3D Printing and CNC Manufacturing Laws: Research Digest

Date saved: 2026-10-23 18:00 (PDT)

Sources: Colorado General Assembly, Washington State Legislature, PCMag, Congress.gov, California Senate Public Safety Committee

Key findings

Washington State enacts comprehensive 3D printing and CNC law

Washington's HB 2320, signed into law as Chapter 203 of the 2026 Laws, prohibits manufacturing firearms and firearm components using 3D printers or CNC milling machines unless the person is a federally licensed manufacturer. The law defines 'digital firearm manufacturing code' and makes it unlawful to possess such code with intent to distribute to an unlicensed person or with intent to manufacture a firearm. The law took effect March 24, 2026, except for section 3 which takes effect June 30, 2027. (Source)

Colorado passes bill prohibiting 3D-printed firearms

Colorado's HB 26-1144 prohibits knowingly manufacturing a potentially functioning firearm, unfinished frame or receiver, large-capacity magazine, or rapid-fire device by 3D printing. The bill defines 3D printing to include both additive and subtractive manufacturing. Violations are a class 1 misdemeanor, except a second or subsequent offense is a class 5 felony. The bill exempts federally licensed manufacturers and accredited gunsmithing programs. (Source)

California advances printer content-filter mandate

California's AB 2047 would require the Department of Justice to publish guidance on performance standards for firearm blueprint detection algorithms for 3D printer manufacturers. Any business producing 3D printers would need to submit an attestation for each make and model they intend to sell in California by March 1, 2029. It would become a crime to knowingly disable or circumvent firearm blocking technology installed in a 3D printer with intent to manufacture firearms. (Source)

Federal bill reintroduced in Senate

Senator Markey's 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2025 (S.2165) would amend title 18 of the US Code to make it unlawful to intentionally distribute digital instructions in the form of CAD files or other code that can automatically program a 3D printer to produce a firearm or complete a firearm from an unfinished frame or receiver. The bill was introduced June 25, 2025 and referred to the Judiciary Committee. (Source)

Federal analysis grouped 3D-printed firearms with ghost guns

Federal analysis during the Biden administration, commissioned by executive order in 2024, increasingly grouped 3D-printed firearms into the broader category of ghost guns, providing part of the policy foundation for the state-level legislative push. (Source)

State laws already criminalize possession of untraceable firearms

California, Washington, and New York already make it illegal to possess an unserialized firearm. The new laws attempt to reach further upstream into the manufacturing infrastructure itself, regulating digital files and printer technology rather than just the finished weapon. (Source)

Colorado bill criminalizes digital instructions distribution

Colorado's HB 26-1144 also criminalizes possessing or distributing digital instructions if circumstances indicate intent to manufacture or distribute unlawfully, reaching the digital file-sharing dimension of the problem. (Source)

The legal landscape around 3D-printed and CNC-machined firearms has shifted sharply in 2026, and the trend is unmistakable: states are moving beyond banning ghost guns themselves to regulating the machines, the digital files, and the printer technology that make them possible. Washington State's HB 2320, Colorado's HB 26-1144, and California's AB 2047 each take a different angle on the same underlying concern, and together they represent a front-line effort to close what lawmakers call a digital loophole.

What makes this moment notable is the upstream reach of the new laws. Washington's legislation explicitly regulates 'digital firearm manufacturing code' and prohibits possessing such code with intent to distribute to an unlicensed person. California's AB 2047 would require 3D printers sold in the state to include blocking technology capable of detecting and preventing the production of firearm components, with criminal penalties for circumventing that technology. Colorado's bill defines 3D printing to include both additive and subtractive manufacturing, explicitly encompassing CNC machines.

The federal dimension has been quieter. Senator Markey's 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2025 would prohibit distributing digital instructions that can program a 3D printer to produce a firearm, but the bill has not advanced. The gap between state activity and federal inaction is the story here, and it raises the question of whether a national standard will emerge or whether manufacturers will face conflicting state-by-state requirements.

The throughline connects to the broader ghost gun debate. It is already illegal in California, Washington, and New York to possess an unserialized firearm. The new laws attempt to reach further upstream into the manufacturing infrastructure itself. (Source)