The Maryland magazine capacity law caps detachable firearm magazines at ten rounds and makes it a crime to manufacture, sell, buy, receive, or transfer any detachable magazine that holds more. The rule lives in Criminal Law Section 4-305, and it targets transactions rather than possession, so a magazine you legally owned before the law took effect can stay with you.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-305 – Detachable Magazines — Prohibited
What the Statute Actually Prohibits
Section 4-305 makes it illegal to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, or transfer a detachable magazine holding more than ten rounds of ammunition for a firearm.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-305 – Detachable Magazines — Prohibited Read the verbs. Possession is not one of them. You cannot buy a new fifteen-round magazine, accept one as a gift, sell yours to another Marylander, or order one online and have it shipped here.
The word “receive” is what closes the out-of-state workaround people often ask about. Driving to Pennsylvania or Virginia, buying a magazine over ten rounds, and bringing it back into Maryland still violates the statute, because you are receiving a prohibited item. A Maryland State Police advisory confirms that even licensed dealers, who may receive high-capacity magazines into the state for limited business purposes, cannot sell or transfer them to non-exempt Maryland residents.2Maryland State Police. Advisory – High-Capacity Detachable Magazines
Keeping Magazines You Already Own
Because the law targets transactions, magazines lawfully acquired before October 1, 2013 can stay in your home and go with you to the range. The Firearm Safety Act of 2013 did not include a confiscation provision or a turn-in period.3Maryland General Assembly. 2013 Regular Session – Senate Bill 281
Proving when you got a magazine is the practical wrinkle. There is no state registry, and the prosecution carries the burden in a criminal case, but if you are found with a thirty-round magazine and law enforcement believes it was acquired after the ban, being able to point to a receipt or other proof of pre-ban ownership matters. Keep documentation where you can find it.
One warning. The safe harbor for pre-ban magazines disappears if the magazine shows up during a felony or crime of violence. Under Section 4-306(b), the mere presence of a high-capacity magazine during that offense triggers mandatory minimum sentencing regardless of when you acquired it.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-306 – Penalties
Who Is Actually Exempt
The exemption list is narrower than many gun owners assume. There is no exemption for competitive shooting, no general self-defense exemption, and no blanket exemption for military members using personal firearms off duty.
Two exemptions sit in the statute itself. Rimfire .22 caliber rifles with tubular magazines are excluded, because those magazines are integral to the firearm rather than a detachable box. Active law enforcement officers, and those who retired in good standing from a federal, state, or local Maryland law enforcement agency, are also exempt.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-305 – Detachable Magazines — Prohibited
Section 4-305 also picks up a longer list of exemptions from COMAR 29.03.01.02D:5Library of Maryland Regulations. Chapter 01 Regulated Firearms
- Employees of the U.S. government or its agencies acting within the scope of official business. This is the provision that reaches military members, but only during official duties.
- Railroad police officers authorized under federal or state law, while acting in an official capacity.
- Licensed dealers and manufacturers, for limited purposes such as servicing equipment for law enforcement, transferring to out-of-state dealers, or handling warranty returns for out-of-state customers.
- A person who inherits a high-capacity magazine from someone who lawfully possessed it, provided the inheritor is not otherwise prohibited from having a regulated firearm.
- A personal representative administering a deceased person’s estate, while handling the magazine as part of those duties.
- Armored car company employees with the appropriate permit, while acting within the scope of their employment.
If you don’t fit one of those categories, the ten-round limit applies to every transaction.
Penalties for a Violation
The penalty depends entirely on whether you violated the transaction ban on its own or had a high-capacity magazine during a violent crime.
The general penalty under Criminal Law Section 4-306(a) treats a violation as a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-306 – Penalties
Section 4-306(b) is where the numbers get serious. If a magazine over ten rounds is used during a felony or crime of violence:
- A first offense carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and up to twenty years. The court cannot suspend the minimum, and there is no parole eligibility before the full five years is served.
- A subsequent offense carries a mandatory minimum of ten years, up to twenty. The sentence must run consecutively with any sentence for the underlying felony or crime of violence, not concurrently.
The distinction matters at plea negotiations. A general misdemeanor charge has room for a negotiated outcome. The enhanced provision sets a floor the judge cannot go under.
What This Means When You Buy a Firearm in Maryland
The transaction ban reshapes how firearms move through the state. Any handgun or rifle sold in Maryland ships with a ten-round magazine or no magazine at all. Some manufacturers make Maryland-compliant versions of popular models. Others leave the swap to the dealer. Either way, expect only compliant accessories with an in-state purchase.2Maryland State Police. Advisory – High-Capacity Detachable Magazines
The statute focuses on capacity, so a magazine that has been permanently limited to ten rounds through pinning or blocking falls outside the prohibition. The statute does not spell out what qualifies as “permanent,” though, and a modification that can be easily reversed carries real legal risk.
Where the Law Stands in Court
Maryland’s magazine and assault weapons restrictions have survived every major constitutional challenge so far, though the reasoning has changed as Supreme Court doctrine has shifted.
In 2017, the en banc Fourth Circuit upheld the Firearm Safety Act in Kolbe v. Hogan, concluding that assault weapons and high-capacity magazines fell outside Second Amendment protection.
After the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen changed the test for gun laws, challengers came back with Bianchi v. Brown. In 2024, the en banc Fourth Circuit upheld the law again, this time under the Bruen framework, finding the restrictions consistent with a historical tradition of states banning dangerous new weapons as technology evolved. On June 2, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving the Fourth Circuit decision in place.6Congressional Research Service. Supreme Court Declines Review of Decision Upholding Maryland Assault Weapons Ban
That does not permanently close the constitutional question nationwide. Other federal circuits could reach different conclusions, and the Supreme Court could eventually take up the issue. For now, the ten-round limit is on solid legal footing in Maryland.