Legal Issues in Airsoft

Legal Locations For Airsoft

Countries where Airsoft is legal:

Austria
Belgium
Canada (under special circumstances, please learn more before buying)
Croatia
Czech Republic
Finland
France (2 J maximum.)
Germany (under special circumstances, J limit, Semi-auto only)
Hong Kong
Italy
Japan (No legal limit on pellet velocity. Generally 100 m/s (330 ft/s) is used.)
Korea
New Zealand (Any form of automatic weapon is banned.)
Norway
Poland
Russia
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
UK (All airsoft full auto weapons maximum legal limit of 1 J, semi and bolt action exempt)
USA

Where you can find important information about legal issues in airsoft

Wikipedia:
Legal issues in airsoft

Australia:
Australia Airsoft

United Kindon
Practical Airsoft - UK Laws, regulations and common sense

Wolf Armouries Airsoft UK

Terms and Conditions of use:

it’s the responsibility of the purchaser to obey all applicable local, state, federal and international laws in regard to the possession, and use of any item purchased from this store. By placing an order on this site you certify that you are 18 years or older and authorized to make and/or accept said order and that you have checked the laws in your area pertaining to the products you are purchasing and that such order is legal. Consult your local, state, federal and international laws before ordering if you have any doubts.

You agree to abide by the terms and policies of BB Airsoft Gun. By continuing on this site or by making any purchase with BB Airsoft Gun, you agree to release BB Airsoft Gun and its personnel from any and all liability both personal and legally from any actions, criminal or civil, which may arise from the use, possession, misuse, purchase, or failure to operate of any products sold herein. By placing an order, the buyer explicitly represents that the products ordered will be used in only a lawful manner and that he/she is of legal age. BB Airsoft Gun or any of our distributors, dealers, agents or assigns will not be held liable for the misuse of any product purchased from us.

You agree to hold BB Airsoft Gun and its personnel harmless for any damage, loss, injury, or any other mishap that may occur due to the malfunction or defect of any product sold herein. The buyer is advised that airsoft products are not intended for use as personal safety devices. BB Airsoft Gun their distributors, dealers, agents or assigns will accept no responsibility if one of the products purchased from us is not effective in preventing bodily injury or death by attack.

Legal Issues in USA

No legal limit on pellet velocity. Generally limits vary from 350 to 400 ft/s (107 to 122 m/s) urban and from 450 to 500 ft/s (137 to 152 m/s) in woodland.
Not legal in New York City Metro (5 Boroughs), Michigan, San Francisco, and Washington DC. Must comply with two criteria: muzzle permanently colored in blaze orange and all non-licensed trademarks removed for copyright reasons on the airsoft guns.
others

Import restrictions
All airsoft guns ship to the USA must remove copyrighted words when they go through customs.

Barrel markings
Due to extreme similarity between these replicas and real firearms, combined with lobbying efforts from U.S. BB gun manufacturers, some U.S. states and local regulations may prohibit the ownership or use of Airsoft guns. Federal importation laws require all Airsoft gun barrels to be painted with a blaze orange stripe, as must all "toy guns". This measure is intended to avoid confusion with actual firearms.

Importation to USA
Many Asian manufacturers of airsoft guns disregard US and international trademark and intellectual property laws when creating their replicas. This is usually manifested as illegally-reproduced trademarks on guns and gun accessories. Some companies have worked hard to work out licensing deals with Western gun makers, but it does not seem to be a high priority, especially in the reclusive Japanese market. Notable instances to this include Japanese manufacturer Western Arms' licensing deal with the Beretta company of Italy and Hong Kong company Classic Army's deal with Armalite to use their trademarks on CA AEGs.

US customs routinely checks for illegal trademarks and even certain patented features, so many airsoft guns imported into the states have trademarks covered by plastic putty or destroyed outright by vulcanization in addition to the application of the blaze orange marking. Many distributors have begun to specifically market "clean" airsoft guns in the US, completely without troublesome trademarks or certain features which have caused legal controversy, such as the "safe action" trigger design employed by Glock in their line of pistols and copied on many gas gun models.

Local ordinances
Recently, (as of Fall/Winter 2003) the State of California has declared that the Airsoft replica is not legally a toy, but is classed similarly to an Air or BB gun, and subject to the same restrictions. Guns bought within the period between then and September 2004 should fall under this rule system, regardless of any changes; however, guns purchased after the passing of SB 1858 are once again classified as toys, and are subject to different requirements than BB or pellet guns. For details, look up bill SB 1858. Blaze Orange paint is mandated by federal law (Dept. of Commerce, 1986, 15 USC Sec. 5001), and Airsoft replicas may neither be used by nor sold to minors. Airsoft replica use is currently banned in the Municipality of New York City, and portions of the State of Michigan. As Airsoft becomes more popular, many reported incidents have occurred where generally younger players have come into contact in public areas with local law enforcement unsure of the nature of the airsoft weapons involved. In the future, these incidents will certainly increase, perhaps with problematic consequences, as airsoft rapidly proliferates in the United States.

USA Federal regulation:
All airsoft guns are shipped with required blaze orange barrel markings.

Important:
In order to purchase an Airsoft Gun from, you must be at least 18 years.