Illinois bans four categories of shotguns: any shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, any shotgun with a revolving cylinder, several specific models listed by name, and semiautomatic shotguns that carry certain tactical features. Everything else — traditional pump, bolt, lever, slide-action, and plain semiautomatic shotguns with conventional stocks and tube magazines of five rounds or fewer — remains legal to own if you have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card. The restrictions come from the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), effective January 10, 2023, and the older unlawful-use-of-weapons statute at 720 ILCS 5/24-1.
Shotguns That Are Still Legal
PICA’s assault weapons ban does not touch shotguns operated manually by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 If you cycle the action by hand between shots, the law leaves the gun alone. That covers the vast majority of hunting, sporting, and home-defense shotguns sold in the state.
A standard semiautomatic shotgun with a conventional stock and a fixed tube magazine holding five or fewer shells is also legal. The ban targets tactical configurations, not semiautomatic operation itself.
Features That Make a Semiautomatic Shotgun Illegal
A semiautomatic shotgun becomes a prohibited assault weapon under PICA if it has even one of these features:1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
- A pistol grip or thumbhole stock
- A secondary forward grip the non-trigger hand can wrap around
- A folding stock that shortens overall length
- An attached grenade launcher
- A fixed magazine holding more than five rounds
- Any design that accepts a detachable magazine, regardless of that magazine’s capacity
One feature is enough. A semiauto with a pistol grip is banned even if its magazine holds only four shells.
Shotgun Models Banned by Name
PICA also names specific models, along with their copies, duplicates, and variants:2Illinois State Police. Assault Weapon Identification Guide
- DERYA Anakon MC-1980 and Anakon SD12
- Doruk Lethal shotguns
- Franchi LAW-12 and SPAS 12
- IZHMASH Saiga 12 and all variants (12S, 12S EXP-01, 12K, 12K-030, 12K-040 Taktika)
- Streetsweeper
- Striker 12
Possessing any of these is illegal unless you registered the gun with the Illinois State Police before the grandfathering window closed.
Revolving-Cylinder Shotguns
Any shotgun that uses a rotating cylinder rather than a tube or box magazine is banned, no matter how the action operates.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 The category is narrow but absolute; the Striker 12 and Streetsweeper are the familiar examples.
Short-Barreled Shotguns
Illinois has prohibited short-barreled shotguns for decades, separately from PICA. Any shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches is banned, and so is any weapon made from a shotgun with an overall length under 26 inches after modification.3Justia Law. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5 – Criminal Code of 1961 Article 24 This lives in the unlawful-use-of-weapons statute at 720 ILCS 5/24-1.
Federal law also regulates short-barreled shotguns through the National Firearms Act, which requires ATF registration.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act Here is the trap: even with a completed NFA registration, Illinois still prohibits possession. Federal paperwork does not override the state ban, and possessing a short-barreled shotgun in Illinois is a felony regardless.
Magazine Capacity Limits
PICA caps detachable magazines on long guns at 10 rounds.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10 For semiautomatic shotguns with fixed magazines, the practical limit is five rounds, because a fixed magazine over that capacity triggers the features test and makes the whole shotgun a banned assault weapon.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
Manufacturing, selling, or buying oversized magazines is a criminal offense. If you owned one before January 10, 2023, you can keep it, but you can only use it on your own private property, on someone else’s private property with permission, at a licensed range or competition, or at a gunsmith’s shop for repair. In transit between those places the magazine must be unloaded and cased.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10
You Still Need a FOID Card
None of this changes the baseline. Every Illinois resident who possesses any firearm or ammunition must hold a valid FOID card issued by the Illinois State Police. The requirement applies to a basic pump-action just as much as to a restricted model. Narrow exemptions exist for active-duty military and federal officials on duty, and for nonresident hunters with valid out-of-state licenses during hunting season.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 65/2
Grandfathering and the Closed Deadline
PICA let Illinois residents who lawfully owned a now-banned shotgun before January 10, 2023, keep it by filing an endorsement affidavit through their FOID account with the Illinois State Police.7Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons The affidavit had to include the make, model, caliber, and serial number, and it had to be filed before January 1, 2024.8Illinois General Assembly. Public Act 102-1116
That deadline has passed. The Illinois State Police have said that possessing a PICA-regulated shotgun without a valid endorsement affidavit violates both the FOID Act and the Criminal Code, and that people who missed the window may be arrested and charged.7Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons
Grandfathering is also personal. You cannot sell, give, or otherwise transfer a grandfathered shotgun to another Illinois resident, including family.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 When the registered owner dies, the shotgun generally has to be surrendered to law enforcement, transferred to a licensed dealer, or moved out of state.
Penalties
Possessing a banned assault-style shotgun without a valid grandfathering registration is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense, punishable by up to a year in county jail. A second offense becomes a Class 3 felony. Selling, manufacturing, or importing a prohibited shotgun is a Class 3 felony from the first offense.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
Possessing a short-barreled shotgun is a Class 3 felony from the start, first offense or not.3Justia Law. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5 – Criminal Code of 1961 Article 24 And each weapon is a separate count. Three prohibited shotguns means three charges, not one.
Driving Through Illinois With an Out-of-State Shotgun
Federal law offers limited protection for through-travel. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you can transport a firearm through Illinois if you can legally possess it both where your trip starts and where it ends. The shotgun must be unloaded and kept where it is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment. A locked trunk works; if the vehicle has no separate trunk, the shotgun goes in a locked container, and the glove box and center console do not count.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
This covers through-travel only. Stop in Illinois for anything beyond what the trip reasonably requires and you fall under Illinois law, at which point a PICA-banned shotgun in the car can bring charges.