Ghost Gun and 3D-Printed Firearm Attorney in Edison, Middlesex County

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

In New Jersey, knowingly possessing a firearm assembled from a frame or receiver that has no serial number registered with a federally licensed manufacturer is a 3rd-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(n), punishable by 3 to 5 years. Buying the unserialized parts or kit, printing a gun on a 3D printer, sharing printing files with unlicensed people in the state, or making or selling a covert or undetectable gun is a 2nd-degree crime (5 to 10 years) under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9(k) through (n). The ghost gun subsections are not Graves-listed, but a “switch” that makes a pistol fire automatically creates a 2nd-degree Graves machine gun charge.

All of these charges are indictable. A case from Edison, Sayreville or Piscataway goes to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office for screening and, if it is not resolved, to the Superior Court in New Brunswick. We defend ghost gun and conversion device cases from our Edison office. These prosecutions often turn on order histories, shipping records and laptop files as much as on the object, so I spend as much time on the search warrant as on the weapon.

What the Prosecutor Must Prove

For the possession charge under 2C:39-3(n), the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. The item is a firearm. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1(f), that means a weapon that can fire a projectile by means of a cartridge or explosive charge (some air guns also qualify).
2. It was built on an unserialized frame or receiver. The frame or receiver must lack a serial number registered with a federally licensed manufacturer, including guns assembled from parts bought in violation of 2C:39-9(k).
3. The defendant possessed it knowingly. Possession can be actual or constructive, which becomes contested when the gun is found in a shared house, a car or a common workshop.

The manufacturing and transfer subsections add a conduct element instead, such as buying the parts, printing, sharing files or selling. No intent to harm anyone is required.

Charges and Grades, Most Serious First

Fines reach $150,000 at 2nd degree, $15,000 at 3rd degree and $10,000 at 4th degree. A 2nd-degree conviction carries a presumption of imprisonment. A first offender convicted at 3rd degree instead has a presumption against prison, as our overview of third-degree crimes explains.

Unserialized Frames, Receivers and Kits

The frame or receiver is the central housing of a gun and the place where a manufacturer stamps the serial number. Kits that let a buyer finish that part at home, often sold as “80 percent” frames, are the statute’s main target. Under 2C:39-9(k), purchasing or otherwise obtaining such a frame, receiver or parts kit in order to assemble a gun without a serial number, without the required registration or license, is a 2nd-degree crime even if the gun is never finished. That conviction does not merge, so buying a kit and possessing the finished gun can draw separate sentences.

Once assembled, carrying that gun outside the home without a permit adds the ordinary unlawful possession of a weapon charge, which for a handgun is 2nd degree and Graves-listed.

3D Printing, Digital Files and Disguised Guns

Subsection (l) makes it 2nd degree to print a firearm, receiver, magazine or component without a manufacturer’s license, and equally serious to distribute the printing files, which the code calls “firearm digital instructions,” to anyone in New Jersey who is not licensed. No gun needs to exist for the file charge. Merely holding those files without a manufacturing license, intending to make a gun, is a separate 4th-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(o).

A covert firearm is built so it does not resemble a gun, such as one disguised as a pen, key-chain or cellphone. An undetectable firearm, stripped to its major components, fails the walk-through metal detector benchmark set by the Security Exemplar, or would not show its true shape on airport-style imaging. Some printed guns raise both the unserialized and the undetectable statutes.

Switches, Auto Sears and P.L.2025, c.363

A law approved January 20, 2026, and effective immediately added “machine gun conversion device” to the code, defined as any device capable of converting a firearm into a machine gun. The charge depends on what else is found:

• The device installed. A firearm that no longer requires a separate trigger pull for each shot meets the definition of a machine gun. Possessing one without a license is 2nd degree under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(a) and carries a Graves minimum. If it is used or possessed during certain listed crimes, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(g) adds a 10-year minimum when that crime is 1st or 2nd degree.
• The device alone. Knowingly possessing a conversion device, bump stock or trigger crank while not possessing a gun it could be attached to is 3rd degree under 2C:39-3(l). When a compatible gun is in the picture, the State looks instead to the machine gun and assault firearm statutes, and how they apply depends on the device and the gun. A 2C:39-3(l) conviction does not merge with a machine gun or assault firearm conviction, and it must run consecutively to an assault firearm sentence.
• Making or selling devices. 3rd degree under 2C:39-9(j), including devices printed at home.

A firearm with a bump stock attached falls within the definition of an assault firearm. New Jersey’s assault-firearm provisions are being challenged in federal court, and the law in this area can change quickly, so anyone charged should get current advice about the status of that litigation.

Prison, Graves and Other Consequences

• Graves. For a machine gun count, the minimum is one-half of the sentence or 42 months, whichever is greater. Our Graves Act guide explains the waiver process.
• Firearms rights. A conviction for any of these crimes ends eligibility for a New Jersey purchaser card or permit (N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3(c)), and because each carries more than a year of exposure, federal law generally prohibits gun possession afterward.
• Immigration. Firearm convictions can be a separate ground for removal under federal law. Non-citizens should get immigration advice before any plea.
• Expungement. Ghost gun convictions are not among the offenses the expungement statute permanently excludes.

Ghost Gun Prosecutions in Middlesex County

These cases often begin away from the street: a package intercepted in transit, a tip about online purchases, a search warrant for a home in Woodbridge or New Brunswick, or a report from someone who saw a printer turning out parts. Others surface on a Route 18 or I-287 traffic stop. Either way, expect a complaint-warrant rather than a summons, even with no record.

Where a machine gun count is charged, Pretrial Services must recommend no release and the prosecutor frequently moves to detain, so the first hearing, held by video at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday for people at the jail in North Brunswick, is the first real fight in the case. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office then screens the complaint, and the Task Force, which handles gun trafficking, may look for sales or other buyers.

The 2026 one-degree-lower sentencing amendment has not changed the Graves floor in practice on machine gun counts here, so we plan around the minimum rather than hoping a downgrade erases it. For the 2nd-degree ghost gun counts, Pretrial Intervention is closed unless the prosecutor consents to consideration, and the deadline to apply is the Initial Case Disposition Conference. Before any grand jury presentation, we look hard at the warrant affidavits and the digital searches behind them.

Defenses in Ghost Gun Cases

• The search. Home warrants, phone and computer searches and package interceptions all have rules. A motion to suppress can exclude the gun, the files or the purchase records.
• Knowledge. The State must show the defendant knew of the item and, where it matters, of its unserialized character. A gun bought secondhand or found among a relative’s belongings raises real questions.
• Is it a firearm? A half-finished frame, a broken print or a non-functioning device may not meet the statutory definitions. We have items examined by our own expert.
• Visitors and recent arrivals. People who bought a kit legally in another state face New Jersey law once the item is here; our page for out-of-state gun owners covers that situation, and sale-related charges are explained on our firearms trafficking page.

Talk to a Ghost Gun Defense Lawyer in Edison

Do not discuss purchases, files or builds with police or online, and do not delete anything, which can create new charges. Call our Edison office at (732) 659-9600 at any hour, or contact us online for a confidential review.