Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, tracks ghost gun and home-build law in every state for USA Gun Shop readers
Quick take: A federal judge in Delaware has permanently blocked the state’s bans on owning unserialized guns and frames and on building your own. The rules on selling unserialized frames and sharing 3D printer files survived.
- Ruling: Judge Maryellen Noreika permanently enjoined Delaware Code Title 11, Sections 1459A(b) and 1463(a), the manufacturing and assembly part of Section 1463(b), and Section 1463(c)(1).
- Court: The US District Court for the District of Delaware, in Rigby v. Jennings, case 1:21-cv-01523, decided September 10, 2026.
- Why it matters: Delawareans who gave up home-built guns and unfinished frames under the 2021 law can legally possess and build them again.
- What’s next: Delaware has 30 days from the September 10 judgment to file a notice of appeal to the Third Circuit.
Ghost gun rulings get covered one of two ways: the state wins on a public-safety theory, or the whole law falls and the headline says ghost guns are legal. This one is neither. Judge Noreika split Delaware’s law down the middle, and where she drew the line tells a Delaware home builder exactly what changed and what didn’t.
Deals of the Day
Today's best discounts · Updated 3x daily
Gun Deals
See All →
Ammo Deals
See All →
Table of Contents
What Delaware’s HB 125 Did
The case is about House Bill 125, passed by the 151st General Assembly in 2021 and codified across Sections 222, 1459, 1459A, 1462 and 1463 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code. The court sorted it into four pieces: a Distribution Ban, a Possession Ban, a Manufacturing and Assembly Ban, and an Instructions Ban on sharing 3D printer files.
The key term is untraceable firearm, which Delaware defines as a gun “for which the sale or distribution chain from a licensed retailer to the point of its first retail sale cannot be traced by law-enforcement officials.” Guns made before 1968, black powder muzzleloaders and replicas of pre-1898 antiques are carved out.
John Rigby, Alan Knight and the Firearms Policy Coalition sued Attorney General Kathy Jennings in October 2021. The opinion says Rigby owned a self-built Glock-compatible handgun that he had to get rid of once it became an untraceable firearm under the new law, and that he owns a 3D printer he has not used for guns for fear of prosecution. Knight gave up unfinished frames and receivers for the same reason.
In 2022 the same court preliminarily blocked the possession and manufacturing bans and refused to block the distribution and instructions bans. The final ruling on cross motions for summary judgment lands in the same place.
Why Judge Noreika Struck the Possession and Build Bans
Delaware argued that unserialized guns and frames are not in common use and so are not “Arms” at all. The court rejected that at the first step, holding that the constitutional meaning of Arms “does not turn on serialization.” Frames and receivers count too, because the Second Amendment covers them all, “not just ones with a manufacturer’s label or serial number.”
The build ban fell on the right to acquire. The court found “there are two ways to acquire firearms: self-manufacture or acquisition of a firearm manufactured by someone else,” and Delaware’s law cut off the first. It added a practical point that every owner will recognize: Section 1463(b) bans assembling an untraceable gun, which means reassembling your own pistol after cleaning it.
At the history step, Delaware offered laws on clubs, Bowie knives and slungshots, laws on trap guns and punt guns, and gunpowder storage rules. The court, relying on the Third Circuit’s recent en banc ruling on New Jersey’s assault weapon and magazine law, found none of them relevantly similar in why or how they burdened the right. Its bottom line: “Delaware has not carried its burden at Bruen step two.”
Neither side briefed facial versus as-applied, so the court held the possession and build bans facially unconstitutional and unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs.
What Survived: Sales Rules and 3D Printer Files
The Distribution Ban survived. Section 1459A(a) still bars anyone from shipping, transferring or selling an unfinished frame or receiver unless they are a federally licensed dealer or manufacturer, the part carries the maker’s name and a serial number, and records are kept. The part of Section 1463(b) that bans selling or transferring an untraceable firearm also stands. The court treated both as conditions on the commercial sale of arms, which the Supreme Court has called presumptively lawful.
