Twenty-nine states currently allow adults to carry a concealed handgun without a government-issued permit, an arrangement usually called constitutional carry or permitless carry. Vermont has never required a permit at all. The other 28 states passed laws removing their permit requirement, mostly in the past decade. Carrying without a permit still means carrying within federal law, state age rules, location bans, and — in many states — a duty to tell an officer you are armed.
The 29 Constitutional Carry States
Vermont has never required a concealed carry permit in its history. Every other state on this list affirmatively passed legislation to end its permit requirement. Alaska opened the modern movement in 2003; the pace accelerated after 2015 and peaked in 2021, when six states enacted permitless carry in a single legislative cycle.
- Never required a permit: Vermont
- 2003: Alaska
- 2010: Arizona
- 2011: Wyoming
- 2015: Kansas, Maine
- 2016: Idaho, Mississippi, West Virginia
- 2017: Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota
- 2019: Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Dakota
- 2021: Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Utah
- 2022: Georgia, Indiana, Ohio
- 2023: Alabama, Florida, Nebraska
- 2024: Louisiana, South Carolina
Most of these states now extend permitless carry to residents and visitors alike, so you generally do not need a permit from your home state to carry in another permitless carry state. A few passed their laws initially as residents-only. North Dakota, for example, first limited permitless carry to residents holding a North Dakota driver’s license or ID, and Wyoming started the same way. Rules can change year to year, so check the current statute for the specific state before you travel.
How Old You Have to Be
Age is the single most common reason a person who thinks they can carry actually cannot. The minimum is not uniform.
The 21-and-older states include Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. This matches the federal minimum age for buying a handgun from a licensed dealer.
The 18-and-older states include Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Vermont. An 18-year-old in these states can legally carry concealed even though federal law will not let that same person buy a handgun from a dealer until 21.
A few states sit in between. Missouri sets the floor at 19, dropping to 18 for active-duty military. Alabama also uses 19. Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee require 21 but let active-duty service members and honorably discharged veterans carry at 18, and several other 21-minimum states offer similar military exceptions. If you are between 18 and 20, confirm the specific rule for the state where you plan to carry.
Who Still Cannot Carry
Permitless carry laws sit on top of federal firearms law, not around it. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), it is a federal crime for certain categories of people to possess any firearm or ammunition, in any state, permit or no permit. That list includes anyone who:
- Has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, whether or not any time was actually served
- Is a fugitive from justice
- Uses or is addicted to a controlled substance
- Has been adjudicated mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
- Is in the United States unlawfully
- Received a dishonorable discharge from the military
- Has renounced U.S. citizenship
- Is subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders
- Has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
Violating this section is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison for repeat offenders under the Armed Career Criminal Act. State laws generally mirror this list and often add disqualifiers of their own, such as certain non-domestic misdemeanor assaults or DUIs.
Where You Still Cannot Carry
Constitutional carry addresses who can carry and how, not where. Location-based bans apply regardless of any permit or the lack of one.
Federal Buildings and Courthouses
Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, knowingly possessing a firearm in a federal facility is punishable by up to one year in prison, and up to two years in a federal courthouse. A federal facility is any building or portion of a building the federal government owns or leases where employees regularly work. Post offices, Social Security offices, VA buildings, and IRS offices all qualify. Exceptions cover law enforcement officers on duty and members of the Armed Forces authorized by law.
School Zones
The Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), makes it a federal crime to knowingly possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a public, parochial, or private K-12 school, with a penalty of up to five years in federal prison. There is an exemption for individuals licensed by the state where the school is located — but only if that licensing process required law enforcement to verify the applicant’s eligibility.
This is a real trap for permitless carriers. In United States v. Metcalf, a federal court held that living in a constitutional carry state does not satisfy the license exemption, because permitless carry involves no government verification. If you carry without a permit and pass within 1,000 feet of any school, you may be committing a federal felony even though your state law says you need no permit. This is, by itself, the strongest reason to consider a voluntary permit.
Posted Private Property
Property owners can prohibit firearms on their premises, and states differ on how much force a posted sign carries. In roughly half of the permitless carry states, including Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, a properly posted “no firearms” sign carries the force of law and ignoring it is a misdemeanor. In other states the sign itself is not a criminal statute, but refusing to leave after being asked can lead to trespassing charges.
Duty to Inform During a Traffic Stop
Several permitless carry states impose a duty to inform, meaning you must tell an officer you are armed, usually at the first moment of contact. States with some form of this requirement include Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine (when carrying without a permit), Nebraska, North Dakota (when carrying without a permit), and Texas. Not disclosing can bring fines or criminal charges even where the carry itself is legal.
In states with no duty to inform, you generally do not have to volunteer the information, but you must answer truthfully if asked. Lying about a firearm during a lawful stop is a separate criminal offense in most states. Keeping your hands visible, telling the officer calmly that you are armed, and following instructions is the approach least likely to escalate.
Reasons to Get a Permit Anyway
Every constitutional carry state still issues concealed carry permits. Fees generally run between $40 and $65, and most states require a basic training course. A few reasons the paperwork is often worth it:
- School zones. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exempts only holders of a state-issued permit backed by a background check. If your regular travel takes you within 1,000 feet of any school, a permit is the only reliable protection against a federal charge.
- Reciprocity in the other 21 states. Permitless carry stops at the state line. States that still require a permit only honor permits from states with which they have a reciprocity agreement. Without a permit, you cannot legally carry concealed in any of them.
- Faster firearm purchases. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), a qualifying state carry permit issued within the past five years can substitute for the NICS background check when buying from a licensed dealer, provided the permit involved a law enforcement background check.
- Proof during an encounter. A permit is quick, verifiable evidence that you have passed a background check and are authorized to carry, which can shorten a police interaction considerably when traveling.
Carrying Across State Lines
Constitutional carry protection ends at the border of the state that enacted it. Driving from a permitless carry state into a permit-required state means you need that state’s permit or a recognized reciprocal permit from your home state. Carrying without one is a criminal offense in the destination state.
Federal law provides a narrow travel protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you may transport a firearm from a state where you may legally possess it to another state where you may legally possess it, as long as the firearm is unloaded and neither the gun nor its ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. This covers transit only. It does not authorize you to carry on your person, take an extended stop, or stay overnight in a state where you have no legal authority to possess the gun.
The limits catch travelers off guard. New York and New Jersey have historically prosecuted travelers who deviated from a continuous route. If your trip runs through a restrictive state, keep the firearm locked and inaccessible, minimize stops, and stay on your travel route.