Twenty-nine states let an eligible adult carry a handgun in public without a government-issued permit, a policy usually called constitutional carry or permitless carry. Removing the permit does not remove the rules. You still have to be legally allowed to possess a firearm, you still cannot carry in certain places, and the moment you cross into a non-permitless state, your right to carry can disappear.
The 29 States That Allow Permitless Carry
Minimum ages vary. Most states set the floor at 21; roughly a dozen allow permitless carry at 18, and Missouri sits at 19.
- Alabama, age 21 (effective January 2023)
- Alaska, age 21 (permitless since 2003)
- Arizona, age 21 (since 2010)
- Arkansas, age 18
- Florida, age 21 (effective July 2023; originally concealed only)
- Georgia, age 21 (effective April 2022)
- Idaho, age 18
- Indiana, age 18
- Iowa, age 21
- Kansas, age 21
- Kentucky, age 21
- Louisiana, age 18 (effective July 2024)
- Maine, age 21
- Mississippi, age 21
- Missouri, age 19 (18 for military)
- Montana, age 18
- Nebraska, age 21
- New Hampshire, age 18
- North Dakota, age 18
- Ohio, age 21
- Oklahoma, age 21 (18 for military)
- South Carolina, age 18 (effective March 2024)
- South Dakota, age 18
- Tennessee, age 18
- Texas, age 21 (effective September 2021)
- Utah, age 21
- Vermont, age 18 (permitless since statehood)
- West Virginia, age 21
- Wyoming, age 21
Constitutional carry generally covers handguns. Long guns often follow separate rules, and a few states limit permitless authority to concealed carry only. Florida’s 2023 law originally covered only concealed handguns, and a September 2025 court ruling then struck down the state’s longstanding open carry ban as unconstitutional.
One important variation: some permitless carry states extend the right to any legal U.S. resident, while others restrict it to their own residents. If you are not a resident of the state you’re visiting, confirm that its law covers you before carrying there.
You Still Have to Be Legally Eligible
Constitutional carry skips the paperwork, not the underlying qualifications. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits several categories of people from possessing any firearm: anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, fugitives, people addicted to or unlawfully using controlled substances, anyone involuntarily committed to a mental institution, people under certain domestic violence restraining orders, and those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons The maximum federal sentence for violating this prohibition is 15 years in prison after the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act raised the penalty in 2022.2United States Congress. Text – 117th Congress (2021-2022) – Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
State law adds its own disqualifiers. Being under the influence of alcohol while carrying is treated as a separate offense in every permitless carry state. Many states also disqualify people under active protective orders or with certain violent misdemeanor convictions that might not trigger the federal prohibition.
The marijuana trap catches people who assume state legalization changes their federal status. It does not. Under federal law, an unlawful user of a controlled substance is a prohibited person, and marijuana remains a controlled substance federally even in states that have legalized it recreationally. Carrying a handgun while using marijuana can carry up to 15 years in federal prison.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
Duty to Inform Officers
Several permitless carry states require you to tell a police officer that you’re armed during official contact. Alaska treats failure to immediately inform as a misdemeanor. Maine requires disclosure at the outset of any arrest, detention, or traffic stop. North Dakota requires you to inform an officer who asks about firearms. Texas requires anyone with a license to carry to present it when asked for identification, though the obligation for permitless carriers is less clearly defined. Ohio removed its proactive duty in 2022 and now requires disclosure only if an officer asks; South Carolina eliminated the duty in its 2024 law.
Regardless of what the statute requires, calmly telling an officer early in any interaction is the safer practice. Surprising an officer with a concealed weapon during a pat-down creates risks no law will protect you from.
Where You Still Cannot Carry
Constitutional carry does not open every door. Federal law creates hard boundaries no state law can override, and states layer additional restricted locations on top.
Federal Buildings
Possessing a firearm in a federal building is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 930. This covers courthouses, post offices, Social Security offices, and VA facilities. The penalty is up to one year in prison for a general federal facility and up to two years for a federal court facility.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities Signs are often small. A trip to mail a package or visit a VA clinic requires leaving the firearm secured elsewhere.
