Maryland Gun Law Changes for October 2026, Plus the Jan. 1, 2027 Pistol Ban

This article reflects Maryland law and the federal court docket as of October 2026. A lawsuit over the pistol ban is pending, and the State Police list of covered pistols may change what applies to you. Check current sources before you rely on anything here. This is general information, not legal advice.

Maryland's 2026 legislative session produced four firearms laws that took effect October 1, 2026. Three are narrow: dealer theft reporting, buyback destruction, and retired-officer permits. The fourth will matter to far more people. Starting January 1, 2027, Maryland will ban the manufacture, sale, purchase, receipt, and transfer of what the statute calls "machine gun convertible pistols."

On October 5, 2026, the federal judge hearing a challenge to that ban refused to block it. The case continues, but as of late October 2026 no court order stands between the ban and its January 1 start date.

Each law is summarized below from its chapter text on the Maryland General Assembly's website.

SB 160 / HB 284: dealers must report thefts and security failures within 24 hours

Chapters 86 and 85, effective October 1, 2026. Maryland already required licensed dealers to meet security standards where they store firearms (Public Safety Article § 5-145.1). A dealer has two options:

• Option one: have video recording inside and outside, physical barriers on exterior doors and windows (such as bars, security screens, or commercial-grade metal doors), a continuously monitored burglar alarm, and, where practicable, barriers against vehicle ramming.
• Option two: lock all firearms in a vault, a safe, or a room or building that meets those standards outside business hours.

Senate Bill 160, requested by the Governor on behalf of the State Police, adds a deadline. Under the chapter text, a licensed dealer must notify the Secretary of State Police within 24 hours after first learning of either of these:

• A crime involving firearms or ammunition. This covers a burglary, attempted burglary, robbery, or theft at the dealer's premises or wherever its firearms are stored.
• A security failure. This covers a compromise of a required security feature, including failed video recording, a failed entry barrier, an alarm that can no longer be monitored, or a vehicle barrier that failed to stop a breach.

The Maryland notice is in addition to any report to local police or ATF. Federal rules separately require licensees to report a firearm theft or loss to ATF within 48 hours of discovery under 27 CFR § 478.39a, so the state's clock is now the shorter one.

Penalties are civil fines imposed by the Secretary: up to $250 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for a second or later one. A dealer who knowingly and willfully violates § 5-145.1 also faces license suspension on a second offense and revocation on a third or later offense. The penalty subsection does not apply when equipment or an alarm system became temporarily inoperable through no fault of the dealer.

SB 775: buyback guns must be destroyed

Chapter 430, effective October 1, 2026. Senate Bill 775 adds a new subtitle on gun buyback programs (Public Safety Article §§ 5-901 through 5-905). The rules apply to a buyback run by a federal firearms licensee or a law enforcement agency that does all three of these things:

• lets owners voluntarily surrender firearms,
• operates, explicitly or implicitly, to reduce the number of firearms in a community, and
• advertises that surrendered firearms will be destroyed or made permanently inoperable.

Under the chapter text, the operator must destroy every surrendered firearm, including every component and part attached to it, so that it is "permanently inoperable and unrepairable." The operator may contract with a law enforcement agency or a business to do the destruction. The rule does not apply to a firearm that a law enforcement agency determines is stolen or is evidence of a crime.

Before anything is destroyed, a law enforcement agency that receives a buyback firearm must make reasonable efforts, including a National Crime Information Center check, to determine whether it is a crime gun or has been reported lost or stolen.

The penalties are steep:

• Failing to destroy a firearm properly: a fine of up to $10,000 per violation.
• A licensed dealer who violates the destruction rule: mandatory revocation of the dealer's license.
• Running a buyback any other way: a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $10,000.

What this means for you. A gun turned in at a Maryland buyback that advertises destruction should be destroyed, not resold, unless police hold it as stolen or as evidence. If you'd rather it go to another lawful owner, see our guide to private-party firearm sales.

SB 331 / HB 94: five-year permits for retired officers

Chapters 455 and 454, effective October 1, 2026. A standard Maryland handgun permit (the permit to wear, carry, or transport a handgun) expires on the last day of the holder's birth month two years after it is issued. It can then be renewed for three-year periods.

Under the chapter text of Senate Bill 331, now Public Safety Article § 5-309(e), a permit issued to a qualifying retired officer works differently. It expires on the last day of the holder's birth month five years after issuance, and it can be renewed for successive five-year periods as long as the holder still meets the qualifications.

The rule covers someone who retired in good standing from a law enforcement agency of Maryland or of a Maryland county or municipality. Retirees from federal or out-of-state agencies are not covered by this section. Existing law already exempts Maryland's retired officers from the permit application fee.

SB 334: the "machine gun convertible pistol" ban

Chapter 771. The law took effect October 1, 2026, and the ban itself starts January 1, 2027.

Why the legislature acted

A "switch" or "auto sear" is a small device that makes a semiautomatic pistol fire automatically. Federal law already treats these devices as machineguns. The definition in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) includes "any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun," and 18 U.S.C. § 922(o) generally bars possessing or transferring a machinegun. Maryland law also prohibits these devices. Our article on bump stocks and forced-reset triggers covers how federal law treats other rate-of-fire devices.

Senate Bill 334 goes a step further by regulating the pistols themselves. The federal court opinion in the challenge, discussed below, recounts the legislative record. According to that record, Maryland charges for the state crimes most tied to machineguns averaged about 14 a year through 2022, then rose to 202 in 2024 and 278 in 2025.

