Can you go to jail for 3D printed gun

| by Max Soni

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 40 years of combined experience handling federal firearms cases, including prosecutions involving 3D printed weapons and ghost guns. Our firm has represented clients in high-profile cases that made national headlines – the Anna Delvey case that became a Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, handling Alec Baldwin’s stalking case. If you’re facing 3D printed gun charges, prosecutors are treating these cases seriously in 2025.

You’re reading this because you need to know if 3D printed gun possession or manufacturing can send you to prison. The short answer – yes, absolutely. Federal prosecutors are charging these cases aggressively, and recent sentences range from 7 to 17 years depending on what you made, whether you sold it, and your criminal history. This article covers what actually triggers prosecution, how the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling on ghost guns changed enforcement, real sentences from recent cases, and why your prior record matters more than the gun itself.

Federal Law Treats 3D Printed Guns Like Any Other Firearm

Making a gun at home isn’t automatically illegal under federal law. If you’re legally allowed to own firearms and you print one for personal use – not for sale, not undetectable by metal detectors – you’re probably not breaking federal law. That’s a narrow exception though, and it doesn’t protect you from state laws or from prosecution if anything else about your situation is illegal.

The Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it a federal crime to manufacture, possess, or transfer any firearm that can’t be detected by a walk-through metal detector or airport security imaging. That’s 18 U.S.C. § 922(p), and it carries up to five years in prison. Most 3D printed firearms include enough metal components to pass this test, but not all of them – and if you’re experimenting with designs that eliminate metal parts, you’re risking federal prosecution.

Violating other parts of Section 922 – manufacturing without a license when you’re engaged in the business, possessing a firearm as a prohibited person, making an unregistered NFA weapon like a short-barreled rifle or suppressor – can bring ten years or more. Federal prosecutors don’t distinguish between factory guns and printed guns when charging these cases. A 3D printed Glock with an auto sear gets treated exactly like a machined Glock with an auto sear, which means mandatory minimums and sentencing enhancements apply the same way.

What Gets You Prosecuted

Being a felon, drug user, or otherwise prohibited person in possession of a 3D printed gun is the most common federal charge we see. That’s 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and it’s what federal prosecutors charge when they find someone who shouldn’t have any gun – printed or not – with one anyway.

In October 2024, Marquel Payne got seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to felon in possession and machine gun possession. Investigators found a 3D printed ghost gun, approximately 60 plastic machine gun conversion devices (Glock switches), an AR-15, a 3D printer, filament, and a 3D printed suppressor at his home in Evansville, Indiana. His prior felony conviction meant he couldn’t legally possess any of it, and the machine gun parts added a separate charge with its own mandatory minimum.

Payne’s case shows how these prosecutions actually work – federal agents don’t usually stumble onto someone quietly printing a gun for personal collection. They find the guns during searches related to other criminal activity, or they get tipped off about someone selling them. Once they’re in your house and they find a 3D printer next to unserialized firearms and you’ve got a felony record, you’re getting charged.

Manufacturing or dealing firearms without a federal firearms license is another major prosecution category. Alexander Beattie from Ohio got 17.5 years in August 2025 for engaging in the business of manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license, plus felon in possession of ammunition. He had previous convictions for burglary and domestic violence, which made any gun possession illegal for him – but the unlicensed dealing charge was separate and carried its own severe penalties.

The line between “making guns for personal use” and “engaged in the business of manufacturing” isn’t always clear, but federal prosecutors and ATF agents use factors like: how many guns you’re making, whether you’re selling them or giving them away, whether you’re advertising them online, whether you’re making them repeatedly over time, and whether you’re making a profit. Print one gun for yourself – probably personal use. Print 20 guns and sell them on forums or to friends – probably engaged in the business without a license.

Selling or transferring unserialized firearms is illegal in all 50 states now, thanks to the ATF’s ghost gun rule that went into effect in 2022 and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2025. Carlos Salinas Jr. from California got 11 years and 8 months in prison in August 2025 for running an arms trafficking operation from 2022 to 2024. Police found three 3D printers, 20 3D printed firearms, ammunition, and over $5,000 cash during a search of his home. He was manufacturing and trafficking – two separate federal offenses that stacked his sentence into double digits.

