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Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

CRIMINAL OFFENSES
(720 ILCS 5/) Criminal Code of 2012.

720 ILCS 5/24-5

    (720 ILCS 5/24-5) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-5)
    Sec. 24-5. Defacing identification marks of firearms.
    (a) Any person who shall knowingly or intentionally change, alter, remove or obliterate the name of the importer's or manufacturer's serial number of any firearm commits a Class 2 felony.
    (b) A person who possesses any firearm upon which any such importer's or manufacturer's serial number has been changed, altered, removed or obliterated commits a Class 3 felony.
    (c) Nothing in this Section shall prevent a person from making repairs, replacement of parts, or other changes to a firearm if those repairs, replacement of parts, or changes cause the removal of the name of the maker, model, or other marks of identification other than the serial number on the firearm's frame or receiver.
    (d) A prosecution for a violation of this Section may be commenced within 6 years after the commission of the offense.
(Source: P.A. 93-906, eff. 8-11-04.)

720 ILCS 5/24-5.1

    (720 ILCS 5/24-5.1)
    Sec. 24-5.1. Serialization of unfinished frames or receivers; prohibition on unserialized firearms; exceptions; penalties.
    (a) In this Section:
    "Bona fide supplier" means an established business entity engaged in the development and sale of firearms parts to one or more federal firearms manufacturers or federal firearms importers.
    "Federal firearms dealer" means a licensed manufacturer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(11).
    "Federal firearms importer" means a licensed importer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(9).
    "Federal firearms manufacturer" means a licensed manufacturer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(10).
    "Frame or receiver" means a part of a firearm that, when the complete weapon is assembled, is visible from the exterior and provides housing or a structure designed to hold or integrate one or more fire control components, even if pins or other attachments are required to connect those components to the housing or structure. For models of firearms in which multiple parts provide such housing or structure, the part or parts that the Director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has determined are a frame or receiver constitute the frame or receiver. For purposes of this definition, "fire control component" means a component necessary for the firearm to initiate, complete, or continue the firing sequence, including any of the following: hammer, bolt, bolt carrier, breechblock, cylinder, trigger mechanism, firing pin, striker, or slide rails.
    "Security exemplar" means an object to be fabricated at the direction of the United States Attorney General that is (1) constructed of 3.7 ounces of material type 17-4 PH stainless steel in a shape resembling a handgun and (2) suitable for testing and calibrating metal detectors.
    "Three-dimensional printer" means a computer or computer-drive machine capable of producing a three-dimensional object from a digital model.
    "Undetectable firearm" means (1) a firearm constructed entirely of non-metal substances; (2) a firearm that, after removal of all parts but the major components of the firearm, is not detectable by walk-through metal detectors calibrated and operated to detect the security exemplar; or (3) a firearm that includes a major component of a firearm, which, if subject to the types of detection devices commonly used at airports for security screening, would not generate an image that accurately depicts the shape of the component. "Undetectable firearm" does not include a firearm subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 922(p)(3) through (6).
    "Unfinished frame or receiver" means any forging, casting, printing, extrusion, machined body, or similar article that:
        (1) has reached a stage in manufacture where it may
    
readily be completed, assembled, or converted to be a functional firearm; or
        (2) is marketed or sold to the public to become or be
    
used as the frame or receiver of a functional firearm once completed, assembled, or converted.
    "Unserialized" means lacking a serial number imprinted by:
        (1) a federal firearms manufacturer, federal firearms
    
importer, federal firearms dealer, or other federal licensee authorized to provide marking services, pursuant to a requirement under federal law; or
        (2) a federal firearms dealer or other federal
    
licensee authorized to provide marking services pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section.
    (b) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, offer to sell, or transfer an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm, including those produced using a three-dimensional printer, unless the party purchasing or receiving the unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm is a federal firearms importer, federal firearms manufacturer, or federal firearms dealer.
    (c) Beginning 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, it is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess, transport, or receive an unfinished frame or receiver, unless:
        (1) the party possessing or receiving the unfinished
    
frame or receiver is a federal firearms importer or federal firearms manufacturer;
        (2) the unfinished frame or receiver is possessed or
    
transported by a person for transfer to a federal firearms importer or federal firearms manufacturer; or
        (3) the unfinished frame or receiver has been
    
imprinted with a serial number issued by a federal firearms importer or federal firearms manufacturer in compliance with subsection (f) of this Section.
    (d) Beginning 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, unless the party receiving the firearm is a federal firearms importer or federal firearms manufacturer, it is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess, purchase, transport, or receive a firearm that is not imprinted with a serial number by (1) a federal firearms importer or federal firearms manufacturer in compliance with all federal laws and regulations regulating the manufacture and import of firearms or (2) a federal firearms manufacturer, federal firearms dealer, or other federal licensee authorized to provide marking services in compliance with the unserialized firearm serialization process under subsection (f) of this Section.
    (e) Any firearm or unfinished frame or receiver manufactured using a three-dimensional printer must also be serialized in accordance with the requirements of subsection (f) within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, or prior to reaching a stage of manufacture where it may be readily completed, assembled, or converted to be a functional firearm.
    (f) Unserialized unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms serialized pursuant to this Section shall be serialized in compliance with all of the following:
        (1) An unserialized unfinished frame or receiver and
    
