The Raise the Age Act of 2025 amends federal criminal law (Title 18) to prohibit a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) from selling or delivering a semiautomatic centerfire rifle or semiautomatic centerfire shotgun that accepts an ammunition feeding device with capacity exceeding five rounds to any person under 21, except for specified "qualified individuals." The bill also updates the purchaser attestation language in section 922(c)(1) and adds definitions for "qualified individual" and "ammunition feeding device."
The statute preserves existing age rules for other categories (maintaining 18/21 distinctions for rifles/shotguns and other firearms where applicable), creates a narrow exception for active‑duty military and full‑time law‑enforcement employees, and requires the FBI to report within 90 days on public access line information‑sharing protocols and improvement recommendations. The package will change what FFLs must verify and document at point of sale and raises practical questions about enforcement, private transfers, and how to identify covered weapons and feeding devices in commerce.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill revises 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1) to add a new prohibition: FFLs may not sell or deliver semiautomatic centerfire rifles or semiautomatic centerfire shotguns that accept feeding devices over five rounds to persons under 21, unless the buyer is a "qualified individual." It also amends the written‑attestation language in 922(c)(1) and inserts new definitions into 921(a).
Who It Affects
Directly affects Federal Firearms Licensees (retailers, pawnbrokers, federally licensed dealers), buyers aged 18–20, manufacturers of firearms and feeding devices, and the Department of Justice/FBI for reporting and enforcement duties. State and local law‑enforcement agencies and compliance officers will also be implicated by the new verification and recordkeeping expectations.
Why It Matters
This is a targeted federal age‑restriction change that narrows legal access to high‑capacity semiautomatic rifles and shotguns for 18–20‑year‑olds while carving out narrow occupational exceptions. For compliance teams and retailers, it creates a new, bright‑line capacity threshold to apply at sale and shifts risk and enforcement questions back to FFLs and federal authorities.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The core change in this bill is to 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1). The statutory text is rewritten to break the age‑based sale prohibition into subparts that separate (A) the baseline minimum age for general categories, (B) a new 21‑year rule for semiautomatic centerfire rifles and shotguns that accept feeding devices holding more than five rounds, and (C) the existing 21‑year rule that applies to "other than a shotgun or rifle" (typically handguns).
In plain terms: if a firearm is a semiautomatic centerfire rifle or shotgun and can accept a magazine, drum, belt, or similar device holding more than five rounds, an FFL may not sell it to someone under 21 unless that person is a qualified individual.
To support that rule the bill adds two definitions to 18 U.S.C. 921(a). "Qualified individual" covers (1) members of the Armed Forces on active duty and (2) full‑time employees of the United States or a state or political subdivision who are authorized in the course of official duties to carry a firearm. "Ammunition feeding device" is defined to include magazines, belts, drums, feed strips, or similar devices, and expressly excludes an attached tubular device that is only capable of operating with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. That definition is the statutory trigger for determining whether the five‑round threshold applies.
Section 2 also contains a conforming amendment to 922(c)(1), changing the purchaser attestation language sellers use when taking a statement from a buyer so it aligns with the new age thresholds and the qualified‑individual exception. Practically, FFLs will need to verify not just a buyer’s age but also whether the buyer meets a qualified‑individual exception and whether the firearm or feeding device falls inside the covered class.
The bill does not impose a new documentary standard for those exceptions; it creates the statutory prohibitions and definitions but leaves implementation details—what documents suffice to prove active‑duty status or law‑enforcement employment—unspecified. Finally, the bill requires the FBI Director to submit a report within 90 days to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees describing protocols and procedures for information sharing between the FBI’s public access line and FBI field offices, and to recommend improvements.
That reporting obligation is focused on internal information‑sharing rather than any new operational duties tied to the new sales prohibition.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill amends 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1) to prohibit FFLs from selling or delivering semiautomatic centerfire rifles or semiautomatic centerfire shotguns that accept an ammunition feeding device with capacity exceeding five rounds to anyone under 21, unless the person is a "qualified individual.", The statute defines "qualified individual" to mean (A) an active‑duty member of the Armed Forces and (B) a full‑time U.S.
state, or local employee who is authorized in official duties to carry a firearm.
The text defines "ammunition feeding device" to include magazines, belts, drums, feed strips, or similar devices and excludes an attached tubular device that can operate only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
Section 922(c)(1)'s purchaser attestation is updated so buyers must attest to different minimum ages depending on the firearm class and to whether they are a qualified individual, changing the form sellers will rely on at point of sale.
The bill directs the FBI Director to provide a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within 90 days describing public access line information‑sharing protocols with FBI field offices and recommending improvements.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short title
Designates the Act as the "Raise the Age Act of 2025." This is purely nominal but useful for citation and ensures any implementing guidance or rule‑making references the bill by name.
