Can a Private Citizen Own One? The Law, and the Lawful Lookalikes

Why no M9 can be owned in the United States, why none has ever been offered, and what a private buyer can have instead: semi-automatic Uzi-pattern pistols from IWI's own catalogue, licensed Uzi airsoft and the Japanese custom replicas, with dated prices from the sellers' pages

5.1 The short answer

No private citizen in the United States can own an M9. It is a machine gun, it was first made in the late 1990s, and the register of machine guns that private citizens may own closed in 1986. No M9 is known ever to have left Japan, so the question of a dealer sample or a museum piece does not arise either. The closest lawful things are a semi-automatic Uzi-pattern pistol, which shares the M9’s general layout but not its foregrip, and an airsoft replica.

Figure 1 — Airsoft replicas of the M9 and the 9 mm pistol on a camouflage cloth. The M9 replica is a custom conversion of a KSC M11A1 gas gun; the pistol is Tanaka Works' replica of the Self-Defense Forces' 9… — Figure 1 — Airsoft replicas of the M9 and the 9 mm pistol on a camouflage cloth. The M9 replica is a custom conversion of a KSC M11A1 gas gun; the pistol is Tanaka Works' replica of the Self-Defense Forces' 9 mm pistol. Photograph by Crescent moon, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

5.2 The arithmetic

The federal law is set out in full in the hub’s MP 40 dive, Volume 6, and applied to another post-1986 weapon in the MP7 dive, Volume 8. It is not restated here, because the argument for the M9 takes three lines.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), since 19 May 1986 it has been unlawful for a private person to transfer or possess a machine gun that was not lawfully possessed before that date.¹
The M9 is a machine gun under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b). Its specification requires a 連発射撃機能, “a function that fires automatically and continuously while the trigger is held” (Volume 4).²
The first M9s were bought in fiscal 1999 (Volume 1). No M9 existed in 1986, so none was registered before the cut-off, so none is transferable.³

Figure 2 — Why no private American can own an M9, and what can be had instead. Own work, drawn for this dive; the federal law is the MP 40 dive's.

Public Law 119-21 of 4 July 2025 cut the federal tax on making and transferring short-barrelled rifles and suppressors to $0; it did not reach machine guns, whose $200 tax stands, and in any case it creates no transferable M9.¹

5.3 Has an M9 ever left Japan?

No record of one was found. The weapon has a single user, the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and a single maker holding the Japanese manufacturing permit for it (Volume 1). The ministry’s contract disclosures show it bought from MinebeaMitsumi and from no one else (Volume 2). Photographs of it outside Japan show Japanese troops carrying it on exercises, in the United States in 2014 and in Indonesia in 2024.⁴⁵

Post-1986 machine guns can be held in the United States by licensed dealers who pay the special occupational tax, as “post-86 dealer samples” for demonstration to government buyers. The MP 40 dive’s section on the four categories explains that such a weapon belongs to the business and never becomes available to a private citizen.¹ For the M9 the category is academic: no M9 dealer sample is known to exist, and this dive found no record of any import.

5.4 Michigan

Michigan’s machine-gun statute, MCL 750.224, prohibits possession of “a machine gun or firearm that shoots or is designed to shoot automatically more than 1 shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger”, with an exception framed around federal licensing. The MP 40 dive’s Michigan section quotes the statute and discusses the exception.¹ With no transferable M9 in existence, the question it leaves open does not arise for this weapon.

For the alternatives below, two Michigan points matter. A semi-automatic Uzi-pattern pistol is a pistol, and Michigan’s pistol rules apply to it (the MP 40 and SIG P320 dives cover them). If one is fitted with a stock and registered as a short-barrelled rifle, MCL 750.224b adds the state duties that the SIG P320 dive, Volume 5 and the MP 40 dive set out.⁶¹

5.5 No conversions

Converting any semi-automatic firearm to fire automatically makes a machine gun, which § 922(o) forbids a private citizen and which is a felony under Michigan law as well. This hub does not describe how to do it for any weapon, and nothing in this dive should be read as information towards it. The same applies to the M9’s own fire-control mechanism, which this dive describes only as far as the Ministry of Defense’s published specification does.

5.6 The alternatives

What a private buyer can have depends on which part of the M9 appeals: the layout and handling of a compact open-bolt-style 9 mm with the magazine in the grip, or the look of the Japanese weapon itself. The first is available as a real firearm in semi-automatic form; the second only as a replica.

