TAS Legal
Compliance & Restrictions
Last updated August 9, 2026
This page sets out the age minimums, eligibility rules, state and local restrictions, and carrier requirements that govern what TAS can sell you and where we can send it.
Phase 1 note: this document is a structurally complete template. It has not yet been reviewed by counsel and must be before any real sale is made.
1. Age requirements
Minimum ages are set by product type and enforced at the compliance step of checkout. They track the minimum ages federal law sets for licensed dealers, which TAS applies to every sale as a matter of policy, and higher state or municipal minimums where they apply:
| Product type | Minimum age | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Handgun ammunition | 21 | Federal licensed-dealer minimum, applied as TAS policy |
| Rifle ammunition | 18 or 21 | Federal licensed-dealer minimum, applied as TAS policy. 21 where the cartridge is also chambered in a handgun. |
| Rimfire ammunition | 21 | Federal licensed-dealer minimum, applied as TAS policy |
| Shotgun ammunition | 18 or 21 | Federal licensed-dealer minimum, applied as TAS policy. 21 where the cartridge is also chambered in a handgun. |
| Accessories, optics, storage, targets | 18 | TAS account policy |
Cartridges commonly chambered in both handguns and long guns (10mm Auto, .17 HMR, .22 Short, .22 TCM, .22 WMR, .22 WRF, .223 Remington, .22 LR, .30 Carbine, .300 AAC Blackout, .350 Legend, .410 Bore, .44-40 Winchester, .450 Bushmaster, 5.56 NATO, 5.7x28mm and 7.62x39mm) are treated as handgun ammunition and require 21+. We apply the stricter classification rather than the more permissive one. That list is read from the catalog, not written here, so it cannot fall behind the rule the checkout applies.
Where your state or municipality sets a higher minimum age than federal law, the higher minimum applies to your order. You must be at least 18 to hold a TAS account at all.
States that do not follow the federal split
Several states set an age above the federal floor, or draw the line between product types differently. Where your delivery address is in one of these, the state rule is the one applied to your order, and it is applied to the whole order rather than to the lines it strictly reaches:
| State | Minimum age | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 21 for all ammunition | R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-64(b), which also requires a Rhode Island blue card or hunter education card |
| Hawaii | 21 for all ammunition | HRS § 134-7.7, which also requires the seller to examine government-issued photo ID |
| Colorado | 21 for all non-rimfire ammunition | C.R.S. § 18-12-117(1)(b)(I). The 18 to 20 exceptions apply to in-person transactions only, so a shipper cannot rely on them |
| Delaware | 21 for rifle and handgun ammunition, 18 for shotgun ammunition | 11 Del. C. § 1445(a)(4), with the shotgun carve-out at § 1448(a)(5)a. |
| New Jersey | 21 for handgun ammunition | State permit and FPIC requirements for handgun ammunition |
| Maryland | 21 for ammunition solely designed for a regulated firearm | Md. Code, Public Safety § 5-134(d)(1)(i) |
| Minnesota | 18 for all ammunition, rimfire included | Minn. Stat. § 609.66 subd. 1b, which binds any seller rather than only licensed dealers |
Two of these cut against the assumption people make. Delaware is 21 for rifle ammunition, which federal law puts at 18, but stays at 18 for shotgun ammunition. Vermont is the reverse case: its age 21 rule at 13 V.S.A. § 4020 says firearm, ammunition is not within it, so we do not apply 21 to Vermont ammunition.
2. Prohibited persons
At checkout you certify that you are not a prohibited person under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or equivalent state law: that you have not been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanour crime of domestic violence, are not subject to a qualifying restraining order, are not an unlawful user of a controlled substance, have not been adjudicated mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, are not a fugitive from justice, are not unlawfully in the United States, and have not been dishonourably discharged or renounced US citizenship.
You also certify that you are buying for yourself and not on behalf of anyone who could not buy directly. Buying for a prohibited person is a straw purchase and is a federal crime.
The certification is a legal statement, not a checkbox to clear. Making it falsely is a federal offence, and doing so does not transfer liability to TAS. See section 10 of the Terms of Service for the full list.
3. State and local restrictions
Ammunition is lawful to buy and own nationwide, but states, counties and cities regulate it differently, and in a few places a parcel to a home address cannot be made lawful at all. Here is the short version, before the detail:
We do not ship ammunition to California, New York, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. Each of those requires the transfer to happen in person or through an in-state licensee, so no parcel we send can satisfy the rule. Accessories still ship to every one of them.
We ship ammunition to Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Connecticut only once something has been collected and checked. A card, a certificate or a verified age at the door, depending on the state. The order waits until that is done, and we email you for whatever is missing.
