Are 80% Lowers Legal in My State? 2026 State-by-State Guide
Short answer: 80% lowers are legal to buy under federal law in most of the U.S., but about 20 states, Washington, D.C. and several cities ban or restrict them. Most of those places require an unfinished frame or receiver to be serialized by a licensed dealer, sold through a dealer with a background check, or both. Find your state in the table below, then check our Shipping & Returns page for the current list of places we can’t ship to.
This guide summarizes state and local laws as of November 2026. Laws change often and this is not legal advice. Check your state and local laws, or ask an attorney licensed in your state, before you buy.
What Federal Law Says
ATF calls 80% lowers “receiver blanks.” Under its 2022 frame or receiver rule (Final Rule 2021R-05F), which the Supreme Court upheld in Bondi v. VanDerStok in March 2025, a receiver blank that can be readily completed into a working receiver, or one sold together with a jig or tooling to finish it, is treated as a firearm. It must be serialized and transferred through a federally licensed dealer (FFL). A blank that hasn’t reached that point isn’t regulated as a frame or receiver under federal law. Our 80% lowers are sold on their own, without jigs or tooling.
In August 2026, a federal court in Texas held parts of the rule unconstitutional in Defense Distributed v. Blanche, but its order protects only the parties in that case. ATF and the Justice Department have also said a revised rule is coming. For the full history, see 80% Lowers and the ATF Frame or Receiver Rule: FAQ.
80% Lower Laws by State
These states restrict unfinished frames and receivers, including 80% lowers and pistol frames such as the G80. “Banned unless serialized” means you can’t buy, sell or possess one unless a licensed dealer has added a serial number.
| State | Status | What the law does | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Regulated | 80% lowers and frames (“firearm precursor parts”) can be sold only through a licensed dealer with a background check, and possessing an unserialized firearm or precursor part is illegal. | Cal. Penal Code §§ 30400, 23920, 29180 |
| Colorado | Banned unless serialized | Buying, selling, transferring or possessing an unfinished frame or receiver is illegal unless a licensed dealer has serialized it. The possession rule has applied since January 1, 2024. | C.R.S. § 18-12-111.5 |
| Connecticut | Regulated | Unfinished frames and receivers can be sold only under handgun-style dealer and permit rules and must carry a serial number. Building a firearm requires a state serial number first. Amended October 1, 2026. | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-206j; Public Act 26-41 |
| Delaware | Regulated (in litigation) | Only licensed dealers and manufacturers may sell unfinished frames, serialized and recorded. In September 2026 a federal court struck down the state’s possession and home-build bans (Rigby v. Jennings); the limits on sales remain. | 11 Del. C. §§ 1459A, 1463 |
| District of Columbia | Banned unless serialized | Unserialized firearms, frames and receivers can’t be possessed or registered. Home-built firearms must be serialized and registered. | D.C. Code §§ 7-2502.02, 22-4514 |
| Hawaii | Banned | Only licensed manufacturers may buy, possess or make unserialized receivers or parts kits. “Ghost guns” have been a prohibited weapon since April 2025. | HRS §§ 134-8, 134-10.2 |
| Illinois | Banned unless serialized | Unserialized unfinished frames can be sold only to federal licensees, and possessing one is illegal unless a licensed dealer has serialized it. | 720 ILCS 5/24-5.1 |
| Maine | New law, January 2027 | From January 2027, possessing, importing or transferring an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver is illegal, and buying one requires a background check. | 25 M.R.S. § 2037 |
| Maryland | Banned unless serialized | Buying, selling or transferring an unfinished frame or receiver requires a federal serial number. Possessing an unserialized firearm has been illegal since March 1, 2023. | Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 5-703 |
| Massachusetts | Regulated | Unfinished frames and receivers are treated as firearms, so licensing, dealer and serial-number rules apply, and home-built firearms must be serialized and registered. Voters kept the law on November 3, 2026. | M.G.L. c. 140 § 121; Ch. 135 of the Acts of 2024 |
| Nevada | Banned unless serialized | Selling, buying, possessing or transporting an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver is illegal. The Nevada Supreme Court upheld the law in 2024. | NRS 202.363–202.3635 |
| New Jersey | Banned | People without a manufacturing license can’t buy or obtain unserialized or unfinished frames, receivers or parts kits. | N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9 |
