Weapons and Devices That Are Illegal to Own in New Jersey
Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026
Some of the most common weapons charges in New Jersey involve items the defendant did not know were illegal, or did not know were "firearms" at all. A BB gun bought at a sporting goods store, a suppressor lawfully registered in another state, a stun gun ordered online, a can of pepper spray that is slightly too large: each is a crime here. This guide lists the weapons and devices that New Jersey prohibits outright, the items that are legal but regulated in ways that surprise people, and the things that New Jersey treats as firearms even though no other state does.
Things New Jersey treats as firearms
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1f defines "firearm" as any handgun, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semi-automatic rifle, or any gun, device or instrument in the nature of a weapon from which may be fired or ejected any solid projectable ball, slug, pellet, missile or bullet, or any gas, vapor or other noxious thing, by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances. It also includes any firearm which is in the nature of an air gun, spring gun or pistol or other weapon of a similar nature in which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited by compressed air, and ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than three-eighths of an inch in diameter, with sufficient force to injure a person.
The consequence of that last sentence is that New Jersey, almost alone among the states, treats the following as firearms subject to every rule that applies to a real gun:
- BB guns and pellet guns, including the inexpensive ones sold in department stores.
- Airsoft guns that fire a projectile under 3/8 inch with force sufficient to injure. Most do.
- Paintball markers are generally excluded because the projectile is larger than 3/8 inch, but the exclusion depends on the caliber.
- CO2 pistols and air rifles of any power.
Buying a BB gun or air rifle requires an FID card (long-gun style) or a Permit to Purchase a Handgun (pistol style). Possessing an air-, spring- or CO2-powered handgun without a carry permit, outside the exemptions, is a crime of the third degree under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(2), one step below the second-degree charge for a conventional handgun, and the statute excludes it from the mandatory parole-ineligibility provisions that apply to real handguns. An air rifle without an FID card is a third-degree offense under 2C:39-5c(1) like any other rifle. A teenager with an airsoft pistol in a backpack is a juvenile weapons case.
Prohibited outright
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3 makes possession of the following a crime regardless of permits, purpose, or where the item is kept. Unless noted, each is a crime of the fourth degree (up to 18 months), and several are third degree (3 to 5 years).
| Item | Statute | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Destructive devices (bombs, grenades, rockets, mines) | 2C:39-3a | Third degree | Includes inert components assembled into a device |
| Sawed-off shotguns | 2C:39-3b | Third degree | Federal NFA registration is no defense |
| Silencers / suppressors | 2C:39-3c | Fourth degree | No exemption for NFA-registered devices owned lawfully elsewhere |
| Defaced firearms (serial number removed or altered) | 2C:39-3d | Fourth degree | Possession alone; defacing is a separate crime under 2C:39-9 |
| Gravity knives, switchblades, daggers, dirks, stilettos, billies, blackjacks, metal knuckles, sandclubs, slingshots, cesti | 2C:39-3e | Fourth degree | Unless the person has an explainable lawful purpose |
| Dum-dum / hollow nose bullets and armor-piercing ammunition | 2C:39-3f | Fourth degree | Hollow points are exempt in the home, on your land, in transport from purchase, and for the hunting and range activities in 2C:39-6f (see 2C:39-3g and the hollow point page); C&R licensees may hold limited armor-piercing samples |
| Stun guns | 2C:39-3h | Fourth degree (as written) | Not enforced against adults since the 2017 Porrino consent order; see below |
| Large-capacity magazines (over 10 rounds) | 2C:39-3j | Fourth degree | See the magazine page; ban struck by the Third Circuit July 2026 but stayed and enforceable |
| Handcuffs, possessed under circumstances not manifestly appropriate | 2C:39-3k | Disorderly persons | |
| Bump stocks and trigger cranks | 2C:39-3l | Third degree | Added 2018 |
| Covert, undetectable or concealed-design firearms | 2C:39-3m | Third degree | |
| Firearms without a registered serial number | 2C:39-3n | Third degree | Manufacturing one and distributing 3D-print files are separate crimes under 2C:39-9 |
Subsection g. of 2C:39-3 holds the exemptions (military and law enforcement, dealers, and the hollow-point exceptions above); subsection i. permits licensed private security guards to carry nightsticks.
Machine guns and automatic weapons are addressed separately. Possession of a machine gun without a license under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-5 is a crime of the second degree under 2C:39-5a. The license is theoretically available from the Superior Court but is issued only in extraordinary circumstances. A federal NFA tax stamp is not a New Jersey license.
Short-barreled rifles are swept into the definition of "sawed-off shotgun" in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1o, which covers a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches, and any firearm made from a rifle or shotgun with an overall length under 26 inches. They are third-degree contraband under 2C:39-3b. AR and AK "pistols" with a stabilizing brace are analyzed under the pistol feature test discussed in the assault firearms guide rather than as short-barreled rifles, unless the brace is configured as a stock.
Ghost guns, unserialized frames, and 3D printing
The 2018 and 2019 legislation (L. 2018, c. 138 and L. 2019, c. 165) created a cluster of offenses aimed at homemade and untraceable firearms:
- Buying an unserialized frame or receiver, or a combination of parts from which an unserialized firearm can readily be made, with the purpose of assembling a firearm, is a second-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9k that does not merge with other offenses. The old federal "80 percent lower" is illegal to buy, possess or finish in New Jersey.