Hawaii, Alaska and the US territories are a carrier limit, not a legal one. Ground hazardous-materials service does not reach them. Every other state receives ammunition normally, subject to the age rules in section 1 and the carrier rules in section 6.
We screen every order against your delivery ZIP at the address step, and we block with a plain-language reason rather than failing silently at dispatch. Restrictions on accessories are almost always narrower than on ammunition, so a blocked ammunition line does not necessarily block a whole order.
Where ammunition cannot be delivered
| State / Jurisdiction | What applies, and what it means for your order |
|---|---|
| California | California ammunition has to be handed over in person. California requires ammunition to be transferred face to face through a licensed California ammunition vendor, so there is no address in the state we can deliver to directly. Accessories, optics and range gear ship to California normally. Magazines are the exception: California caps them at 10 rounds, so a larger one cannot go there either. |
| New York | New York ammunition transfers have to happen in person. New York requires the transfer itself to take place in person, which a delivery cannot satisfy. Accessories, optics and range gear ship to New York normally. |
| District of Columbia | The District requires an in-person sale and a registration certificate. District law requires the sale to be made in person, requires the buyer to exhibit a valid firearm registration certificate, and requires the ammunition to be the same caliber or gauge as the firearm on that certificate. A licensed dealer is the only lawful route to a consumer. Accessories and range gear ship normally. |
| Massachusetts | We are not shipping ammunition to Massachusetts yet. Massachusetts law requires a licence to be presented in person before a mail, telephone or internet order is filled, and whether that reaches a seller outside the state is genuinely unresolved. We are holding until counsel answers it rather than guessing. Accessories and range gear ship normally. |
| Hawaii | We cannot get ammunition to Hawaii. Ammunition ships as ground hazardous-materials freight, and that service does not reach the islands. This is a carrier limit and not a Hawaii restriction: Hawaii has no ammunition permit and no dealer routing rule, and its permit to acquire and registration requirements are firearms rules that do not reach ammunition. Accessories, optics, storage and range gear ship to Hawaii normally. Hawaii would separately require a photo ID check and age 21 if a lane opened. |
| Alaska | We cannot get ammunition to Alaska. Ammunition ships as ground hazardous-materials freight, which does not serve Alaska addresses. This is a carrier limit and not an Alaska restriction: Alaska regulates neither the sale nor the shipment of ammunition, and its preemption statute expressly covers ammunition and reloading components. Accessories ship to Alaska normally. |
Massachusetts is the one entry on that list we would rather not be making. The statute plainly stops a Massachusetts licensee filling a remote order; whether it also binds a seller outside the state is an open question that we are not going to resolve by guessing in our own favour, and the carriers decline the route in any case. If counsel settles it, we will say so here.
Where something has to be collected before we ship
These states are servable, but a parcel cannot move until a document is on file or a check is arranged. Illinois and Rhode Island each make it a felony for the seller to get it wrong, which is why an order waits rather than ships hopefully.
| State / Jurisdiction | What applies, and what it means for your order |
|---|---|
| Colorado | Colorado deliveries need an ID check at the door. Colorado requires the person delivering ammunition to check government-issued photo identification and to take a written acknowledgment of receipt, and it requires us to tell the carrier the parcel contains ammunition. Both happen on our side. You need someone at the address with photo identification when it arrives. |
| Illinois | Illinois needs two documents, and the address has to match one. Illinois requires a valid FOID card or Concealed Carry Licence together with an Illinois driver's licence or State ID, and the ammunition may be shipped only to an address printed on one of those two documents. Send us both and we can ship to a matching address. |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island needs a state-issued card and age 21. Rhode Island requires the buyer to be 21 or older and to hold either a Rhode Island pistol and revolver safety certificate, the blue card, or a Rhode Island hunter education card. A hunter education card from another state does not qualify. |
| New Jersey | New Jersey handgun ammunition needs a card or permit. New Jersey requires a Firearms Purchaser Identification card or a handgun purchase permit for handgun ammunition, and sets 21 for it. Rifle, shotgun and rimfire ammunition ship without it. Hollow point ammunition is lawful to buy and keep at a New Jersey residence and we ship it. |
| Connecticut | Connecticut needs a permit, certificate or eligibility card. Connecticut requires an ammunition certificate, a pistol permit or an eligibility certificate before ammunition changes hands. Send us a copy of any one of them. |
Some cities and counties add rules of their own, evaluated at checkout alongside the state rule rather than instead of it. The full list of them, generated from the same rules and citing the ordinance behind each, is on the where we ship page.
States not listed on either table permit direct-to-consumer ammunition delivery to adults who meet the age minimums in section 1, subject to the carrier rules in section 6. Washington, Maryland, Delaware and Minnesota are all in that group and are served: they carry an age rule or a conduct standard, not a shipping prohibition. That is not a guarantee for your specific address, because city and county ordinances exist that no list is ever finished with: you remain responsible for knowing and obeying the law where you live and where the goods are delivered.
