Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-309.1 — Sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines prohibited; penalty
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 7: Other Illegal Weapons, Code of Virginia.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-309.1
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
A. As used in this section:
"Federal firearms licensee" means the same as that term is defined in § 18.2-287.4:1.
"Large capacity ammunition feeding device" means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 15 rounds of ammunition but does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept and capable of operating only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
B. Any person who imports, sells, barters, transfers, or purchases a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the (i) manufacture by, transfer to, or possession by the Commonwealth, or a department, agency, or political subdivision of the Commonwealth, of a large capacity ammunition feeding device; (ii) transfer to or possession by a law-enforcement officer of a large capacity ammunition feeding device for purposes of law enforcement; (iii) possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device by an individual who is retired from service with a law-enforcement agency and is not otherwise prohibited from receiving ammunition transferred to the individual by the law-enforcement agency upon his retirement; (iv) import of a large capacity ammunition feeding device by a person who lawfully purchased and possessed such large capacity ammunition feeding device prior to July 1, 2026; (v) possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device that has been permanently modified such that it cannot accept more than 15 rounds of ammunition; (vi) the sale, barter, or transfer of a large capacity ammunition feeding device by a person who lawfully purchased and possessed such device prior to July 1, 2026, to a federal firearms licensee or any recipient outside of the Commonwealth who may lawfully possess such large capacity ammunition feeding device; or (vii) the import, sale, barter, transfer, purchase, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device by a federal firearms licensee for the purpose of sale or transfer to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, to senior military colleges in the Commonwealth organized under 10 U.S.C. § 2111a(f), to a law-enforcement agency or officer, to another federal firearms licensee, to a recipient outside the Commonwealth who may lawfully possess such large capacity ammunition feeding device.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines prohibited a felony or a misdemeanor in Virginia?
Sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines prohibited is a class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia under Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-309.1.
Which Virginia statute covers sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines prohibited?
Sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines prohibited is governed by Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-309.1 (Sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines prohibited; penalty).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.