Legal status of Rare Breed FRTs

There has been a lot of misleading and uninformed coverage of our products, so it’s understandable that people have questions about where things stand. Two levels of government potentially regulate forced reset triggers, federal and state. Let’s take them in turn.

Federal law

Our products are legal under federal law

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, in the Northern District of Texas, issued a final judgment on July 23, 2024 holding that FRTs are not “machineguns” under federal law. As a result of our settlement with the United States, the government later dropped its appeal of that ruling, making it final, non-appealable and binding.

What Judge O’Connor’s opinion did

The court did three major things:

1. Vacated the ATF’s classification

   The court vacated the ATF’s classification of FRTs as “machineguns,” holding it contrary to law and beyond the agency’s statutory authority. In effect, vacatur applies nationwide.

2. Granted a declaratory judgment

   The court declared, as forward-looking relief, that the ATF’s determination that FRTs are “machineguns” is unlawful.

3. Entered an injunction

   The court enjoined the federal government from treating FRTs as “machineguns,” including barring it from taking any of the following actions:

• Initiating or pursuing criminal prosecutions for possessing FRTs.
• Initiating or pursuing civil proceedings for possessing, selling or manufacturing FRTs on the claim that they are machineguns.
• Prosecuting or bringing civil actions over representing to the public that FRTs are not machineguns.
• Sending “Notice Letters” or similar communications stating that FRTs are machineguns.
• Requesting “voluntary” surrender of FRTs based on the machinegun claim.
• Destroying any previously surrendered or seized FRTs.
• Otherwise interfering in the possession, sale, manufacture, transfer or exchange of FRTs based on the machinegun claim.

Citation: National Association for Gun Rights, Inc. v. Garland, 741 F. Supp. 3d 568 (N.D. Tex. 2024).

The settlement

Our settlement with the United States

On May 13, 2025, we settled all of our pending litigation with the United States. Two points are key to the legality of FRTs under federal law:

• The appeal was dismissed. The United States agreed to dismiss its appeal of Judge O’Connor’s judgment, which made that judgment final, non-appealable and binding.
• The government agreed not to treat qualifying FRTs as machineguns. The United States agreed not to enforce the federal machinegun statutes against anyone for possessing or transferring FRTs, subject to two conditions.

The two conditions

For an FRT to fall within the settlement’s protection, both of the following must be true:

• It must operate the way the court described. The FRT is forcibly reset to its forward state after each round; it is mechanically locked in its reset state until the firearm is safe to fire; the hammer is released from its sear for every round; the trigger resets after every round; and preventing the reset causes the firearm to malfunction.
• It must not be designed for or used in handguns as defined in the agreement.

State law

State law is a different picture

A minority of states have passed laws making possession of FRTs illegal within their borders. We do not ship our products into any state where we understand FRTs to be illegal. If you place an order asking us to ship into one of those states, we will cancel the order and refund your money.

We try to keep up with legal developments and adjust our policies accordingly, but we are not lawyers, and it is ultimately your responsibility to know the law in your home state. That is part of being a responsible gun owner. For where we can and cannot ship, see our shipping restrictions, and for a state-by-state overview, see FRT state laws.

Rare Breed Triggers encourages the safe and responsible use of our products. If you have a question about your order or compliance, contact us and our team will help.