| New York | Banned | Only licensed dealers and gunsmiths may sell or possess unfinished frames and receivers. | N.Y. Penal Law §§ 265.01, 265.60–265.64 |
| Oregon | Banned unless serialized | Unserialized unfinished frames and receivers can be sold, transferred or imported only through federal licensees. Possessing one has been illegal since September 1, 2024. | ORS 166.265–166.267 |
| Puerto Rico | Restricted | Manufacturing firearms and buying certain firearm parts require a license. We don’t ship 80% lowers here. | Ley 168-2019; Act 123-2026 |
| Rhode Island | Banned | Making, selling, buying or possessing a “ghost gun” (an unserialized firearm, frame or receiver) is banned. | R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-8 |
| Vermont | Banned unless serialized | Possessing or transferring an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver has been illegal since February 25, 2025. | 13 V.S.A. §§ 4082–4084 |
| Virginia | New law, January 1, 2027 | From January 1, 2027, buying, selling or importing an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver is illegal. Possessing one becomes illegal on July 1, 2027. | Va. Code § 18.2-308.5:2 |
| Washington | Banned unless serialized | Selling, buying or possessing an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver, including “80%” products, is banned (sales since July 2022, possession since March 2023). | RCW 9.41.326, 9.41.327 |
States not listed here don’t currently have a state law aimed at 80% lowers, but federal law still applies, and some cities have their own rules (below).
Cities and Counties With Their Own Rules
Some cities and counties restrict 80% lowers even where state law doesn’t.
| Locality | What the law does | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia, PA | Unfinished frames may be sold or bought only between federal licensees, and non-licensees may not complete one. The ordinance is in effect while the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decides an appeal. | Phila. Code § 10-2002 |
| York, PA | Same approach as Philadelphia: licensee-to-licensee sales only, and no completion by non-licensees. | York Codified Ordinances Art. 702 |
| Reading, PA | Bans transferring or completing unfinished frames and 3D-printing guns. | City ordinance, 2024 |
| Harrisburg, PA | Restricts transferring or completing unfinished frames and bans 3D-printed guns. | Harrisburg Code § 3-375 |
| Delaware County, PA | Bans making a ghost gun and buying or selling its main parts. | Ord. 2025-2 |
| Omaha, NE | Owning an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver is illegal. A Douglas County court upheld the ordinance in January 2026. | Omaha Municipal Code § 20-51 (adopted Oct. 31, 2023) |
New Laws Coming in 2027
- Maine (January 2027): unfinished frames and receivers must be serialized by a licensed dealer, and buying one will require a background check.
- Virginia (January 1, 2027): buying, selling or importing an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver becomes illegal. Possession becomes illegal on July 1, 2027.
Bills to restrict 80% lowers were also introduced in Minnesota and Michigan in 2025–2026 but haven’t become law.
Do These Laws Cover G80 Receivers and 80% Frames?
Yes. State laws on unfinished frames and receivers cover pistol frames and receivers, like the G80, the same way they cover AR-15, AR-10 and AR-9 80% lowers.
80% Lower Laws: FAQs
Do you ship 80% lowers to my state? We ship only within the U.S., and we can’t ship 80% lowers or frames to the states and cities on our Shipping & Returns page. Orders to those places are canceled.
What does “serialized through an FFL” mean? A federally licensed dealer engraves a serial number on the frame or receiver and records it, usually with a background check. Several states require this before you can own or transfer one.
I’m moving to a state that restricts 80% lowers. What should I do? Check that state’s rules before you move. Many require unserialized frames and receivers to be serialized by a licensed dealer, and some give new residents a deadline; Virginia’s new law, for example, allows 90 days.
Can I buy an 80% lower in another state and bring it home? Not if your home state bans possessing or importing one. Most of the laws above apply to possession, not just sales.
How often do these laws change? Often. Several states changed their laws in 2025 and 2026, and court cases are still pending in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Check current law before you buy.
The information in this guide is for educational purposes only and isn’t legal advice. It may not reflect the latest changes in federal, state or local law. Before buying, confirm the law where you live with your state or local authorities or an attorney licensed in your state.
