What Weapons Are Illegal in Indiana: Firearms, Knives, and Penalties

Indiana bans a short, specific list of weapons: machine guns that aren’t federally registered, sawed-off shotguns without a federal tax stamp, armor-piercing handgun ammunition, destructive devices like bombs and grenades, and ballistic knives. Most of these violations are Level 5 felonies carrying one to six years in prison and fines up to $10,000. A few other items, including brass knuckles, are legal to own but illegal to carry in public. If you’re trying to figure out what weapons are illegal in Indiana, the categories below cover the whole picture, along with who can’t possess otherwise-legal weapons and where even lawful ones can’t go.

Firearms That Are Illegal to Own

Machine Guns

Possessing a machine gun — any firearm that fires more than one shot per trigger pull — is a Level 5 felony in Indiana.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 35-47-5-8 The one exception: machine guns properly registered under the federal National Firearms Act. If the weapon is listed in the ATF’s National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, or is a type not required to be registered, Indiana’s prohibition does not apply.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-5-10 – Applicability of Statutes Relating to Machine Guns Legally transferable machine guns were manufactured before 1986, cost tens of thousands of dollars, and require ATF approval, so the exception reaches a small number of collectors.

Sawed-Off Shotguns and Short-Barreled Rifles

Indiana defines a sawed-off shotgun as a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, or any weapon made from a shotgun with an overall length under 26 inches.3Indiana General Assembly. 2022 Indiana Code Title 35 They are legal only when properly registered under the federal NFA with an approved tax stamp. Possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun violates both federal and state law.

Short-barreled rifles follow the same rule. There is no separate Indiana ban, but federal NFA registration and the tax stamp are required. Indiana is generally considered NFA-friendly: suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns are all legal in the state when the federal paperwork is in order.

Ammunition That Is Illegal

Indiana bans armor-piercing ammunition designed for handguns. The statute covers projectiles made entirely from hard metals such as tungsten alloys, steel, brass, or beryllium copper, and large-caliber full-jacketed handgun rounds where the jacket is more than 25 percent of the projectile’s weight.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-5-11.5 – Armor-Piercing Ammunition Possessing, manufacturing, selling, or delivering it is a Level 5 felony.

Several carve-outs keep common sporting ammunition legal. Shotgun pellets required by hunting regulations, frangible target-shooting projectiles, ammunition designed primarily for rifles or shotguns, and handgun rounds intended for hunting or competitive shooting are all excluded.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-5-11.5 – Armor-Piercing Ammunition Law enforcement and government agencies are also exempt.

Explosives and Destructive Devices

Indiana flatly prohibits possessing, manufacturing, transporting, or distributing a destructive device without legal authorization. The offense is a Level 5 felony.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47.5-5-2 – Destructive Devices The statutory definition sweeps in a wide range of items:

  • Explosive or incendiary devices configured as bombs, grenades, mines, or Molotov cocktails.
  • Rockets with propellant charges over four ounces, or missiles with explosive charges over a quarter ounce.
  • Any weapon convertible to fire a projectile through a barrel with a bore diameter greater than half an inch.
  • A combination of parts designed to convert a device into a destructive device, even if assembly is incomplete.

Ordinary firearms and their ammunition are explicitly excluded, as are devices not designed as weapons and repurposed signaling or pyrotechnic equipment.6Justia Law. Indiana Code Title 35 Article 47.5 Chapter 2 – Definitions

Illegal Knives and Impact Weapons

Indiana places very few restrictions on knives. The one blade that remains outright illegal is the ballistic knife, which has a detachable blade that can be launched from the handle by a spring, gas cartridge, or similar mechanism. Manufacturing, possessing, selling, or giving away one is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 35-47-5-2

Brass knuckles, blackjacks, and similar impact weapons are not banned to own, but carrying them in public can bring a Class A misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine up to $5,000. Using them during a crime can elevate the charge to a felony.

