§ 7–2506.01. Persons permitted to possess ammunition.

(a) No person shall possess ammunition in the District of Columbia unless:

(1) He is a licensed dealer pursuant to subchapter IV of this unit;

(2) He is an officer, agent, or employee of the District of Columbia or the United States of America, on duty and acting within the scope of his duties when possessing such ammunition;

(3) He is the holder of a valid registration certificate for a firearm pursuant to subchapter II of this chapter; except, that no such person shall possess one or more restricted pistol bullets;

(4) He holds an ammunition collector’s certificate on September 24, 1976; or

(5) He temporarily possesses ammunition while participating in a firearms training and safety class conducted by a firearms instructor.

(b) No person in the District shall knowingly possess, sell, or transfer any ammunition feeding device that is, in fact, a large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the term "large capacity ammunition feeding device" means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The term "large capacity ammunition feeding device" shall not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.

(Sept. 24, 1976, D.C. Law 1-85, title VI, § 601, 23 DCR 2464; Mar. 16, 1978, D.C. Law 2-62, § 2, 24 DCR 5780; Aug. 2, 1983, D.C. Law 5-19, § 4, 30 DCR 3328; Mar. 31, 2009, D.C. Law 17-372, § 3(n), 56 DCR 1365; Sept. 29, 2012, D.C. Law 19-170, § 2(n), 59 DCR 5691; Apr. 27, 2013, D.C. Law 19-295, § 2(c), 60 DCR 2623; June 8, 2024, D.C. Law 25-175, § 15(b), 71 DCR 2732.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 6-2361.

1973 Ed., § 6-1861.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 7-2507.06 and § 7-2508.01.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 17-372 designated subsec. (a); and added subsec. (b).

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-170 substituted “pursuant to subchapter II of this chapter” for “of the same gauge or caliber as the ammunition he possesses” in (a)(3); added (a)(5); and made a related change.

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-295 substituted “possess one or more restricted pistol bullets” for “possess restricted pistol bullets” in (a)(3).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 11(b) of Secure DC Omnibus Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Act 25-490, June 7, 2024, 71 DCR 7006).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 11(b) of Secure DC Omnibus Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Act 25-410, Mar. 11, 2024, 71 DCR 2693).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(d) of Second Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-502, September 16, 2008, 55 DCR 9904).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(d) of Second Firearms Control Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-601, December 12, 2008, 56 DCR 9).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(n) of Firearms Registration Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-651, January 6, 2009, 56 DCR 911).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(n) of Firearms Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-352, May 11, 2012, 59 DCR 5116).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(n) of the Firearms Amendments Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-394, July 18, 2012, 59 DCR 8694).

For temporary amendment of (a), see § 2(n) of the Firearms Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-510, October 26, 2012, 59 DCR 12808).