The ATF Ghost Gun Rule Changes Everything

On March 26, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Bondi v. VanDerStok that the ATF’s 2022 ghost gun rule is legal and enforceable. This rule redefined what counts as a “firearm” under federal law to include unfinished frames, receivers, and parts kits that are “readily convertible” to functional guns. It also requires serialization, background checks, and federal licensing for anyone selling these items commercially.

The rule went into effect August 24, 2022 – which means if you’ve been making or selling gun parts or kits since then, you’ve potentially been violating federal law if you weren’t complying with the serialization and licensing requirements. Federal firearms licensees must mark privately made firearms with a unique serial number within seven days or before disposition, whichever comes first. Dealers who acquire unserialized ghost guns must serialize them.

What this means for prosecutions: federal agents and prosecutors now have clearer authority to charge people who are manufacturing, selling, or transferring unserialized 3D printed guns or parts kits. Before the rule, there was more ambiguity about whether certain unfinished parts counted as firearms. Now the definition is broader, and the Supreme Court has said that’s constitutional. Expect more prosecutions, not fewer.

The rule doesn’t make personal manufacturing automatically illegal – you can still print a gun at home for your own use if you’re not a prohibited person and the gun is detectable. But if you’re selling parts, frames, or complete guns without serializing them and running background checks, or if you’re doing it without a federal firearms license when you should have one, you’re violating federal law and risking prosecution.

Sentences Are Getting Longer

Federal sentencing for firearms offenses depends heavily on your criminal history and what else you’re charged with. A first-time offender caught with a single 3D printed gun might face probation or a short sentence if they plead guilty. Someone with prior felonies caught with multiple ghost guns and machine gun parts is looking at years – potentially decades – in federal prison.

The average sentence for 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) violations (felon in possession) was 62 months in fiscal year 2020 and increased to 71 months in fiscal year 2024. That’s nearly six years on average, and it goes up significantly if you qualify for enhancements. The Armed Career Criminal Act kicks in if you have three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses – that’s a 15-year mandatory minimum, no exceptions.

Machine gun possession – which includes those little auto sears and Glock switches that people print – carries up to 10 years in prison under federal law. Possession of an unregistered NFA weapon like a suppressor, short-barreled rifle, or short-barreled shotgun also carries up to 10 years. These charges often stack on top of felon in possession charges, which is how defendants end up with sentences in the high teens or twenties.

Zoe Watts from the UK got over eight years in 2025 after police found parts for two 3D printed guns in her home, one of which was nearly complete. That’s under UK law, but it shows how seriously these cases are being treated internationally. In the U.S., someone in similar circumstances with prior convictions could easily face a decade or more depending on what else investigators found.

Federal judges have discretion to sentence below the guidelines in some cases – that’s what United States v. Booker established in 2005 – but they don’t have discretion to go below mandatory minimums unless the prosecutor files a motion for substantial assistance or you qualify for safety valve. If you’re charged with machine gun possession or you’re an armed career criminal, you’re serving serious time unless you cooperate and the government agrees to file that motion.

Why Your Prior Record Determines Your Sentence

Federal sentencing works on a grid – your offense level (determined by what you did) intersects with your criminal history category (determined by your past convictions), and that intersection gives the judge a guideline range. Someone with no criminal history caught manufacturing a 3D printed gun might be at offense level 12 or 14 with criminal history category I, which could mean 12 to 21 months. Someone with three prior felonies at the same offense level might be criminal history category IV or V, which pushes the range to 37 to 46 months or higher.

Add a machine gun enhancement, add a trafficking enhancement, add an obstruction enhancement if you lied to agents or destroyed evidence – each one increases your offense level by 2 or 4 or more points. The offense level for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon starts at a base level that varies depending on the circumstances, but enhancements stack quickly. By the time you’re at offense level 24 or 26 with a substantial criminal history, you’re looking at 7 to 10 years or more in the guidelines.

This is why we see such a wide range of sentences in 3D printed gun cases. Payne got 7 years because he was a felon with a ghost gun and 60 Glock switches. Salinas got nearly 12 years because he was trafficking 20 guns over two years. Beattie got 17.5 years because he was manufacturing and dealing without a license, he was a felon, and he had multiple prior convictions. Each case stacks differently, but criminal history is almost always the biggest multiplier.