Two items people often assume are still banned aren’t. Switchblades were removed from the prohibited-weapons statute in 2013 and are now legal statewide.8Indiana General Assembly. Senate Bill No. 181 (2013) Chinese throwing stars came off the banned list effective July 1, 2023; adults can own them, but they are still prohibited on school property and school buses, where possession is a misdemeanor and becomes a Level 6 felony if used to cause bodily injury.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-5-2.5 – Possession of a Knife on School Property

Weapons That Are Legal in Indiana

A few weapons searchers often assume are banned actually aren’t:

  • Suppressors are legal for any lawful purpose, including hunting, with no state permit beyond the standard federal process: the $200 ATF tax stamp and eForms approval.
  • Bump stocks are not banned under Indiana law. After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ATF rule in Garland v. Cargill (2024), they returned to legal status in states, like Indiana, with no independent prohibition.
  • Binary triggers, which fire one round on the pull and another on the release, are unrestricted.
  • Stun guns and Tasers are legal for anyone 18 or older. Selling one to a minor is a Class B misdemeanor, and using one during a crime or against a law enforcement officer carries steeper penalties.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 35-47-8-5
  • Pepper spray is legal without a permit. Indiana’s criminal code excludes personal-carry tear gas devices containing no more than half an ounce of chemical agent from its “dangerous gas” definition.11Indiana General Assembly. 2025 Indiana Code Title 35 – Criminal Law and Procedure

Who Cannot Possess Otherwise-Legal Weapons

Even a legal weapon becomes an illegal weapon in the wrong hands. Federal law bars anyone convicted of a felony punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing any firearm or ammunition. Indiana adds a stiffer layer for “serious violent felons” — people convicted of offenses like murder, robbery, kidnapping, or sexual assault. A serious violent felon who possesses a firearm commits a Level 4 felony, carrying two to twelve years in prison.

People subject to domestic violence protective orders and unlawful drug users are also prohibited under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)). Convicted felons are generally barred from possessing stun guns as well under the broader weapons-disability rules.

Anyone under 18 commits the offense of dangerous possession of a firearm by possessing one outside narrow exceptions for supervised hunting, target shooting, and firearms safety courses. Adults who knowingly provide a firearm to a child can face separate charges.

Indiana’s red flag law, the Jake Laird Law, lets law enforcement petition a court to seize firearms from a person deemed a “dangerous individual” — someone who poses an imminent risk of injury to themselves or others, or who is likely to pose such a risk due to untreated mental illness or documented violent or suicidal behavior.12Indiana Court Times. Indiana’s Red Flag Law If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person is dangerous, firearms are held for at least 180 days and the person is barred from purchasing or receiving firearms during that time.

Where You Cannot Carry Legal Weapons

Indiana allows permitless carry of handguns for adults who aren’t otherwise prohibited,13Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 35-47-2-1 but several locations remain off-limits even to lawful carriers. The Indiana Attorney General’s office identifies these restricted areas:14Indiana Attorney General. Gun Owners’ Bill of Rights

  • Property on the same grounds or in the same building as a school or licensed daycare.
  • Secure areas of airports beyond TSA checkpoints. Bringing a firearm to a checkpoint can trigger TSA civil penalties up to $15,000 and loss of PreCheck eligibility for at least five years, on top of state criminal charges. An unloaded firearm in checked luggage is still allowed if declared at the airline counter and packed in a locked hard-sided case.15Transportation Security Administration. TSA Detects 78 Firearms at IND Checkpoints in 2024
  • Riverboat casinos.
  • Government buildings that contain a courtroom, when the local government has prohibited firearms there.
  • Jails and prisons.
  • The Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis.
  • The Indiana State Fairgrounds, unless the firearm is being offered for sale or trade at a fairgrounds event.

Private property owners can also prohibit firearms. Ignoring posted no-firearms signage and refusing to leave when asked can bring a trespassing charge.

Penalties for Weapons Violations

Most serious weapons offenses in Indiana are Level 5 felonies: possessing an unregistered machine gun, possessing a destructive device, and dealing in armor-piercing ammunition. A Level 5 felony carries a fixed prison term of one to six years, with an advisory sentence of three years, plus a fine of up to $10,000.16Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-6 – Class C Felony; Level 5 Felony

Lower-level offenses carry lighter but still meaningful consequences:

  • Possessing a ballistic knife is a Class B misdemeanor: up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 35-47-5-2
  • Carrying brass knuckles in public is a Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and a fine up to $5,000.
  • Using a stun gun during a crime is a Class A misdemeanor, escalating to a Level 6 felony if used against a law enforcement officer.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 35-47-8-5
  • A serious violent felon in possession of a firearm faces a Level 4 felony: two to twelve years in prison.

Penalties escalate when a prohibited weapon is used during another crime, and bringing a banned weapon into a restricted location like a school or courthouse adds further charges on top of the base offense. Prior felony convictions routinely push sentences toward the upper end of the statutory range.