federal challenges continue. The Seventh Circuit upheld PICA at the preliminary injunction stage in late 2023, finding the plaintiffs had not shown a strong likelihood of success. The case returned to the Seventh Circuit for further arguments after a federal district judge later blocked enforcement following a bench trial, and no final ruling has issued. The U.S. Supreme Court has so far declined to hear challenges to both the Illinois and Maryland assault weapon bans, though Justice Kavanaugh has written that the Court “should and presumably will address” the issue “in the next Term or two.” A related case involving the Cook County assault weapons ban was scheduled for the Court’s January 2026 conference. Until that changes, PICA is the law in Illinois, and possessing a banned handgun without proper registration carries real criminal exposure.

1
Justia Law. Illinois Administrative Code Part 1230 Appendix A – List of Assault Weapons Subject to an Endorsement Affidavit
2
Illinois General Assembly. HB5855 – 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 – Manufacture, Possession, Delivery, Sale, and Purchase of Assault Weapons
3
Illinois General Assembly. 20 Illinois Administrative Code 1230 Appendix A – List of Assault Weapons Subject to an Endorsement Affidavit
4
Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10 – Manufacture, Delivery, Sale, and Possession of Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices
5
Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons
6
ATF. 27 CFR 179.11 – Meaning of Terms
7
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Legal Digest – Off-Duty Officers and Firearms
8
Illinois State Police. Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID)
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
10
Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition