North Dakota State NFA Rules and Allowable NFA Items

North Dakota allows private ownership of silencers, machine guns, short barreled rifles, and short barreled shotguns in compliance with federal law. In addition, you may hunt with a suppressor in North Dakota.

 

Possession of NFA items:

TITLE 62.1 WEAPONS

CHAPTER 62.1-01 DEFINITIONS - GENERAL PROVISIONS

62.1-01-01. General definitions.

As used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Dangerous weapon" includes any switchblade or gravity knife, machete, scimitar, stiletto, sword, dagger, or knife with a blade of five inches [12.7 centimeters] or more;
any throwing star, nunchaku, or other martial arts weapon; any billy, blackjack, sap,bludgeon, cudgel, metal knuckles, or sand club; any slungshot; any bow and arrow, crossbow, or spear; any weapon that will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a projectile by the action of a spring, compressed air, or compressed gas, including any such weapon, loaded or unloaded, commonly referred to as a BB gun, air rifle, or CO2 gun; and any projector of a bomb or any object containing or capable of producing and emitting any noxious liquid, gas, or substance.

"Dangerous weapon" does not include a spray or aerosol containing CS, also known as ortho-chlorobenzamalonitrile; CN, also known as alpha-chloroacetophenone; or other irritating agent intended for use in the defense of an individual, nor does the term include a device that uses direct contact to deliver voltage for the defense of an individual.

2. "Direct supervision of an adult" means that an adult is present in such close proximity so as to be capable of observing and directing the actions of the individual supervised.

3. "Firearm" or "weapon" means any device which will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a projectile by the action of an explosive and includes any such device, loaded or unloaded, commonly referred to as a pistol, revolver, rifle, gun, machine gun, shotgun, bazooka, or cannon. For a felon who is not sentenced under section 12.1-32-09.1, the term does not include a firearm or weapon that is a rifle that has a barrel sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] or longer or a shotgun that has a barrel eighteen inches [45.72 centimeters] or longer and which is one of the following:

A firearm, including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system, manufactured before 1899. A replica of any firearm described in subdivision a, if the replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition or uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

c. A muzzleloading rifle or muzzleloading shotgun that is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and cannot use fixed ammunition.

4. "Gaming site" means any room or premises licensed by the attorney general or by a city or county governing body to conduct legal gaming operations.

5. "Government building" means a building which is owned, possessed, or used by or leased to the state of North Dakota, or any of its political subdivisions.

6. "Handgun" means any firearm that is not designed to be fired from the shoulder, which has a barrel less than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] long, and which is capable of firing, by the energy of an explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge, an exposed projectile through a rifled bore. The term includes all firearms that are designed to be readily modified between rifle and pistol forms, if in compliance with the National Firearms Act [26 U.S.C. 5801-5872].

7. "Law enforcement officer" means a public servant authorized by law or by a government agency or branch to enforce the law and to conduct or engage in investigations or prosecutions for violations of law.

8. "Machine gun, submachine gun, or fully automatic rifle" means a firearm, mechanism, or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot, and having a reservoir, belt, or other means of storing and carrying ammunition which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument and fired therefrom at a rate of five or more shots to the second.

9. "Plain view" means the handgun is placed in such a location or carried in such a position as to be easily discernible by the ordinary observation of a passerby. In a motor vehicle, this includes being placed on the seat, dashboard, or in a gunrack as long as the handgun is not covered or is in any other way concealed from view.

10. "Rifle" means any firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and using the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each pull of the trigger.

11. "Secured" means the firearm is closed into the trunk or nonpassenger part of the vehicle; placed into a closed and secure carrying device; rendered inoperative by the use of a trigger, hammer, cylinder, slide, or barrel-locking device that renders the firearm incapable of firing until the device is unlocked and removed; or so disassembled or disabled as to be rendered incapable of firing.

12. "Short-barreled rifle" means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] in length and any firearm made from a rifle, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if the firearm, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters].

13. "Short-barreled shotgun" means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches [45.72 centimeters] in length and any firearm made from a shotgun, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if the firearm, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters].

14. "Shotgun" means a firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired with one hand below or behind and one hand in front of the breach, which uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth or a rifled bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.

15. "Silencer" means any device for or attached to any firearm which will silence or deaden the sound or natural report of the firearm when it is discharged.

16. "Unloaded" means the chamber of the firearm does not contain a loaded shell. If the firearm is a revolver, then none of the chambers in the cylinder may contain a loaded shell. Handguns with a removable magazine or clip must have the magazine or clip removed from the firearm if the magazine or clip contains any loaded shells.

62.1-02-03. Possession or sale of short-barreled rifle or shotgun - Penalty - Application. A person who possesses, obtains, receives, sells, or uses a short-barreled rifle or a short-barreled shotgun is guilty of a class C felony.

This section does not apply to a law enforcement officer who possesses, obtains, receives, sells, or uses a short-barreled rifle or a short-barreled shotgun in the course of or in connection with the officer's official duties, to a member of the armed forces of the United States or national guard, organized reserves, state defense forces, or state guard organizations who possesses or uses a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun issued to the member by that organization and while on official duty, or to any person who complies with the National Firearms Act [26 U.S.C. 5801-5872].

CHAPTER 62.1-05 MACHINE GUNS, AUTOMATIC RIFLES, SILENCERS, BOMBS 62.1-05-01. Possession and sale of machine guns, automatic rifles, silencers, and bombs - Penalty - Forfeiture.

No person may purchase, sell, have, or possess a machine gun, fully automatic rifle, silencer, or bomb loaded with explosives or poisonous or dangerous gases, or any other federally licensed firearm or dangerous weapon unless that person has complied with the National Firearms Act [26 U.S.C. 5801-5872].

Any federal licensee who purchases, sells, has, or possesses those items for the licensee's protection or for sale must forward a copy of the licensee's federal license along with the required weapons transfer form to the licensee's local county sheriff and to the chief of the bureau of criminal investigation within five days of the receipt of those forms.

A person who violates this section is guilty of a class C felony. Upon arrest of that person, the firearm or dangerous weapon must be seized. Upon conviction of the person and motion to the court in which the conviction occurred, the firearm or dangerous weapon must be forfeited to the jurisdiction in which the arrest was made. The firearm or dangerous weapon may be sold at public auction, retained for use, or destroyed pursuant to the court's order. If a qualified local program as defined under section 12.1-32-02.2 has paid a reward for information that resulted in forfeiture of the item and the item has been sold, the jurisdiction shall, after payment of expenses for forfeiture and sale, repay the qualified local program for the reward that it has paid.

62.1-05-02. Persons exempt from chapter. This chapter does not apply to:

The authorized agent and a servant of a person who has a license to purchase, sell, have, or possess a machine gun, submachine gun, fully automatic rifle, silencer, or a bomb loaded with explosives or poisonous or dangerous gases. Any officer or member of a duly authorized military organization while on official duty and using the firearm or dangerous weapon issued to the officer or member by that organization. A North Dakota law enforcement officer. Any federal officer authorized by the federal government to have or possess a machine gun, submachine gun, fully automatic rifle, silencer, or bomb loaded with explosives or poisonous or dangerous gases.

Legal Disclaimer:

This information is provided as a service to the public. It is NOT intended as legal advice and should never be considered as such. This information was up to date at the time of publication.