Under Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013, a rifle is illegal if it appears on the state’s list of 45 named “assault long guns” (or is a copy of one), or if it qualifies as a “copycat weapon” based on its mechanical features. To know what rifles are illegal in Maryland, you have to run a specific firearm through both tests, because failing either one is enough to make the rifle prohibited.
The Two Tests Maryland Uses
Maryland bans rifles two different ways, and the tests are independent. The first is a named-model list under Public Safety § 5-101(r)(2): if your rifle is on the list, or is a copy of something on the list, it’s banned regardless of its features. The second is the copycat weapon definition under Criminal Law § 4-301: even if a rifle isn’t on the named list, it can still be illegal if it’s a semi-automatic centerfire rifle meeting one of three feature-based conditions. A rifle only has to fail one test to be prohibited.
Rifles Banned by Name
The statute lists 45 specific firearms, and any copy of a listed firearm is also banned regardless of who manufactures it. The list covers rifles, shotguns, and carbines, with rifles making up the largest share. Among the most recognizable prohibited rifles:
- AK-47 in all forms, and the Avtomat Kalashnikov in any format
- Colt AR-15 and CAR-15, along with all imitations (with one exception, covered below)
- Bushmaster semi-auto rifle
- FN FAL and FN LAR
- Heckler and Koch HK-91 A3, HK-93 A2, HK-94 A2, and A3
- SIG 550/551 (.223 caliber)
- Steyr-AUG-SA
- UZI 9mm carbine or rifle
- Barrett light .50 caliber semi-auto
- SKS with detachable magazine
- Springfield Armory BM-59, SAR-48, G3, SAR-3, M-21, and M1A (but not the M1 Garand)
- Ruger Mini-14 folding stock model (.223 caliber)
The full list also includes the Beretta AR70, Calico M-100 and M-900, the Chinese-made Dragunov semi-auto, the Galil AR and ARM, the Daewoo MAX 1 and MAX 2, and several others. The complete list sits in the statute itself.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Public Safety Code 5-101 (2025) – Definitions The phrase “or their copies” matters. A rifle doesn’t need the exact brand name on the list to be illegal; if it’s a copy of a listed model, it’s covered.
The Copycat Weapon Tests
The copycat definition catches semi-automatic centerfire rifles that aren’t on the named list but share the characteristics the legislature targeted. There are three independent prongs, and a rifle only needs to meet one to be banned.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Law 4-301 – Definitions
Detachable Magazine Plus Two Features
A semi-automatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine is a copycat weapon if it has any two of these three features:
- A folding stock (one that hinges to the side or underneath). A telescoping or collapsible stock that slides along a buffer tube is a different mechanism and isn’t restricted under this test.
- A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
- A flash suppressor, meaning a muzzle device designed to reduce or redirect the visible flash when the rifle fires. A muzzle brake, which reduces recoil but doesn’t suppress flash, is not the same thing and isn’t restricted.
One feature alone doesn’t trigger this prong. A semi-automatic centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine and only a flash suppressor stays legal under this test. It takes two.
Fixed Magazine Over 10 Rounds
A semi-automatic centerfire rifle with a fixed magazine that holds more than 10 rounds is automatically a copycat weapon. No additional features required. This closes the door on rifles that try to sidestep the detachable-magazine prong by using a built-in high-capacity magazine.
Overall Length Under 29 Inches
Any semi-automatic centerfire rifle with an overall length under 29 inches is a copycat weapon. This test doesn’t care about the magazine type, the stock, or any other feature. Semi-automatic, centerfire, under 29 inches overall — banned.
What the Copycat Tests Don’t Reach
All three prongs apply only to semi-automatic centerfire rifles. Bolt-action, pump-action, and lever-action rifles are outside the definition. Rimfire rifles, including .22 LR, are also outside it, because rimfire isn’t centerfire.3Maryland State Police. Firearms Search
The AR-15 HBAR Exception
The AR-15 generates more questions than any other rifle in Maryland. The Colt AR-15 and CAR-15 are banned by name, along with “all imitations.” But the statute carves out one exception: the Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR rifle.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Public Safety Code 5-101 (2025) – Definitions “HBAR” stands for heavy barrel, and that single carveout has produced an entire market of Maryland-compliant AR-15 variants built with heavy barrels specifically to meet it.
An HBAR AR-15 is not a blanket pass. The rifle still can’t fail any of the three copycat tests. An HBAR under 29 inches overall is still illegal. An HBAR with a detachable magazine, a folding stock, and a flash suppressor is still illegal. The HBAR exception only removes the rifle from the named-model ban; it doesn’t exempt it from the feature tests.
The Maryland State Police have confirmed that a lower receiver from a banned assault long gun platform may be built into a heavy-barrel model, as long as the finished rifle complies with all other state and federal law.4Maryland State Police. Receivers of Banned Assault Long Guns
Magazine Capacity
Maryland prohibits the sale, purchase, manufacture, transfer, or receipt of any detachable magazine holding more than 10 rounds.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-305 (2025) – Detachable Magazines Prohibited The statute leaves out the word “possession.” The law targets the transaction, not simple possession, so someone who already owns a magazine over 10 rounds isn’t committing a crime by keeping it, but buying, selling, or transferring one inside Maryland is illegal. Two exceptions apply: tubular magazines on .22 caliber rifles, and current or retired law enforcement officers in good standing.
If You Owned One Before October 1, 2013
If you lawfully owned an assault long gun or copycat weapon before October 1, 2013, or had a verifiable purchase order or completed purchase application before that date, you may continue to possess and transport it.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Law 4-303 – Assault Weapons Prohibited You can’t sell, offer to sell, or transfer the rifle to another person in Maryland, but you can keep it. Licensed firearms dealers who lawfully possessed banned rifles on or before that same date may continue to possess, sell, and transfer those specific firearms.
If You’re Moving to Maryland
New residents with regulated firearms have 90 days after establishing residency to register them with the Maryland State Police. A nonrefundable $15 fee covers the application regardless of how many firearms you register, and the form asks for make, model, caliber, serial number, and barrel length for each.7Legal Information Institute. COMAR 29-03-01-05 – New Residents of the State
Registration doesn’t legalize a banned weapon. If a rifle you’re bringing in qualifies as an assault long gun or copycat weapon under Maryland law, submitting a registration form doesn’t give you permission to keep it. Bringing a banned rifle into the state after October 1, 2013 is a separate violation.
Penalties
Violating Maryland’s assault weapon ban is a misdemeanor carrying up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.8Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-306 (2025) – Penalties The penalties apply to each violation individually, so possessing multiple banned firearms can result in stacked charges. The same penalty range covers transporting a banned weapon into the state, possessing one, and selling or transferring one. Violations of the oversized-magazine rule under § 4-305 fall within the same subtitle and carry the same penalty structure.