And the Instructions Ban survived too. Section 1463(c)(2) still bars distributing computer-aided design files or code that can program a 3D printer to make a firearm, receiver or major component. The plaintiffs lost that claim on the threshold question, because under the Third Circuit’s 2026 Defense Distributed decision, code is not automatically speech, and the record never showed what the files would express. The court noted that the statute does not stop anyone from discussing or explaining how to build a gun.
The judge also flagged where Delaware could go next. A state serialization process for home-built guns, she wrote, “might pass constitutional muster,” and Delaware may even be able to regulate the materials 3D printed guns are made from.
What Delaware Home Builders Can Do Now
Under the September 10 judgment, Delaware cannot enforce the bans on possessing an unserialized firearm or unfinished frame, on building or assembling one, or on using a 3D printer to make a firearm or major component without a manufacturing license.
What you still can’t do is buy an unserialized unfinished frame from anyone who isn’t a licensed dealer following the serial number and record rules, sell or give away the gun you build, or post the print file. Federal law, which the opinion notes treats a frame or receiver as a firearm, still applies on top of all that, and so does everything else in Delaware’s gun laws.
If you want to build in Delaware, the parts path now matters more than the build itself. If you want to share the file, don’t.
This is a district court ruling, so it binds Delaware and these parties but sets no precedent for any other state. Under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, a notice of appeal in a civil case is due within 30 days after the judgment is entered, which puts the next move in Attorney General Jennings’s hands.
Build it, keep it, fix it. Just don’t sell it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to own a ghost gun in Delaware now?
Yes, as of the September 10, 2026 judgment in Rigby v. Jennings. The court permanently enjoined Delaware from enforcing its bans on possessing an untraceable firearm and an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver. The ruling can still be appealed to the Third Circuit.
Can I build my own gun in Delaware?
Yes. The court permanently enjoined the part of Delaware's law that banned knowingly manufacturing or assembling an untraceable firearm, finding it restricts the right to acquire firearms for self-defense.
Can I 3D print a gun in Delaware?
Printing your own firearm is no longer enforceable as a crime, because the court enjoined the ban on using a 3D printer to make a firearm, receiver or major component without a manufacturing license. Distributing the computer files that program a printer to make a gun is still illegal in Delaware.
Can I buy an unfinished frame or 80% lower in Delaware?
Only through the channel the law still allows. Delaware's rule that an unfinished frame or receiver may be shipped, transferred or sold only by a federally licensed dealer or manufacturer, with the maker's name and a serial number on it and records kept, was upheld.
Can I sell a gun I built myself in Delaware?
No. The part of Delaware's law that bans selling or transferring an untraceable firearm was upheld as a condition on the commercial sale of arms.
Is the Rigby v. Jennings ruling final?
It is a final judgment in the district court, entered September 10, 2026. Delaware can appeal to the Third Circuit, and under the federal appellate rules a notice of appeal in a civil case is due within 30 days after the judgment is entered.
What counts as an untraceable firearm under Delaware law?
Delaware defines it as a firearm whose sale or distribution chain from a licensed retailer to its first retail sale cannot be traced by law enforcement. Guns made before 1968, black powder muzzleloaders and replicas of antique firearms made before 1898 are excluded.
Related Reading
- Delaware Gun Laws: Purchase Permit, AWB and Carry Rules
- 3D Printed Guns: Complete Guide to Laws, Tech and History
- How to Build a DIY Glock 19 From an 80% Frame
- Ninth Circuit Rejects a Wider ATF Ghost Gun Rule
- New Jersey Gun Laws: FPIC, PPH and Sensitive Places
- US Gun Laws by State: Comprehensive Legal Directory
5,305+ Gun & Ammo Deals
Updated daily from 200+ top retailers. Filter by category, caliber, action type, and price.
