PL 265.01-c:
Rapid-Fire Modification Devices

New York Penal Law Section 265.01-c makes knowing possession of a rapid-fire modification device a Class A misdemeanor. The device does not have to be installed on a weapon for the possession offense to apply, but the prosecution must prove knowing possession and any applicable statutory exemption must be considered.^[1][4]

Devices Covered by the Definition

Section 265.00(26) defines a rapid-fire modification device as any bump stock, trigger crank, binary trigger system, burst trigger system, pistol converter, or other device designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm, rifle, or shotgun.^[2]

• Bump stock: A device or instrument that uses recoil energy to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates repeated trigger activation and increases the achievable rate of fire.
• Trigger crank: A device or instrument that repeatedly activates a semiautomatic weapon's trigger through a lever or another part turned in a circular motion. The definition excludes a weapon originally designed and manufactured to fire through a crank or lever.
• Binary trigger system: A device that causes a semiautomatic weapon to fire once when the trigger is pulled and again when it is released.
• Burst trigger system: A device that alters trigger reset and allows a semiautomatic weapon to discharge two or more shots with a single trigger pull.
• Pistol converter: Under the definition effective August 25, 2026, a device or instrument that, when installed in or attached to the rear of a semiautomatic pistol's slide, replaces the backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism, enabling rapid or automatic discharge with one continuous trigger pull.

Possession and Distribution Offenses

Knowing possession under Section 265.01-c is a Class A misdemeanor. Section 265.10 separately makes manufacture, transport or shipment, and disposal of a rapid-fire modification device Class E felonies.^[1][3]

Limited Statutory Exemptions

Section 265.20 supplies conditional exemptions. Examples include New York military personnel when duly authorized by adjutant-general regulations, police and peace officers, federal military personnel acting in official duty or under federal authorization, specified defense-contract personnel when possession is necessary to the contract, qualifying correctional officials acting in official duty, and persons complying with the voluntary-surrender provision. The statute also contains a controlled manufacturer and transferee exemption for specified manufacture, repair, lawful distribution, research, development, shipment, and return activity. These are not blanket exemptions based only on a person's job title or dealer status.^[4]

Federal Law Is Separate

In Garland v. Cargill, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with the nonmechanical bump stock at issue was not a machine gun under the federal statutory definition. Effective May 6, 2026, ATF removed the two bump-stock sentences from its three regulatory machine-gun definitions. That federal change did not repeal New York's independently enacted definition or Sections 265.01-c and 265.10.^[5][6]

August 25, 2026 Changes

Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026 enacted additional provisions that took effect on August 25, 2026. The machine-gun definition now includes a convertible pistol equipped with a pistol converter, and the pistol-converter definition specifies a device installed in or attached to the rear of the slide that replaces the backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism. Those provisions did not change the prohibition on knowing possession of a rapid-fire modification device under Section 265.01-c.^[2]