Interactive check for HB217 / SB749 (effective July 1, 2026)
Based on the plain text of Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2:2 as amended by HB217ER
⚠ This is an informational tool, not legal advice.
The questions below walk through the statutory definition word-for-word, but firearm classification involves real-world judgment calls (configuration as built, manufacturer specs, etc.). Use this as a first-look filter. When in doubt, email us or consult a Virginia firearms attorney before buying, selling, or transferring.
📎 What "fixed magazine" means: a magazine permanently attached or built in such that it cannot be removed without disassembling the firearm action. A magazine is not "fixed" just because it locks in place during normal use — a normal detachable magazine is handled separately below.
Step 1
📖 Other things that could affect this verdict (click to expand)
Now that you have your result, here are nuances and edge cases that could affect the verdict above. These are the situations where customers most often misread the law.
›"Designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer" is untested in court. Our reading is that this means the firearm model as manufactured (factory-threaded SKUs like the Glock 19 TB, Sig P226 TB, Beretta 92X Performance, HK USP Tactical). An aftermarket threaded barrel installed by the owner on an otherwise standard model does not meet this test in our reading. That said, this is a brand-new statute with no Virginia case law — a court (or the Virginia AG) could interpret it more broadly. When in doubt for a factory-threaded variant, contact us before you transfer.
›A bare buffer tube counts — no brace required. For pistols, "buffer tube, arm brace, or other part that protrudes horizontally behind the pistol grip" means the buffer tube itself is one feature, even if you have no brace mounted. Almost every AR/AK-pattern pistol has one because the buffer tube is mechanically required for cycling. Combined with a threaded barrel, that’s two features and triggers item 3.
›Threaded shotgun barrels (for choke tubes) are NOT a trigger. The shotgun feature test (item 4) does not include "threaded barrel" — that’s only in items 2 (rifle) and 3 (pistol). So a standard shotgun with a threaded muzzle for chokes is fine on that point. Item 4(v) does include a "like kind" catch-all which could conceivably be stretched, but the statute lists threaded barrels only for rifles/pistols.
›Item 4(v) "any characteristic of like kind" is open-ended. The shotgun test ends with a catch-all that could be interpreted broadly. We read it as referring to features functionally similar to (i)–(iv). If your shotgun is borderline, the safer assumption is "might be regulated" until clarified.
›Modification can convert a legal firearm into a regulated one (item 7). Item 7 covers "a firearm that has been modified to be operable as an assault firearm as described in subdivisions 1 through 6." If you take a Mini-14 (currently not regulated) and add a folding stock plus a 21-round magazine, it now meets item 1 and is regulated. This works in both directions — pre-July-1 configuration matters.
›Magazine thresholds: item 1 uses >20, the magazine ban uses >15. Two separate rules. A factory 17-round Glock magazine does not make the pistol an "assault firearm" under item 1 (mag isn’t >20), but the magazine itself cannot be sold/transferred after July 1 under § 18.2-309.1 (the standalone large-capacity feeding device ban kicks in at >15 rounds).
›"Capable of accepting" usually means without significant modification. When a feature is described as "capable of accepting" something (e.g., the threaded-barrel test), courts typically read this as "can be made to accept without significant modification." A barrel pre-threaded for muzzle devices is "capable of accepting" a suppressor even if you’ve never installed one.
›What this tool does NOT check. NFA registration status (SBRs, SBSs, silencers — separately regulated regardless), federal restrictions (under-21 handgun purchases, etc.), Virginia possession or carry rules, transport requirements, other state laws if you take it elsewhere, and federal interstate transfer rules. Use this tool only to check whether your firearm is a regulated "assault firearm" under HB217/SB749 — not to determine overall legality.