5.7 Uzi-pattern semi-automatic pistols

The M9 belongs, in layout, to the Uzi family (Volume 3). The current semi-automatic member of that family sold in the United States is IWI’s UZI PRO pistol. IWI US describes it as “a modernized Micro UZI semi-auto pistol based on the world famous UZI sub-machinegun”, blowback operated, with a polymer lower receiver, the magazine release moved to “a more practical and familiar pistol based location”, and the charging handle moved from the top of the receiver to the left side to make room for a full-length rail. It keeps the Uzi’s grip safety.⁷

IWI’s published specifications for the current model, read on 18 October 2026:⁷

Table 1 — Uzi-pattern semi-automatic pistols

Item	IWI US figure
Model	UZI PRO Pistol with Threaded Barrel, UPP9S-T
Calibre	9 mm Parabellum
Action	Semi-auto, blowback
Magazines	IWI steel, 20 and 25 rounds
Barrel	4.5 in, threaded; cold hammer-forged CrMoV; 1 in 10 in twist, right-hand
Overall length	9.5 in
Weight	3.66 lb
Sights	adjustable
MSRP	$1,109 (IWI US, read 18 October 2026)

The same page lists a model with a stabilising brace and threaded barrel, and a discontinued earlier pistol; IWI’s text also mentions that the pistol is “potentially SBR”, that is, can be registered and fitted with a stock as a short-barrelled rifle.⁷ Retail prices vary; the MSRP is the maker’s figure.

Figure 3 — Two UZI PRO weapons at the IDEX defence exhibition, 2023: the current form of the Uzi family, with top rails, side charging handles and optics. Photograph by Mztourist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia … — Figure 3 — Two UZI PRO weapons at the IDEX defence exhibition, 2023: the current form of the Uzi family, with top rails, side charging handles and optics. Photograph by Mztourist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How close is it? The UZI PRO pistol shares the M9’s 9×19 cartridge, its magazine-in-grip layout and its 25-round capacity (in IWI’s longer magazine). It is far shorter, 241 mm against the M9’s 399 mm (Volume 3), because it has no muzzle device. It is semi-automatic only. And it has no foregrip, which is the M9’s most distinctive feature; the next section explains why that cannot simply be added.

Older semi-automatic Uzis exist on the used market. One is pictured here: a pistol marked UZI PISTOL 9mm PARA, with a two-position F and S selector, photographed by Rama and described by him as a “micro uzi”. No maker’s catalogue page for it was read, and no price is given.

Figure 4 — A semi-automatic UZI PISTOL, left side, its receiver marked UZI PISTOL 9mm PARA and its selector marked only F and S. The photographer described it as a micro uzi; the markings identify the semi-au… — Figure 4 — A semi-automatic UZI PISTOL, left side, its receiver marked UZI PISTOL 9mm PARA and its selector marked only F and S. The photographer described it as a micro uzi; the markings identify the semi-automatic pistol. Photograph by Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 FR, via Wikimedia Commons.

5.8 The foregrip problem

The M9’s two-grip silhouette cannot lawfully be copied on a pistol without registration. ATF’s open letter of April 2006, quoted in the hub’s SIG P320 dive, states that “by installing a vertical fore grip on a handgun, the handgun is no longer designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand”, that a person who does so is “‘making’ a firearm requiring registration with ATF’s NFA Branch”, and that “making an unregistered ‘AOW’ is punishable by a fine and 10 years’ imprisonment”.⁶

So a stockless Uzi-pattern pistol with a vertical foregrip, the configuration that would look most like an M9, is an NFA “any other weapon” in ATF’s stated view, and must be registered before it is made. Registered as a short-barrelled rifle with a stock, the same pistol may carry a foregrip, but it no longer looks like an M9, which has no stock at all. The SIG P320 dive discusses the letter’s scope and what it does not cover.⁶

5.9 Airsoft and BB replicas

Replicas of the M9 itself. The best-documented M9 replicas are Japanese custom builds. The photographs on Wikimedia Commons used in this dive show one: in its owner’s description, a KSC M11A1 gas gun, which is KSC’s replica of the Ingram M11, fitted with a conversion kit by Elfin Knights Project and built to order by the custom shop Stengun Kōshō.⁸ It reproduces the M9’s marking band, selector letters and foregrip. KSC lists the M11A1 series in its current catalogue, with no price on the page.⁹ No mass-produced M9 replica was found on any maker’s page, and none was found on sale in the United States. The Japanese Wikipedia article lists two garage-kit makers, but marks both entries as needing verification.¹⁰

Figure 5 — The same custom airsoft M9, right side, showing the receiver's ejection opening and the foregrip. Photograph by Crescent moon, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Licensed Uzi replicas. Umarex USA sells Uzi replicas under IWI’s name and trademark, and its own site lists two, read on 18 October 2026:¹¹¹²

Table 2 — Airsoft and BB replicas

Product (Umarex USA)	Power	Magazine	Velocity (maker)	Price (maker)
IWI UZI Carbine CO2 Gen 2 Airsoft Rifle, SKU 2278418	CO2, full blowback	36 BBs plus one 12 g CO2	420 fps with 0.20 g BB	$269.95
UZI CARBINE AEG, black	7.2 V battery, semi and full auto	250 rounds	180 fps	$59.99

The second is described on its page as “Licensed Trademark of IWI”. Its SKU field reads “dis”, which may mean the item is discontinued; the price is as listed on the date read.¹² A compact “Mini-Uzi” pattern, closer in size to the M9, has been sold under the Elite Force and Umarex names as a CO2 blowback airsoft gun (38 rounds, 390 to 400 fps) and as a .177 BB gun (28 rounds, about 390 fps); both were shown as out of stock, without a price, at the retailer Airsoft GI on 18 October 2026.¹³¹⁴ None of these has a foregrip.