- Possessing an unserialized firearm is a third-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3n.
- 3D printing a firearm, receiver, magazine or component, or distributing the digital files to do so to anyone in New Jersey who is not a licensed manufacturer, is a second-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9l.
- Covert and undetectable firearms (defined in 2C:39-1hh and ii) are prohibited to possess under 2C:39-3m (third degree) and to make or sell under 2C:39-9m (second degree).
The only lawful way to build a firearm in New Jersey is to obtain a serial number from the State Police in advance under the procedure in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9k and 2C:58-3.4, which almost no one does.
Stun guns and tasers
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3h still reads as a flat ban: "Any person who knowingly has in his possession any stun gun is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree." The ban was held unconstitutional under the Second Amendment by consent order in New Jersey Second Amendment Society v. Porrino, No. 16-4906 (D.N.J. 2017), following Caetano v. Massachusetts, 577 U.S. 411 (2016). The Attorney General then directed, effective October 22, 2017, that 2C:39-3h not be enforced against individual possession of stun guns and that the sale ban in 2C:39-9d not be enforced, with these limits left in place: possession by or sale to anyone under 18 remains prohibited; "certain persons" under 2C:39-7 may not possess them; possession on school, college or university property without written authorization remains a crime under 2C:39-5e(2); and possession with an unlawful purpose (2C:39-4d) or under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for lawful use (2C:39-5d) remains chargeable. The State Police published implementing regulations at 49 N.J.R. 2765(a). There is no permit requirement. Source: Attorney General stun gun enforcement memo, 2017.
Pepper spray and mace
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6i permits a person who is 18 or older and has not been convicted of a crime to possess, for personal self-defense, one pocket-sized device containing and releasing not more than three-quarters of an ounce of a chemical substance that is not ordinarily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury. A violation of that subsection is a disorderly persons offense with a minimum $100 fine. Anything larger, including the bear-spray canisters and larger police-style canisters sold online, falls outside the exemption and is treated as a prohibited weapon under 2C:39-3e. Certain health and building inspectors may carry larger devices on duty.
Knives
New Jersey's knife law is in 2C:39-3e (per se prohibited knives) and 2C:39-5d (possession of any weapon under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for a lawful use). Switchblades, gravity knives, ballistic knives, daggers, dirks and stilettos are prohibited unless the possessor shows a lawful purpose. Any other knife, including a folding pocket knife, a hunting knife or a kitchen knife, becomes a weapon under 2C:39-5d if carried under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for its lawful use, which is a fourth-degree crime; a pocket knife at work or in a tackle box is fine, the same knife in a waistband at a bar at 2 a.m. is not. There is no blade-length rule in the statute, though some municipalities have ordinances.
Body armor
Body armor is legal to own and wear in New Jersey for persons who are not prohibited. Wearing body armor while committing or attempting certain crimes is a separate offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-13.
Firearm accessories that are legal
To put the list in perspective, the following are legal in New Jersey without any permit: optics and lasers, weapon lights, muzzle brakes and compensators (pinned on a semi-automatic rifle with one other feature), bipods and foregrips on rifles (a vertical foregrip on a pistol is a federal issue, not a state one), binary triggers (not covered by the bump-stock statute as of this writing, though the question is open), standard ten-round magazines, and reloading equipment.
Penalties and the "lawful purpose" defense
Most 2C:39-3 offenses are crimes of the fourth degree: up to 18 months in prison, with a presumption of non-incarceration for a first offender. Destructive devices, sawed-off shotguns, bump stocks, covert firearms and unserialized firearms are third degree; buying unserialized frames or parts, and 3D printing or distributing the files, are second degree under 2C:39-9. None of the 2C:39-3 offenses carries the mandatory parole-ineligibility term that applies to handguns and assault firearms under 2C:39-5. Several carry an "explainable lawful purpose" affirmative defense under 2C:39-3e, which a collector, a martial-arts instructor or a hunter can invoke; the possessor bears the burden of raising it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a BB gun a firearm in New Jersey?
Yes. Any air, spring or CO2 gun that fires a projectile under 3/8 inch with force sufficient to injure is a firearm under 2C:39-1f, and buying or carrying one is governed by the same rules as a real gun.
I own a suppressor with a federal tax stamp. Can I bring it to New Jersey?
No. Suppressors are prohibited under 2C:39-3c without exception for federally registered devices.
Are stun guns legal in New Jersey?
Yes, for adults who are not prohibited from possessing firearms, since 2017. They are still prohibited in schools, courthouses and other sensitive places.
How much pepper spray can I carry?
One container of three-quarters of an ounce or less, if you are 18 or older and not a prohibited person.
Can I finish an 80 percent lower I bought before the ban?
No. Possessing an unserialized frame or receiver, and manufacturing a firearm without a State Police-issued serial number, are each third-degree crimes.
Talk to Us About Prohibited weapons and devices
Firearms cases in New Jersey are won or lost on details: the exact wording of an exemption, the order in which things happened at a traffic stop, what was disclosed on an application. If you have been charged, denied a permit, or had firearms seized, call William Proetta Criminal Law. We handle weapons matters throughout New Jersey from offices in Jersey City and Edison, and we can usually tell you in one conversation where your case stands and what the realistic outcomes are.