National Firearms Act Definitions

Machinegun

26 U.S.C. § 5845(b)

For the purposes of the National Firearms Act the term Machinegun means:

  • Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger
  • The frame or receiver of any such weapon
  • Any part designed and intended solely and exclusively or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, or
  • Any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
Various machineguns: Thompson Model 1921, Ingram MAC-10, UZI, etc.

Note: Due to the similarity in appearance and general configuration of semiautomatic firearms, a comprehensive examination of the firearm and/or its component parts is required to correctly determine its classification.