3D Printing and CNC Manufacturing Laws: Research Digest

Date saved: 2026-10-25 03:01 (PDT)

Sources: California Legislative Information, Everytown for Gun Safety, Planet 3DP, Renzulli Law Firm, American Thinker, Ars Technica, ABC7 News

Key findings

California Governor Newsom signs AB 2047, the Firearm Printing Prevention Act

California Legislative Information (September 26, 2026): California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2047 on September 26, establishing a new regulatory framework intended to prevent the manufacture of firearms and machine gun conversion devices using 3D printers. The law requires the California Department of Justice to check quarterly beginning no later than July 1, 2027, whether ASTM International has published industry standards for equipping 3D printers with firearm blocking technology. If ASTM publishes standards, the DOJ must publish written guidance or regulations within 24 months describing minimum performance standards. Commencing one year after that guidance is published, it becomes unlawful to sell, offer for sale, or transfer a 3D printer in California that is not equipped with firearm blocking technology meeting those standards. If no ASTM standard exists by July 1, 2029, the department is relieved of further responsibility. The final version contains no printer roster and no crime for modifying your own machine. (Source)

California's law is part of a 10-bill gun safety package including 3D printer safeguards

ABC7 News / Ground News (October 25, 2026): Governor Newsom signed 10 new gun safety laws on October 24-25 addressing firearm violence through enhanced training requirements, expanded restraining orders, and technology restrictions on 3D-printed firearms. Senate Bill 948 mandates four-hour safety courses for gun buyers starting in 2029, and Assembly Bill 2047 requires firearms-blocking technology on 3D printers by July 1, 2029, contingent on ASTM publishing an industry standard. The package expands training, court-ordered firearm restrictions, and temporary storage programs while adding 3D printer safeguards to curb illegal guns and violence. (Source)

Colorado's HB 26-1144 defines 3D printing to include CNC milling

Colorado's HB 26-1144 took effect on July 1, 2026, banning the printing or milling of guns and certain gun parts without a federal license. The law's definition of "3D printing" includes CNC milling, meaning subtractive manufacturing equipment such as CNC machines, mills, and router tables fall under the same statute as additive 3D printers. The law prohibits knowingly making a functional firearm, unfinished frame or receiver, large-capacity magazine, or rapid-fire device by 3D printing or CNC milling without a federal license. The file-sharing ban was cut before the bill passed. (Planet 3DP, October 2026) (Source)

Washington's HB 2320 bans 3D-printed and CNC-made firearm components without a license

Washington's HB 2320 took effect on March 24, 2026, barring the manufacture of firearm frames or receivers on a 3D printer or CNC mill without a federal manufacturer's license and restricting the sharing of gun files with unlicensed people. Governor Bob Ferguson signed the bill on March 24, 2026. The companion printer-blocking bill, HB 2321, never received a hearing and died when the legislative session ended in March. (Planet 3DP, October 2026) (Source)

New York's 3D printing crimes took effect August 25, printer-blocking rule deferred

New York's new 3D printing crimes took effect on August 25, 2026, making the sharing of gun files with unlicensed people a misdemeanor and the manufacture of a ghost gun a felony. The printer-blocking rule is not yet in effect; a state working group must first decide whether the blocking technology is even feasible, which will be no earlier than 2029. If feasibility is not recognized, the obligation will not be triggered. New York's law, signed on May 27, 2026, also created a new penal code category called "digital firearm manufacturing code" covering CAD files, code, or models that can program a 3D printer or CNC milling machine to make a firearm or firearm components. (Planet 3DP, October 2026) (Source)

New Jersey prohibits unlicensed possession of digital instructions for 3D-printed guns

New Jersey prohibited unlicensed individuals from possessing digital instructions for 3D-printed guns in early 2026, adding to the growing list of states with laws targeting the digital files used to manufacture firearms on 3D printers and CNC machines. The move upstream toward file possession, rather than just physical manufacture, is part of a broader pattern of ghost gun regulation that reaches the design phase of production. (Giffords Law Center, October 2026) (Source)

Federal 3D Printed Gun Safety Act has not moved since June 2025

The federal 3D Printed Gun Safety Act has not moved in Congress since June 2025, leaving the state-level laws in Washington, Colorado, New York, California, New Jersey, and Delaware as the active legislative front for 3D-printed firearm regulation. At least 16 states have laws addressing 3D-printed firearms, with 7 adding major legislation in 2026, according to Stateline. The federal inaction leaves a patchwork of state laws that reach different equipment, files, and activities depending on where the maker is located. (Planet 3DP, October 2026) (Source)

Critics say print-blocking technology is technically infeasible

Quality Rot via YouTube (June 23, 2026): The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Adafruit, the Firearms Policy Coalition, and working engineers have said that print-blocking technology is technically infeasible and will lock makers into proprietary, surveilled hardware. Adafruit's analysis of New York's language found it reached CNC mills and subtractive-manufacturing machines, not just 3D printers. The blocking technology requires a firearms blueprints detection algorithm that can evaluate every print job before the printer proceeds, and critics argue the technology cannot reliably distinguish between a firearm component and a legitimate part that happens to share geometric properties. (Source)

The most important thing about the 3D printing gun laws passing in 2026 is that they are reaching far beyond 3D printers. Colorado's HB 26-1144, which took effect July 1, explicitly defines "3D printing" to include CNC milling, which is subtractive manufacturing. That means a CNC machine, a milling machine, a router table, and a lathe are all legally "3D printers" under a ghost gun manufacturing statute. Washington's HB 2320, signed March 24 and effective July 1, bans making firearm frames or receivers on a 3D printer or CNC mill without a federal license and restricts sharing gun files. New York's law, effective August 25, makes sharing gun files with unlicensed people a misdemeanor and making a ghost gun a felony, and its printer-blocking rule will not take effect until a state working group decides whether the technology is even feasible, which won't be before 2029.

California's AB 2047, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 26, is the most aggressive printer-blocking mandate yet, but the final version was significantly weakened during deliberations. The blocking rule only kicks in if ASTM International publishes an industry standard, and if no standard exists by July 1, 2029, the state can stop checking. The final version has no printer roster and no crime for modifying your own machine. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Adafruit, the Firearms Policy Coalition, and working engineers have all said that print-blocking technology is technically infeasible and will lock makers into proprietary, surveilled hardware. The throughline is that these laws are building a legal framework for content-filtering firmware in consumer manufacturing tools, and the feasibility questions are being deferred to standards bodies and state task forces that have years to deliver answers that may never come.

What to watch next: the ASTM standard process that California is waiting on, the New York working group's feasibility determination, and whether the federal 3D Printed Gun Safety Act, which has not moved since June 2025, gains any traction. The CNC overreach in Colorado and Washington is the most consequential legal change for makers and small shops, and it has received far less attention than the printer-blocking mandates.