Delaware restricts weapons on two axes. Who you are: 11 Del. C. § 1448(a) bars eleven classes of people from purchasing, owning, possessing, or...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Delaware restricts weapons on two axes. Who you are: 11 Del. C. § 1448(a) bars eleven classes of people from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm, and the last of those eleven, paragraph (a)(12), is barred from purchasing only. Subsection (a) runs to twelve numbered paragraphs, but (a)(10) is a disposal rule rather than a class of person. What the weapon is: § 1466 bans assault weapons, § 1469 bans magazines holding more than 17 rounds, and the older § 1444 bans destructive weapons.
A carry license does not cure a § 1448 problem. Under § 1441(m), a Delaware license is void and automatically repealed by operation of law if the licensee is or becomes a prohibited person under § 1448.
Section 1448(a) prohibits each of these from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm:
Paragraph (a)(10) is not a class of person. It governs disposal of seized weapons under § 2311 and carves out antique firearms, meaning those not designed for rimfire or conventional centerfire ignition with fixed ammunition and made in or before 1898, plus firearms using fixed ammunition made in or before 1898 for which ammunition is no longer produced in the United States and which are not readily restored to firing condition. The person claiming the exemption bears the burden of proving it.
Section 1448(a)(5) reaches every person under 21, and the escapes are narrow.
By weapon type, (a)(5)a. exempts a shotgun as defined in § 1444(c) and shotgun ammunition, a muzzle-loading rifle as defined in 7 Del. C. § 704(f), and, for anyone 18 or older, deadly weapons including projectile weapons other than firearms.
By status, (a)(5)b. exempts three groups who are 18 or older: active members of the Armed Forces or National Guard, qualified law-enforcement officers as defined in § 1441A, and a person holding a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon pursuant to § 1441 of this title.
By activity, (a)(5)c. lets an under-21 person possess a firearm or projectile weapon for lawful hunting, instruction, sporting, or recreational activity under the direct supervision of someone 21 or older, for lawful hunting in compliance with 7 Del. C. § 704(g), or while transporting to such an activity. Paragraph (a)(5)d. preserves justified force under §§ 464, 465, 466, and 469.
A Delaware license is available at 18, since § 1441(a) requires only a person of full age and 1 Del. C. § 701 sets full legal age at 18. The exposure runs the other way. The § 1448(a)(5)b.3. exemption is written for a person who has a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon "pursuant to § 1441 of this title," and whether an out-of-state permit qualifies is not answered in the text. The Attorney General's reciprocity page warns that a person lawfully permitted in another state may still be prohibited from possession in Delaware. If you are 18 to 20 and carrying on another state's permit, assume § 1448(a)(5) applies to you.
Section 1448(b) makes knowing possession, purchase, ownership, or control by a prohibited person an offense. Section 1448(c) grades it:
| Circumstance | Grade |
|---|---|
| Deadly weapon that is not a firearm or firearm ammunition | Class F felony |
| Firearm or ammunition, disqualifier is (a)(1) through (a)(8) | Class D felony |
| Person eligible for sentencing under § 1448(e) | Class C felony |
Section 1448(e)(1) sets minimum Level V terms for a prohibited person who knowingly possesses a firearm, projectile weapon, or destructive weapon: 3 years with a prior violent felony conviction, 5 years if within 10 years of that conviction or of release from the resulting confinement (whichever is later), and 10 years with violent felony convictions on 2 or more separate occasions. Under § 1448(e)(2), a person prohibited because of a violent felony who negligently causes serious physical injury or death through the weapon commits a class B felony with minimums of 4, 6, or 10 years on the same escalation. Section 1448(e)(4) bars suspension and denies good time, parole, and probation. For an (a)(5) prohibited person aged 15 or older but not yet 18, § 1448(f)(1) sets an unsuspendable minimum of 6 months of Level V incarceration or institutional confinement for a first offense and 1 year for a second or subsequent offense.
Section 1448(d) is the only washout: a person prohibited solely because of a non-felony conviction is no longer prohibited once 5 years have elapsed from the conviction date.