School Zones
The Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. One of the main exceptions applies to someone “licensed to do so by the State” where the school zone is located.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts If you’re carrying without a permit, you do not have a state-issued license, and you may not qualify for that exception.
A 1,000-foot radius covers a lot of ground in most towns and cities. Other exceptions apply if the firearm is unloaded and locked in a container, or if you’re on private property that isn’t part of the school grounds. Federal prosecution of otherwise law-abiding carriers under this section is not common, but the statute is on the books. Getting a state carry permit is the simplest way to eliminate the exposure.
National Parks
Firearms are allowed on National Park Service land as long as you comply with the laws of the state the park sits in and you’re not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. Federal buildings inside those parks, including visitor centers, ranger stations, and fee collection buildings, remain off-limits under 18 U.S.C. § 930.5National Park Service. Firearms in National Parks Secure the firearm in your vehicle before walking into a visitor center.
Bars and Alcohol Establishments
Many permitless carry states prohibit firearms in bars or in venues that derive most of their revenue from alcohol sales. Thresholds and penalties vary by state. Some states distinguish between a restaurant that happens to serve drinks and a venue whose primary business is alcohol, often using a revenue percentage test. When in doubt, leave the firearm secured in your vehicle.
Posted Private Property
Private property owners in every state can prohibit firearms on their premises. What changes across states is the legal weight of a posted “no weapons” sign. In roughly 19 states, the sign itself carries force of law, and entering while armed is a standalone criminal offense, usually a misdemeanor. In the other states, the sign functions as a request, and no crime occurs unless you refuse to leave when asked, at which point you’re trespassing. In a force-of-law state, an officer can charge you the moment they discover you’re armed inside a posted building, even if no one asked you to leave.
Crossing State Lines
Your right to carry without a permit ends at the state line. What’s legal on one side can be a felony on the other. States including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California, and Maryland have strict permitting requirements and aggressive enforcement against unlicensed carriers. A wrong turn can produce felony charges.
Reciprocity is not automatic. A permit issued in one state may be honored in 30 others or in only a handful. Without a permit, you’re relying entirely on the destination state’s willingness to allow non-residents to carry without one, and only the 29 permitless carry states offer that option. Check the specific laws of every state on your route before traveling armed.
Federal Safe Passage for Travelers
The Firearm Owners Protection Act provides a narrow safe harbor under 18 U.S.C. § 926A. If you’re traveling from a place where you can legally possess a firearm to another place where it’s also legal, you may transport the firearm through restrictive states in between. The firearm must be unloaded, and neither the gun nor the ammunition may be 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.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
This protection covers transporting through a state, not stopping for an extended stay. Checking into a hotel overnight with a handgun accessible in your bag likely puts you outside the safe passage protection. New York in particular has a history of arresting travelers despite the federal law, forcing them to raise it as a defense in court rather than avoiding arrest.
Why a Permit Still Makes Sense
Every permitless carry state still issues a voluntary carry permit, and getting one solves problems the permit-free option creates.
A state-issued permit brings you within the Gun-Free School Zones Act exception in the state that issued it, which closes off the federal school zone exposure that hangs over unlicensed carriers. It also opens up reciprocity: a permit from your home state may be recognized in dozens of others, letting you carry legally across state lines instead of being confined to the 29 permitless states.
A valid state carry permit can also substitute for the federal NICS background check when buying a firearm from a licensed dealer, if the permit was issued within the past five years and required a background check at issuance. Not every state’s permit qualifies, and dealers are not required to accept the exemption, but where it works it can skip delays during NICS backlogs.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart
Permit fees range from around $40 in some states to several hundred in others, and permits typically last two to seven years before renewal. Training, where required, usually takes a single day. The pattern across every issue above is the same: permitless carry removed one requirement, and left every other firearm regulation fully in force. Treating the absence of a permit as a blank check is the fastest way to lose your gun rights.