The federal law on replica and imitation firearms, including the federal marking requirement for toy, look-alike and imitation guns, is covered in the hub’s MP7 light-gun dive, Volume 3; the Airsoft gas dive covers the propellants.

5.10 The options at a glance

Table 3 — The options at a glance

Route	What it gives	What it does not	Price, dated
A real M9	the weapon	not available: post-1986 machine gun, never exported	none
IWI UZI PRO pistol, UPP9S-T	9×19, magazine in the grip, Uzi family layout, 25-round magazine	no foregrip without NFA registration; closed bolt; much shorter	$1,109 MSRP (IWI US, 18 Oct 2026)
Custom airsoft M9 (Japan)	the look, the markings, the foregrip	not sold in the US; a custom build	not published
Umarex licensed Uzi airsoft	Uzi handling, CO2 or AEG	not the M9’s shape	$269.95 and $59.99 (Umarex USA, 18 Oct 2026)

5.11 What could not be verified

That no M9 has ever been exported, loaned or given abroad (no record found; absence not proved).
Any US import of an M9 as a dealer sample or museum piece.
A mass-produced M9 replica, or any M9 replica on sale in the United States.
The current status of Umarex’s Uzi AEG (its SKU reads “dis”).
Retail prices of the UZI PRO beyond IWI’s MSRP.

References

“MP 40”, Volume 6, sections on the arithmetic, the four categories, the transfer and tax, and Michigan, in this hub: /actual-firearms/rifles/mp-40/vol-6/ (statutes quoted there: 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), MCL 750.224 and 750.224b; Public Law 119-21). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Ministry of Defense, specification DSP Y 1001B, 9mm機関けん銃, appended Table 1, “selection of firing mode”: https://web.archive.org/web/20120420170752/http://www.mod.go.jp/j/procurement/chotatsu/nds/pdf/y/y1001.pdf (accessed 18 October 2026). ↩
Japan Defense Agency, budget overview, fiscal 2000, Ground Self-Defense Force front-line equipment table, via WARP: https://warp.ndl.go.jp/20200514/20200501195546/www.mod.go.jp/j/yosan/yosan_gaiyo/2000/y2000.pdf (accessed 18 October 2026). ↩
Sgt. Cody Quinn, U.S. Army, “Japan Defense Force general receives demonstration”, 5 September 2014, public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japan_Defense_Force_general_receives_demonstration_140905-A-BX700-605.jpg (accessed 18 October 2026). ↩
Cpl. Isaac Copeland, U.S. Army, “Super Garuda Shield 2024: Airborne Jump”, 29 August 2024, public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Super_Garuda_Shield_2024-_Airborne_Jump_(8619815).jpg (accessed 18 October 2026). ↩
“SIG Sauer P320 / M17”, Volume 5, sections “The Forward Accessory — What ATF Has Said About Fore Grips” and “Michigan”, in this hub: /actual-firearms/pistols/sig-p320-m17/vol-5/ (quoting ATF, “Adding a Vertical Fore Grip to a Handgun”, open letter, April 2006). ↩ ↩² ↩³
IWI US, “UZI PRO”, https://iwi.us/firearms/uzi-pro/ (read 18 October 2026). ↩ ↩² ↩³
Crescent moon, “9mmMP Airsoft Gun 20101202-01.jpeg”, “-02” and “9mmHandgun & 9mmMP (Airsoft Gun) 20110104.jpg”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, with the owner’s descriptions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:9mmMP_Airsoft_Gun_20101202-01.jpeg (accessed 18 October 2026). ↩
KSC, “M11A1 シリーズ”, https://www.ksc-guns.co.jp/gas/submachinegun/m11a1_series.html (accessed 18 October 2026). ↩
Wikipedia, “9mm機関けん銃” (Japanese), section 遊戯銃, accessed 18 October 2026. ↩
Umarex USA, “IWI UZI Carbine CO2 Gen 2 Airsoft Rifle”, https://www.umarexusa.com/iwi-uzi-carbine-co2-gen-2-airsoft-rifle-2278418 (read 18 October 2026). ↩
Umarex USA, “UZI CARBINE -AEG-BLACK”, https://www.umarexusa.com/uzi-carbine-aeg-black (read 18 October 2026). ↩ ↩²
Airsoft GI, “Elite Force UZI CO2 Blowback Airsoft SMG (Black)”, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-UZI-CO2-Blowback-SMG-Airsoft-Gun-Black-15079/ (read 18 October 2026; out of stock). ↩
Airsoft GI, “Umarex Mini Uzi .177/4.5mm CO2 Blowback Airgun (Black)”, https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Umarex-Mini-Uzi-177-4-5mm-CO2-Blowback-Airgun-Black-21672 (read 18 October 2026; out of stock). ↩