Washington DC bans the sale of firearms it classifies as assault weapons.
You cannot sell firearms that Washington DC classifies as assault weapons into this jurisdiction. There is no federal assault weapon ban—the 1994 law expired in 2004 and was never renewed—so this is a state-level prohibition on part of your catalog. Federal law already routes every firearm sale through a licensed dealer, meaning the question in Washington DC is not how you ship but which of your products may be sold there at all. This page explains what that means for your orders, how to control it in your store, and why payment processors care about compliance.
Washington DC bans the sale of firearms it classifies as assault weapons. There is no federal ban — the 1994 law expired in 2004 and was never renewed — so this is a state-level prohibition on part of your catalog.
Federal law already routes every firearm sale through a licensed dealer, so the question in Washington DC is not how you ship but which of your products may be sold there at all.
Source: Gun Laws by State — assault weapons ban states (2026) · as of 2026-07. Rules in this area change, and this is not legal advice — verify the current position for every state you ship into before you rely on it.
What this means for your store
Your store must refuse orders for assault weapons shipped to Washington DC. You cannot work around this by routing through a dealer outside DC or invoicing the customer directly—Washington DC law prohibits the sale itself, regardless of where the transfer happens. Every assault weapon in your catalog needs a product-level shipping block to DC, not a general note. If you ship one prohibited firearm into DC, you have violated state law and created evidence of control failure that payment processors flag in underwriting. Existing customers in DC cannot be grandfathered in. The compliance cost is low—a per-product shipping profile takes minutes—but the consequence of missing it is high: a payment processor seeing shipments to a state where your product is banned will treat that as intentional evasion or negligent control, either of which is an underwriting red flag.
The control that actually enforces it
In Shopify, you must set shipping profiles at the product level, not at the order or customer level. Create a shipping profile that excludes Washington DC, assign it to every firearm you classify as an assault weapon, and test it by adding one to your cart and entering a DC address at checkout. The system must reject the order before payment. A note in a spreadsheet or Slack channel does not count; if it lives only in someone's head, a second employee will ship to DC and you will not know until a processor review flags it. Shipping profiles are checkable and auditable, which is what an acquirer wants to see when they underwrite a firearms store.
Why an underwriter cares
Payment processors and acquirers treat shipping into a state that prohibits your product as a control failure, independent of whether the processor itself enforces state law. Washington DC's assault weapon ban is public, unambiguous legal fact, so a processor reviewing your underwriting sees shipments to DC and concludes you either do not know your restrictions or do not care to enforce them. Both conclusions kill a merchant account. High-risk underwriters for firearms expect documented, system-level controls—shipping profiles, not promises. Evidence that you have blocked the prohibited products at checkout is what keeps a processor confident you understand your risk. Without it, they reserve the right to terminate and flag you to MATCH.
Frequently asked
Can I sell any firearms into Washington DC?
You can sell only firearms that Washington DC does not classify as assault weapons. You cannot sell firearms DC bans, regardless of where the transfer occurs or which dealer handles it. The prohibition is on the sale itself, not the logistics. You must block prohibited products at checkout using a shipping profile.
What counts as an assault weapon under Washington DC law?
Washington DC's definition of assault weapon is its own. You must verify each firearm in your catalog against DC's current classification and block the ones that fall under the ban. This is a product-level decision, not a category-wide one. If you are unsure, contact a firearms legal specialist before listing or shipping.
Why does my payment processor care about DC's assault weapon ban?
Processors view shipping to a state that prohibits your product as evidence of missing controls. They do not enforce state law themselves, but they assume you do. A shipment to DC of a banned firearm tells them your system either does not know the rule or does not enforce it. That is an underwriting red flag that can cost your merchant account.
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