unserialized firearm shall be serialized by a federally licensed firearms dealer or other federal licensee authorized to provide marking services with the licensee's abbreviated federal firearms license number as a prefix (which is the first 3 and last 5 digits) followed by a hyphen, and then followed by a number as a suffix, such as 12345678-(number). The serial number or numbers must be placed in a manner that accords with the requirements under federal law for affixing serial numbers to firearms, including the requirements that the serial number or numbers be at the minimum size and depth, and not susceptible to being readily obliterated, altered, or removed, and the licensee must retain records that accord with the requirements under federal law in the case of the sale of a firearm. The imprinting of any serial number upon a undetectable firearm must be done on a steel plaque in compliance with 18 U.S.C. 922(p).
        (2) Every federally licensed firearms dealer or other
    
federal licensee that engraves, casts, stamps, or otherwise conspicuously and permanently places a unique serial number pursuant to this Section shall maintain a record of such indefinitely. Licensees subject to the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act shall make all records accessible for inspection upon the request of the Illinois State Police or a law enforcement agency in accordance with Section 5-35 of the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act.
        (3) Every federally licensed firearms dealer or other
    
federal licensee that engraves, casts, stamps, or otherwise conspicuously and permanently places a unique serial number pursuant to this Section shall record it at the time of every transaction involving the transfer of a firearm, rifle, shotgun, finished frame or receiver, or unfinished frame or receiver that has been so marked in compliance with the federal guidelines set forth in 27 CFR 478.124.
        (4) Every federally licensed firearms dealer or other
    
federal licensee that engraves, casts, stamps, or otherwise conspicuously and permanently places a unique serial number pursuant to this Section shall review and confirm the validity of the owner's Firearm Owner's Identification Card issued under the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act prior to returning the firearm to the owner.
    (g) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Director of the Illinois State Police shall issue a public notice regarding the provisions of this Section. The notice shall include posting on the Illinois State Police website and may include written notification or any other means of communication statewide to all Illinois-based federal firearms manufacturers, federal firearms dealers, or other federal licensees authorized to provide marking services in compliance with the serialization process in subsection (f) in order to educate the public.
    (h) Exceptions. This Section does not apply to an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver or an unserialized firearm that:
        (1) has been rendered permanently inoperable;
        (2) is an antique firearm, as defined in 18 U.S.C.
    
921(a)(16);
        (3) was manufactured prior to October 22, 1968;
        (4) is an unfinished frame or receiver and is
    
possessed by a bona fide supplier exclusively for transfer to a federal firearms manufacturer or federal firearms importer, or is possessed by a federal firearms manufacturer or federal firearms importer in compliance with all federal laws and regulations regulating the manufacture and import of firearms; except this exemption does not apply if an unfinished frame or receiver is possessed for transfer or is transferred to a person other than a federal firearms manufacturer or federal firearms importer; or
        (5) is possessed by a person who received the
    
unserialized unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm through inheritance, and is not otherwise prohibited from possessing the unserialized unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm, for a period not exceeding 30 days after inheriting the unserialized unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm.
    (i) Penalties.
        (1) A person who violates subsection (c) or (d) is
    
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first violation and is guilty of a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent violation.
        (2) A person who violates subsection (b) is guilty of
    
a Class 4 felony for a first violation and is guilty of a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent violation.
(Source: P.A. 102-889, eff. 5-18-22.)

720 ILCS 5/24-6

    (720 ILCS 5/24-6) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-6)
    Sec. 24-6. Confiscation and disposition of weapons.
    (a) Upon conviction of an offense in which a weapon was used or possessed by the offender, any weapon seized shall be confiscated by the trial court.
    (b) Any stolen weapon so confiscated, when no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, shall be returned to the person entitled to possession, if known. After the disposition of a criminal case or in any criminal case where a final judgment in the case was not entered due to the death of the defendant, and when a confiscated weapon is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, and when in due course no legitimate claim has been made for the weapon, the court may transfer the weapon to the sheriff of the county who may proceed to destroy it, or may in its discretion order the weapon preserved as property of the governmental body whose police agency seized the weapon, or may in its discretion order the weapon to be transferred to the Illinois State Police for use by the crime laboratory system, for training purposes, or for any other application as deemed appropriate by the Department. If, after the disposition of a criminal case, a need still exists for the use of the confiscated weapon for evidentiary purposes, the court may transfer the weapon to the custody of the State Department of Corrections for preservation. The court may not order the transfer of the weapon to any private individual or private organization other than to return a stolen weapon to its rightful owner.
    The provisions of this Section shall not apply to violations of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code or the Wildlife Code. Confiscation of weapons for Fish and Aquatic Life Code and Wildlife Code violations shall be only as provided in those Codes.
    (c) Any mental hospital that admits a person as an inpatient pursuant to any of the provisions of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code shall confiscate any firearms in the possession of that person at the time of admission, or at any time the firearms are discovered in the person's possession during the course of hospitalization. The hospital shall, as soon as possible following confiscation, transfer custody of the firearms to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The hospital shall give written notice to the person from whom the firearm was confiscated of the identity and address of the law enforcement agency to which it has given the firearm.
    The law enforcement agency shall maintain possession of any firearm it obtains pursuant to this subsection for a minimum of 90 days. Thereafter, the firearm may be disposed of pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

720 ILCS 5/24-7

    (720 ILCS 5/24-7)
    Sec. 24-7. Weapons offenses; community service. In addition to any other sentence that may be imposed, a court shall order any person convicted of a violation of this Article to perform community service for not less than 30 and not more than 120 hours, if community service is available in the jurisdiction and is funded and approved by the county board of the county where the offense was committed. In addition, whenever any person is placed on supervision for an alleged offense under this Article, the supervision shall be conditioned upon the performance of the community service.
    This Section does not apply when the court imposes a sentence of incarceration.
(Source: P.A. 88-558, eff. 1-1-95; 89-8, eff. 3-21-95.)