New age limits for covered semiautomatic centerfire rifles and shotguns
Rewrites the 922(b)(1) sale prohibition into three subparagraphs. Subparagraph (B) is the operative change: it bars FFL sales or deliveries of semiautomatic centerfire rifles or shotguns that have, or can accept, a feeding device over five rounds to persons under 21 unless they are a qualified individual. The provision creates a categorical, capacity‑based trigger; FFLs must assess both whether a firearm is a semiauto centerfire rifle/shotgun and whether the feeding device capacity exceeds five rounds before completing a sale. This imposes a new, weapon‑specific verification duty at retail.
Updates purchaser attestation language sellers must obtain
Alters the text FFLs rely on when taking a buyer’s written statement so the attestation matches the new age thresholds and the qualified‑individual exception. That change affects forms and point‑of‑sale scripts: sellers will need updated compliance materials to capture the correct age category and the exception claim. The bill does not prescribe what evidence sellers must collect to verify a buyer’s qualified status.
Defines 'qualified individual' and 'ammunition feeding device'
Adds two definitions to reduce ambiguity: "qualified individual" (active‑duty military; full‑time governmental employees authorized to carry firearms) and "ammunition feeding device" (magazines, belts, drums, feed strips, or similar devices, with an express exception for attached tubular devices that only operate with .22 rimfire). The tubular‑device exception narrows the scope to common rimfire tubular systems and clarifies which devices count toward the five‑round trigger.
FBI public access line report
Requires the FBI Director to submit a report within 90 days to the Judiciary Committees describing protocols and procedures for information sharing between the FBI’s public access line and FBI field offices and to provide recommendations to improve that sharing. The deliverable is limited in scope to internal information‑sharing practices rather than enforcement outcomes tied to the Act’s age‑restriction amendments.
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Explore Criminal Justice in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Communities and public‑safety stakeholders concerned with youth access to high‑capacity semiautomatic rifles/shotguns: the measure narrows lawful retail access for 18–20‑year‑olds to certain high‑capacity semiautomatics, which proponents argue reduces risk of those firearms being used by young adults in violent incidents.
- Active‑duty military personnel and full‑time law‑enforcement employees: the bill preserves access for these groups through the "qualified individual" exception, avoiding an occupational bar on service members and officers who use firearms in the line of duty.
- Gun‑safety and victim‑advocacy organizations: the law creates a federal, capacity‑based restriction that they can point to when assessing policy impact or advocating for similar measures at state level.
- Compliance officers and in‑house counsel at FFLs: the statutory definition of "ammunition feeding device" and the explicit five‑round threshold give a legal standard to apply at sale, which simplifies legal interpretation compared with ambiguous product descriptions.
Who Bears the Cost
- FFLs and retail sellers: must update point‑of‑sale procedures, training, attestation forms, and inventory screening to determine whether a particular model or feeding device invokes the 5‑round rule, and face criminal liability exposure for violations under 18 U.S.C. 922.
- Buyers aged 18–20: lose federally authorized retail access to covered semiautomatic centerfire rifles and shotguns, shifting purchasing behavior to secondary markets or to qualifying exceptions where available.
- Manufacturers and accessory makers of feeding devices: could see shifts in demand as the covered capacity threshold (greater than five rounds) becomes the statutory pivot for sales to 18–20‑year‑olds, prompting product design or marketing changes.
- Department of Justice/FBI: must prepare the mandated report within a short (90‑day) window and may face additional enforcement and guidance tasks if Congress or DOJ seeks to clarify implementation or enforcement standards for the new prohibition.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill balances two strong objectives that pull in opposite directions: it aims to reduce youth access to high‑capacity semiautomatic rifles and shotguns in the name of public safety, while relying on a bright‑line, capacity‑based rule and narrow occupational exceptions that create practical verification, enforcement, and circumvention problems—especially because it regulates only FFL sales and leaves private transfers and documentary standards undefined.
The bill creates a clear statutory cutoff (a 5‑round threshold) and a narrow occupational exception, but leaves multiple implementation questions open. The statute does not specify what documentary proof an FFL must require to verify that a buyer is a "qualified individual" (active duty or an authorized, full‑time government employee).
Without documentary standards, sellers face uncertainty about acceptable evidence and increased litigation risk if they refuse sales on suspicion or accept borderline proof and later face enforcement.
Another practical gap is that the prohibition binds only FFL sales and deliveries; private transfers that do not involve an FFL are not addressed by the statutory text. That creates an enforcement and policy loophole: buyers aged 18–20 could potentially acquire covered weapons outside the FFL channel in jurisdictions where state law permits private sales.
The five‑round capacity test introduces technical line‑drawing problems as well. Determining whether a device "has the capacity to accept" more than five rounds can be fact‑specific—fixed magazines, plug modifications, or aftermarket parts may cloud classification, and the bill does not allocate responsibility for pre‑sale forensic determinations.
Finally, the 90‑day deadline for the FBI report is short and narrowly focused on public‑access line information‑sharing; the report will not, on its face, resolve the operational compliance or evidentiary questions created by the new sales prohibition.
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