What the law covers

Under the chapter text, now Criminal Law Article § 4-301, the key definitions are these:

• Cruciform trigger bar: a component in a semiautomatic pistol that links the trigger and the firing pin and "has its sear incorporated into a cross-shaped surface."
• Machine gun convertible pistol: any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that "can be readily converted by hand or by using common household tools into a machine gun" by installing a pistol converter in place of the slide's backplate. The definition still applies if the frame has a tab or other blocking material that "can be readily removed with a common household tool." The statute lists those tools: a screwdriver, pipe wrench, pliers, hacksaw, crowbar, electric drill, rotary tool, hammer, chisel, file, and crescent wrench.
• What is excluded: hammer-fired pistols, and striker-fired pistols without a cruciform trigger bar.
• Pistol converter: a device that replaces the backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism so the pistol fires automatically, including one made on a 3D printer. The law also adds "pistol converter" to Maryland's existing definition of "rapid fire activator."

Does it cover Glocks?

That is how opponents and much of the news coverage describe it, and many call it a "Glock ban." The statute itself never names a manufacturer. The court's opinion summarizes the plaintiffs' allegations that every factory Glock model has a cruciform trigger bar, and that the same is true of "Glock-style" pistols made since Glock's patent expired. The court also cites legislative testimony that pistols from manufacturers such as Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer, and Springfield use trigger bars that are shielded from interference.

The authoritative answer for any particular model will be the State Police's list. The law requires the Department of State Police to adopt regulations and publish a list of prohibited machine gun convertible pistols. Check the State Police Licensing Division's official pages for that list and the regulations before January 1.

What is banned, and what is not

Starting January 1, 2027, a person may not "manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, or transfer" a machine gun convertible pistol (Criminal Law § 4-305.2).

Possession is not on that list. If you already lawfully own a pistol that falls within the definition, the law does not require you to surrender it or make it illegal to keep. What changes is what you can do with it:

• Family transfers. You may sell or transfer it to an immediate family member who is not prohibited from possessing firearms. The law defines immediate family as a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, sibling, or stepsibling.
• Inheritance. It can pass by inheritance to a person who is not disqualified from possessing a regulated firearm. Our guide on how to inherit a firearm legally covers the general process.
• Servicing. You may temporarily transfer it to a licensed dealer or gunsmith for servicing and get it back afterward.
• Surrender. You may surrender it to a law enforcement agency or a licensed dealer.
• Temporary loans. A "temporary gratuitous exchange" is allowed.

The law also exempts transfers to or by current law enforcement officials and certain retired officers with a federal credential under 18 U.S.C. § 926C, and lets dealers and manufacturers sell covered pistols to out-of-state buyers through licensed dealers.

Penalty. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both (Criminal Law § 4-306(a)).

A practical point. If you plan to buy a covered pistol in Maryland, or sell one outside your immediate family, the January 1 date matters, and the covered-model list may arrive close to it.

The federal lawsuit: no injunction, case continues

Two lawsuits challenging SB 334 were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and later consolidated:

• Bathras v. Moore, No. 1:26-cv-02074, filed May 26, 2026.
• Duffy v. Moore, No. 1:26-cv-02647, filed July 2, 2026.

The plaintiffs include individual gun owners, firearms businesses, the NRA, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and Maryland Shall Issue. The defendants are the Governor, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State Police.

The Duffy and Bathras plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction on July 13 and July 20, 2026. Senior U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett denied the motions from the bench after a hearing on September 25, then issued a written memorandum opinion and order on October 5, 2026.

• The pistols are protected "arms." Judge Bennett found that machine gun convertible pistols "likely fall within the plain text" of the Second Amendment, given how popular these handguns are with civilians and police. He cited Heller's description of handguns as the "quintessential self-defense weapon" and the Supreme Court's 2026 decision in Wolford v. Lopez (see our post on Wolford and carry on private property).
• But the plaintiffs were not likely to win. The court concluded that the state had shown SB 334 likely fits "within the historic tradition restricting 'excessively dangerous weapons' which are prone to criminal misuse."
• The other factors also weighed against an injunction. The court found the plaintiffs had not shown irreparable harm, and that the balance of equities and the public interest did not favor blocking a "democratically enacted state law."

A preliminary-injunction ruling is not a final decision on the merits. Under the court's October 22, 2026 scheduling order, discovery closes January 5, 2027, and summary-judgment briefing runs through March 2027, with a hearing in April or May 2027 if the court wants one. The district court docket, last updated October 23, 2026, does not show an appeal of the injunction denial. The plaintiffs could still seek review from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. You can follow the case on the CourtListener docket.

Bottom line. Unless a court acts first, the ban takes effect January 1, 2027.

How this fits with the rest of Maryland law

None of these laws changes Maryland's existing framework: the Handgun Qualification License requirement, the handgun roster, the assault weapon ban (upheld by the Fourth Circuit in Bianchi v. Brown, which Judge Bennett relied on), and the 10-round limit on magazines sold or transferred in the state. See our guide to magazine capacity limits by state.

What to watch

• The State Police list and regulations for covered pistols.
• Any Fourth Circuit appeal of the October 5 injunction denial.
• Summary-judgment rulings in Bathras v. Moore.

We will update this article when the list is published or a court rules.

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