Two companion offenses matter. Furnishing a firearm or projectile weapon to someone you know is a § 1448 prohibited person is a class F felony under § 1454. Transferring a firearm or firearm ammunition to a person under 21 outside what § 1448 permits is a class G felony under § 1445(a)(4).
Federal law separately bars nine categories from possessing firearms or ammunition in or affecting commerce: felons (convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year); fugitives from justice; unlawful users of or persons addicted to a controlled substance under 21 U.S.C. § 802; anyone adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution; aliens unlawfully present or admitted on a nonimmigrant visa, except as provided in § 922(y)(2); anyone dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces; former citizens who renounced citizenship; anyone subject to a qualifying domestic restraining order issued after notice and an opportunity to participate; and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Delaware is broader in places, notably the under-21 bar and the drug-conviction ground, so clearing one list does not clear the other.
Section 1466(a) makes it unlawful to transport an assault weapon into Delaware, or to manufacture, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, receive, or possess one. Section 1466(d) grades a violation as a class D felony. The published catchline for § 1466 reads "class E or F felony," which does not match subsection (d); subsection (d) is the text that states the grade.
Section 1465(4) defines "assault weapon" as an assault long gun, an assault pistol, or a copycat weapon. The first two are make-and-model lists in § 1465(2) and § 1465(3), each reaching copies regardless of producer or manufacturer. The copycat definition in § 1465(6) is the feature test, and it has eight branches:
Section 1465(7) defines a detachable magazine as a feeding device removable readily without disassembling the action or using a tool, including a bullet or cartridge.
Under § 1466(c)(3), someone who lawfully possessed or completed a purchase of an assault weapon before June 30, 2022 may possess and transport it only:
Ownership may pass to a family member as defined in 10 Del. C. § 901 under § 1466(c)(5), if the transferor lawfully possessed the weapon and the recipient may otherwise lawfully possess it; the recipient then holds it under the same (c)(3) limits.
Separately, § 1466(b) says the section "does not apply" to nine categories:
11 Del. C. § 1467 provides a voluntary certificate of possession on two application routes, and only one of them ran on a calendar deadline. Under § 1467(a), a person exempt under § 1466(c)(3) could apply to the Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security no later than June 30, 2023, and that window has closed. Section 1467(d) supplies a second route, keyed to a transfer rather than to a date: a person who inherits or receives a weapon from a family member that is lawfully possessed under § 1466(c)(3) and lawfully transferred may apply for a certificate within 60 days of taking possession of the weapon, on a showing that the transferor was lawfully in possession and that the applicant is the lawful recipient of the transfer. Nothing in § 1467 closes that second route on June 30, 2023.
A certificate is not what makes possession lawful. Under § 1467(b), lawful possession or a completed purchase of the assault weapon before June 30, 2022 is an affirmative defense to a § 1466 prosecution either way, and a certificate of possession is conclusive evidence of it.
In Delaware State Sportsmen's Association v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Nos. 23-1633, 23-1634, and 23-1641 (3d Cir. July 15, 2024), the Third Circuit affirmed the District Court's denial of a preliminary injunction against the assault weapon and large-magazine bans. The panel decided the case on the equitable standard for injunctive relief and stated expressly that it expressed no view of the merits. Both bans remain in force.
Section 1468(2)a. defines a large-capacity magazine as any ammunition feeding device capable of accepting, or that can readily be converted to hold, more than 17 rounds of ammunition. Subparagraph b. excludes an attached tubular device designed to accept, and only capable of operating with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. Subparagraph c. provides that a removable floor plate on a device not capable of accepting more than 17 rounds is not by itself sufficient evidence of ready convertibility.
Section 1469(a) makes it unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, transfer, or possess one, "[e]xcept as otherwise provided in subsections (c) through (e) of this section." Section 1469(b) grades it:
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| First offense, possession only | Civil penalty of $100 |
| Second offense, possession only | Class B misdemeanor |
| All other violations, including a subsequent possession-only offense | Class E felony |
The magazine is subject to forfeiture, and Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the misdemeanor and felony grades.
