With some exceptions, Indiana generally prohibits a person from owning or possessing any machine gun or operating a loaded machine gun.¹ However, this prohibition does not apply to any person possessing a machine gun “under applicable federal statutes.”²

Federal law requires machine guns to be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), and generally prohibits the transfer or possession of machine guns manufactured after May 19, 1986.³ In December 2018, ATF finalized a rule to include bump stocks within the definition of a machine gun subject to this federal law, meaning that bump stocks will be generally banned as of March 26, 2019.⁴  Because trigger activators are also considered machine guns by the ATF and must be registered, a state law passed in 2023 effectively bans possession of trigger activators.⁵

In addition, Indiana requires state law enforcement officers to issue a certification if requested by an individual so the individual can obtain a machine gun or other federally regulated firearm (as long as the individual is not prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, or the subject of a proceeding that could result in the individual being prohibited).⁶ Law enforcement officers in Indiana may be held personally liable for willful violations of the law requiring them to issue certifications.⁷

In 2019, Indiana repealed a ban on transferring an assault weapon to a person under the age of 18 and replaced it with a ban on transferring a machine gun to a person under the age of 18.⁸

 See our Machine Guns policy summary for a comprehensive discussion of this issue. 

1. Ind. Code Ann. §§ 35-47-5-8, 35-47-9.[↩]
2. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-5-10(7).[↩]
3. 18 U.S.C. § 922(o); 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).[↩]
4. Bump-Stock-Type Devices, 83 Fed. Reg. 66,514 (Dec. 26, 2018) (to be codified at 27 C.F.R. pts. 447, 478, 479).[↩]
5. IC 35-31.5-2-190.[↩]
6. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-8.5.[↩]
7. Ind. Code Ann. §35-47-8.5-4.[↩]
8. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-2-7.[↩]