4. Magazine capacity limits
Several states cap the capacity of a detachable magazine. Where you are in one, capacity-restricted magazines are hidden from the catalog for your delivery ZIP, and standard-capacity magazines cannot be ordered to that address. Magazine limits do not restrict how much ammunition you may buy.
| Jurisdiction | Capacity limit |
|---|---|
| Buffalo, New York | 5 rounds, centerfire rifle |
| California | 10 rounds |
| Colorado | 15 rounds |
| Connecticut | 10 rounds |
| Delaware | 17 rounds |
| Hawaii | 10 rounds |
| Illinois | 10 rounds |
| Maryland | 10 rounds |
| Massachusetts | 10 rounds |
| New Jersey | 10 rounds |
| New York | 10 rounds |
| Rhode Island | 10 rounds |
| Sunnyvale, California | 10 rounds |
| the District of Columbia | 10 rounds |
| Vermont | 10 rounds |
| Washington | 10 rounds |
5. Lead and California Prop 65
Most ammunition contains lead in the projectile core, the primer compound, or both. Firing it, handling it, and cleaning up afterwards can expose you to lead.
Practical guidance that applies wherever you live: shoot lead ammunition outdoors or on a range with proper ventilation, do not eat, drink or smoke while shooting or reloading, wash your hands and face with cold water and soap afterwards, and keep range clothing separate from the rest of the wash. Some indoor ranges require lead-free primers or frangible projectiles. Check before you go.
6. Carrier and hazmat rules
Ammunition ships as ORM-D / Limited Quantity, UN0012 and UN0014, Cartridges, Small Arms. These are hazardous-materials rules and neither TAS nor the customer can waive them:
- Ground service only. No air, no expedited, no overnight, at any price.
- No USPS. Live ammunition is non-mailable matter, which also rules out APO, FPO and DPO addresses.
- No PO boxes and no freight forwarders.
- Marked and labelled packaging packed to the carrier’s hazmat specification, which can mean a large order arrives as several parcels from the same warehouse.
- Adult signature on delivery (see section 7).
The full picture, including cutoffs, transit expectations and what happens to a damaged parcel, is in the Shipping Policy.
7. ID and signature at delivery
Every ammunition shipment requires an adult signature. Someone 21 or older must be present with valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID showing their date of birth. Acceptable ID includes a state driver’s licence or ID card, a US passport or passport card, or a military ID.
The carrier will not leave ammunition unattended (not at the door, not with a neighbour, not in a locker) and will not accept a signature waiver from you regardless of what your carrier account settings say. If nobody can be present, use the carrier’s hold-at-location service once you have the tracking number, or ship to a work address.
Where your state requires a permit, FOID, FID or eligibility certificate, we verify it before dispatch rather than at the door, and we email you if we need a copy.
8. If your order is blocked
If we determine we cannot lawfully ship something to you, the affected lines are cancelled and refunded in full to the original payment method, with no restocking fee and no shipping charge for goods that never shipped. You are never charged for our inability to deliver.
What happens, in order:
- At the address step: restricted items are flagged before you pay, with the reason stated. Most blocks happen here and cost you nothing but a minute.
- Before dispatch: if a block is identified after checkout, we email you within one business day, cancel the affected lines and refund them. The rest of the order ships as normal, and if removing the blocked lines drops you below the free-shipping threshold we honour the original shipping quote anyway.
- After dispatch: if goods reach you that you cannot lawfully possess, do not open, use or forward them, and do not try to return them yourself. Contact us and we arrange a compliant collection at our cost and refund you in full.
A blocked order is not a mark against your account. Where a permit or licence would unlock it, we say so in the email so you can send the documentation and re-order.
9. Report an error
If we have a restriction wrong, we want to hear about it, and we would rather hear it from you than find it in an audit. That includes blocking a delivery that is lawful, allowing one that is not, citing a repealed or superseded rule, or getting a local ordinance wrong.
Email compliance@topammosupply.com with:
- The jurisdiction: state, county or city, and the ZIP code.
- What we currently show, and what you believe is correct.
- A citation if you have one: statute, ordinance, or the state agency page that governs it.
- Your order number, if this affected an order.
We acknowledge within one business day and confirm what we changed. If a correction unblocks an order you already placed, we will tell you and reinstate the original pricing.
10. How to contact us
- Compliance and restriction data: compliance@topammosupply.com
- Order support: support@topammosupply.com
- Support hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Eastern.
- Related reading: Terms of Service, Shipping Policy, and the Help & Support page.