Acceptance of responsibility gives you a 2 or 3 point reduction if you plead guilty early and don’t minimize your conduct. That’s often the difference between 5 years and 7 years, or between 10 years and 13 years. Federal prosecutors know this, which is why they pressure defendants to plead quickly – they want you to give up your right to trial in exchange for that reduction. Whether you should take that deal depends on the strength of their case, what they’re offering, and whether you have viable defenses.

Prohibited Persons Can’t Touch Printed Guns Either

If you’re a convicted felon, you can’t possess any firearm – printed, purchased, inherited, or otherwise. That’s true even if you printed it before your conviction, even if it’s disassembled, even if you claim you were just holding it for someone else. Federal law makes it illegal for convicted felons to possess firearms or ammunition, period. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) covers people with felony convictions, and there’s no exception for 3D printed guns.

Same rule applies if you’re a fugitive from justice, an unlawful user of controlled substances, someone who’s been adjudicated as mentally defective, someone who’s been dishonorably discharged from the military, someone who’s renounced U.S. citizenship, someone subject to a domestic violence restraining order, or someone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. All of those categories are prohibited persons under Section 922(g), and all of them can be prosecuted for possessing a 3D printed gun.

Federal prosecutors love these cases because they’re straightforward to prove. They need to show: (1) you have a prior disqualifying conviction or status, (2) you knowingly possessed a firearm or ammunition, and (3) the firearm or ammunition traveled in interstate commerce at some point. The third element is easy – the filament for your 3D printer traveled in interstate commerce, the metal parts in the gun traveled in interstate commerce, the ammunition certainly did. The first element is a matter of public record if you’ve got a felony conviction. The second element is proven by finding the gun in your house or car.

You don’t need to know that possessing the gun was illegal. You just need to know you possessed it. The government doesn’t have to prove you knew about the law – they only have to prove you knew the thing you possessed was a firearm. That’s a low bar, and it’s why these prosecutions have such high conviction rates.

What to Do If You’re Under Investigation

If federal agents show up at your door asking about 3D printed guns, or if you’ve been contacted by ATF investigators, don’t answer questions without a lawyer. Anything you say will be used to build the case against you – they’re not there to clear your name or give you a warning. They’re there to collect evidence for prosecution.

People make the same mistakes in these cases. They let agents search without a warrant because they think cooperation will help. They explain what they were doing with the printer and the guns because they believe their intentions were innocent. They minimize what they made or sold because they don’t realize the legal definitions are broader than common usage. Every one of those conversations gives prosecutors more ammunition.

At Spodek Law Group, we handle federal firearms cases from investigation through trial and sentencing. Todd Spodek is a second-generation criminal defense attorney who’s defended clients in cases others called unwinnable – that’s how we ended up representing Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series, handling the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, defending against Alec Baldwin’s stalking allegations. We’ve been featured in the NY Post, Newsweek, Bloomberg, Business Insider because we take cases that require aggressive defense strategies.

If you’re under investigation for 3D printed gun charges, timing matters. Early intervention by an experienced federal firearms defense attorney can sometimes prevent charges from being filed – or at least shape the charges in a way that reduces your exposure. Once you’re indicted, your options narrow significantly. Federal prosecutors have a conviction rate over 90% at trial, which is why most cases resolve through plea agreements. But the quality of that plea agreement – how many charges they dismiss, what they agree to recommend at sentencing, whether they’ll file a substantial assistance motion – depends entirely on your lawyer’s ability to negotiate from a position of strength.

We’re available 24/7 to discuss your case. Our firm handles federal firearms cases nationwide – you don’t need to be in New York to work with us. We use a completely online digital portal for communications, document sharing, billing, and case updates, which lets us represent clients coast to coast. Unlike firms that take every case, we’re selective about who we work with because we focus on cases where we can make a meaningful difference in the outcome.

3D printed gun prosecutions are increasing in 2025 following the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the ATF ghost gun rule. Federal prosecutors have clearer authority, judges are imposing longer sentences, and the cases are getting more media attention. If you’re involved in any way – manufacturing, possessing, selling, or even just researching how to make these firearms – you need to understand the legal risks before agents show up at your door.