If you hold a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card issued by the Illinois State Police, you can legally own most conventional handguns, rifles, and shotguns in Illinois, and the state sets no cap on how many you may possess. What you cannot own are the specific firearms, magazines, and devices Illinois classifies as assault weapons under the Protect Illinois Communities Act, along with the machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors, and destructive devices that federal law restricts separately. The practical answer to what guns you can legally own in Illinois depends on matching any firearm you want against both lists.
You Need a FOID Card First
Before you can lawfully possess any firearm or ammunition in Illinois, including a gun kept at home, you need a FOID card from the Illinois State Police.1Illinois State Police. Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) The application fee is $10, paid through the state’s e-Pay system.2Illinois State Police. FOID Frequently Asked Questions
You generally must be 21 to apply on your own. Applicants under 21 need a parent or legal guardian who is themselves FOID-eligible to file a sponsoring affidavit, and active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces or Illinois National Guard under 21 can apply with annual proof of service.3Illinois.gov. Apply for a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card
The Illinois State Police will deny a FOID application if any of the following apply:
- A felony conviction under Illinois or any other state’s laws.
- A conviction within the past five years for battery, assault, aggravated assault, or violation of an order of protection involving a firearm.
- Current addiction to a controlled substance, or a recent failed drug test.
- Having been a patient in a mental health facility within the past five years.
- An intellectual or developmental disability.
- Being subject to a court order prohibiting firearm possession.
- A dishonorable military discharge.
- Being a noncitizen unlawfully present in the United States.
Federal law layers on its own disqualifiers, including a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence, being under indictment for a felony-level offense, and having renounced U.S. citizenship.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts If you fail either set, you cannot legally own a firearm.
What You Can Own With a FOID Card
A valid FOID card lets you own the broad category of conventional sporting and defensive arms: semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, bolt-action and lever-action rifles, pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns, and similar firearms. Illinois places no numerical limit on how many firearms you may own.1Illinois State Police. Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) The real question for any particular firearm is whether its features drop it into the state’s banned category or trigger federal restrictions.
What Illinois Bans as Assault Weapons
The Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), signed on January 10, 2023, bans the manufacture, sale, purchase, and (for new acquisitions) possession of firearms Illinois defines as assault weapons, along with .50 caliber rifles and .50 caliber cartridges. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the law after legal challenges, and it is enforceable statewide.5Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons Whether a firearm you want to buy falls inside the ban depends on its action type and its features.
Semi-Automatic Rifles
A semi-automatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine is banned if it has any one of these features: a pistol grip or thumbhole stock, a forward grip or other protruding grip for the non-trigger hand, a folding or telescoping stock, a flash suppressor, a grenade launcher, or a barrel shroud. A semi-automatic rifle with a fixed magazine holding more than 10 rounds is also banned, with a narrow exception for tubular magazines that only accept .22 rimfire ammunition.6Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
Semi-Automatic Pistols
A semi-automatic pistol with a detachable magazine is banned if it also has a threaded barrel, a second grip for the non-trigger hand, a barrel shroud, a flash suppressor, the ability to accept a magazine outside the pistol grip, or a buffer tube or arm brace designed to allow shoulder firing. A semi-automatic pistol with a fixed magazine holding more than 15 rounds is also prohibited.6Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
Semi-Automatic Shotguns
Shotguns face a lower threshold. A semi-automatic shotgun is banned if it has a pistol grip or thumbhole stock, a forward grip, a folding stock, a grenade launcher, a fixed magazine holding more than five rounds, or the ability to accept a detachable magazine at all. That last feature sweeps in a number of shotguns owners might not expect to be covered.6Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9
Magazines and Conversion Switches
PICA separately bans large-capacity ammunition feeding devices: any magazine, drum, or similar device holding more than 10 rounds for long guns, or more than 15 rounds for handguns.7Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10 The law also bans “switches” and other devices designed to convert a standard firearm into a fully automatic weapon.
If You Already Owned One Before the Ban
If you lawfully owned a now-banned firearm or device before January 10, 2023, you were required to register it with the Illinois State Police by January 1, 2024. Governor Pritzker announced that the ISP would continue accepting registration affidavits after that deadline, but unregistered possession is unlawful.5Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons You cannot buy a banned firearm now and expect to register your way into legal ownership; grandfathering applied only to pre-ban possession.
Federally Restricted Firearms
Some firearms are legal under Illinois law but tightly controlled by the federal National Firearms Act. The NFA covers machine guns, short-barreled rifles (barrels under 16 inches), short-barreled shotguns (barrels under 18 inches), suppressors (silencers), and destructive devices. Legal ownership requires registration with the ATF and a $200 tax stamp per item.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act
Machine guns carry an additional federal cutoff. The transfer or possession of any machine gun manufactured after May 19, 1986, is barred for civilians, with narrow exceptions for government agencies. Only pre-1986 registered machine guns can be lawfully owned by private citizens, and they typically sell for tens of thousands of dollars.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act Even where federal law would allow ownership of an NFA item, the firearm still has to be legal under Illinois law to possess it in the state.
Age Limits on Ownership and Purchase
Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21, and from selling rifles or shotguns to anyone under 18.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Illinois separately prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing a handgun, with narrow exceptions. The combined effect is that an 18- to 20-year-old with a sponsored FOID card can lawfully possess long guns but cannot buy a handgun from a dealer.
Penalties for Owning Something You Shouldn’t
Illinois grades FOID-related offenses by the owner’s underlying eligibility. Possessing a firearm without a FOID card when you would have qualified for one is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail. Possessing a firearm without a FOID card when you are legally prohibited from having one is a Class 3 felony, which carries two to five years in prison.
A separate statute addresses storage. If you keep a firearm where a minor under 18 without a FOID card is likely to access it, and the minor then causes death or great bodily harm with it, you face a Class C misdemeanor with a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense and a Class A misdemeanor for a second. The law carves out exceptions where the minor acted in self-defense or gained access through an unlawful break-in.10Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/24-9 – Firearms; Child Protection
Federal penalties stack on top. Buying a firearm on behalf of someone who cannot legally possess one, known as a straw purchase, carries up to 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, rising to 25 years if the firearm is used in a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking crime.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy Before adding any firearm to your collection in Illinois, the safe practice is to check both the PICA feature lists and the NFA categories against the specific make, model, and configuration you are considering.