Section 1466 grandfathers an assault weapon that a person lawfully possessed, or completed a purchase of, before June 30, 2022, on the terms in § 1466(c)(3). Section 1469 does nothing of the kind for magazines. Nothing in 11 Del. C. § 1468 or § 1469 turns on when a magazine was acquired: no pre-ban possession allowance, no affirmative defense for lawful prior possession, and no certificate of possession of the sort § 1467 supplies for assault weapons, since § 1467 reaches only § 1466. The Third Circuit described the two Delaware laws the same way in Delaware State Sportsmen's Association: "The assault-weapon ban (though not the large-magazine ban) grandfathers in guns already owned but limits carrying them publicly." So if you lawfully owned a magazine holding more than 17 rounds before the ban, that history is not a defense, and continued possession is an offense under § 1469(a) unless you fall inside an exemption in § 1469(c) or § 1469(e).
For permit holders the decisive provision is § 1469(c)(5): the section does not apply to an individual holding a valid concealed carry permit issued by the Superior Court under § 1441. The rest of § 1469(c) covers federal government and military or National Guard personnel who are acting within the scope of official business, law-enforcement officers and qualified retired law-enforcement officers with no such scope limit attached, licensed dealers selling to other dealers or to individuals exempt under (c)(1) through (c)(5), and magazines rendered permanently inoperable or permanently modified to accept 17 rounds of ammunition or less. Section 1469(e) separately exempts a person who manufactures a large-capacity magazine intending to sell it, or offer it for sale, to a person outside Delaware, and a person who ships or transports one for that manufacturer.
Section 1469A stands apart: possessing a large-capacity magazine during the commission of a felony is a class B felony, and conviction stands even if the felony of conviction is a lesser included offense of the one originally charged.
Section 1444(a) makes it an offense to make, sell, transfer, buy, receive, or possess a bomb, a bombshell, a firearm silencer, a sawed-off shotgun, a machine gun or any other firearm or weapon adaptable for use as a machine gun, or a bump stock, trigger crank, or rapid fire device.
Grading splits. Under § 1444(b)(1), possessing any of the first five categories is a class E felony. Under § 1444(b)(2), possession of only a bump stock, trigger crank, or rapid fire device is a class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a class E felony for a second or subsequent offense. Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction, and § 1444(e) requires relinquishment of an (a)(6) device to a Delaware law-enforcement agency.
The § 1444(b)(1) exemptions are narrow: military members, members of a police force in this State duly authorized to carry the described weapon, accredited wildlife biologists possessing silencers for wildlife disease or population control, and persons holding machine guns registered under the National Firearms Act for scientific or experimental research and development. Section 1444(c) reaches machine gun frames, receivers, and conversion parts, and defines a sawed-off shotgun as one with a barrel under 18 inches or an overall length under 26 inches. Federal NFA registration is covered in the NFA Items section.
The definition in 11 Del. C. § 222(6)a. drives both § 1442 and § 1448. "Deadly weapon" includes a firearm, a bomb, a knife of any sort other than an ordinary pocketknife carried in a closed position, a switchblade knife, a billy, a blackjack, a bludgeon, metal knuckles, a slingshot, a razor, a bicycle chain, an ice pick, a projectile weapon, and a dangerous instrument used or attempted to be used to cause death or serious physical injury. Section 222(6)b. sets an ordinary pocketknife at a blade not more than 3.75 inches.
That is why the knife rule matters as much as the firearm rule. The concealed carry offense that runs on this definition, 11 Del. C. § 1442, is covered in the Concealed Carry section, along with the separate § 1443 offense of carrying a concealed dangerous instrument, which turns on a different term.
Three weapon-status offenses sit outside the person-based bar. Under 11 Del. C. § 1462, knowing possession of a covert or undetectable firearm is a class E felony, and manufacturing, causing the manufacture of, transporting, or selling one is a class D felony. Under § 1463, knowing possession of an untraceable firearm is a class E felony, and knowingly manufacturing, assembling, causing one to be manufactured or assembled, selling, or transferring one is a class D felony. Section 1463 has no transporting verb. Possessing a firearm with a removed, obliterated, or altered serial number is a class D felony under § 1459(c).
Secure storage duties, including § 1456, are covered in the Storage section.
This page covers one part of our Delaware concealed carry guide.
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