Constitutional Carry by state map including DC and Puerto Rico, November 2026 - Minuteman University.com

Constitutional Carry

Educational information, not legal advice. Gun laws change often and vary by state, county and city. Check current law where you are and talk to a firearms attorney before acting. Full disclaimer

Last reviewed November 1, 2026

Constitutional Carry: Where It Stands in 2026

Constitutional carry, also called permitless carry, is the principle that a law-abiding adult who may legally own a handgun may also carry it for self-defense without first asking the government for a permit. As of October 2026, 29 states have adopted it in some form, meaning a majority of states now treat the Second Amendment itself as the only “permit” a citizen needs. That is up from just one state (Vermont) for most of the twentieth century and only a handful of states as recently as 2014.

Folding these back up is not required. For more gun maps, see 2A Gun Law Maps

Constitutional Carry (29): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming

Permit Required (Shall Issue) (16): Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

Restrictive Permit Rules (7): California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York

How this map is researched, from statute to state note: How We Research.

The map shows where each state stands today, and the timeline at the bottom of this page lists all 29 states in order. Since 2022, Alabama’s law took effect January 1, 2023, followed by Florida and Nebraska in 2023 and Louisiana and South Carolina in 2024. Georgia’s SB 319 took effect immediately when signed on April 12, 2022. No new state was added in 2025 or, as of this update, in 2026.

North Carolina is the closest candidate to become the 30th state. The General Assembly passed SB 50 (“Freedom to Carry NC”) in 2025, Governor Josh Stein vetoed it, and the Senate voted to override. As of the most recent reports late October 2026, the House had not held the override vote, which requires a three-fifths majority. Even in constitutional carry states, permits remain available and valuable for reciprocity when traveling, for buying firearms without a separate background check in some states, and for carrying in places that permitless carriers may not go.

Key Facts

  • As of November 1, 2026: 29 states have permitless carry for eligible adults (counts include states with residency or concealed-only limits, such as North Dakota).
  • January 1, 2023: Alabama (HB 272) took effect.
  • July 1, 2023: Florida (HB 543, signed April 3, 2023) took effect for concealed carry; open carry followed after a September 2025 appellate ruling. See Open Carry.
  • September 2, 2023: Nebraska (LB 77) took effect, preempting local carry restrictions such as Omaha’s.
  • March 7, 2024: South Carolina (H. 3594) was signed and took effect immediately.
  • July 4, 2024: Louisiana (SB 1, signed March 5, 2024) took effect.
  • 2025: Iowa lowered its carry age to 18. 2026: West Virginia extended permitless carry to adults 18 to 20 (HB 4106, June 2026), and a June 2026 Florida appeals ruling (Eubanks v. State) struck the state’s age-21 carry limit.
  • 2025 to 2026: North Carolina’s SB 50 was vetoed; the Senate override passed, while the House override was still pending as of late October 2026.
  • According to the Crime Prevention Research Center’s 2025 report, total carry permits fell to 20.88 million from a 2022 peak of about 22 million, largely because residents in constitutional carry states no longer need a permit to carry.

What Gun Owners Should Know

  • Permitless carry applies only to people who are not prohibited from possessing firearms under state and federal law, and most states set a minimum age (often 21, sometimes 18 or 19).
  • Permitless carry is valid only in your own state. Traveling requires a permit honored by the destination state; see Concealed Carry Reciprocity.
  • The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exempts only people licensed by the state where the school is located, so a permit still matters near K-12 schools. See Gun Free Zones.
  • No permit does not mean no training. Find courses through After Action.net.
  • Track legislative dates and anniversaries at Gun Calendars.com.

Constitutional Carry Timeline

Every constitutional carry state, in the order permitless carry took effect. The Supreme Court’s rulings in D.C. v. Heller (2008), which confirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which struck down “proper cause” permit rules, frame the modern push for permitless carry.

  1. Vermont – has never required a permit to carry
  2. Alaska – September 9, 2003 (HB 102)
  3. Arizona – July 29, 2010 (SB 1108)
  4. Wyoming – July 1, 2011 for residents; extended to nonresidents July 1, 2021
  5. Kansas – July 1, 2015 (SB 45)
  6. Maine – October 15, 2015 (LD 652)
  7. Mississippi – July 1, 2016 (HB 786)
  8. West Virginia – May 24, 2016 (HB 4145); extended to adults 18 to 20 in June 2026 (HB 4106)
  9. Idaho – July 1, 2016 (SB 1389); later expanded to nonresidents and adults 18 and over
  10. Missouri – January 1, 2017 (SB 656)
  11. New Hampshire – February 22, 2017 (SB 12)
  12. North Dakota – August 1, 2017 (HB 1169), residents only at first
  13. Arkansas – Act 746 of 2013, confirmed as permitless carry by a 2018 appeals court ruling
  14. South Dakota – July 1, 2019 (SB 47)
  15. Kentucky – June 27, 2019 (SB 150)
  16. Oklahoma – November 1, 2019 (HB 2597)
  17. Montana – February 18, 2021 (HB 102)
  18. Utah – May 5, 2021 (HB 60)
  19. Iowa – July 1, 2021 (HF 756); carry age lowered to 18 in 2025
  20. Tennessee – July 1, 2021 (SB 765)
  21. Texas – September 1, 2021 (HB 1927)
  22. Georgia – April 12, 2022 (SB 319)
  23. Ohio – June 13, 2022 (SB 215)
  24. Indiana – July 1, 2022 (HB 1296)
  25. Alabama – January 1, 2023 (HB 272)
  26. Florida – July 1, 2023 (HB 543)
  27. Nebraska – September 2, 2023 (LB 77)
  28. South Carolina – March 7, 2024 (H. 3594)
  29. Louisiana – July 4, 2024 (SB 1)

Next up: North Carolina’s SB 50 passed the General Assembly in 2025 and the Senate overrode the governor’s veto, but the House has not held its override vote. Pennsylvania’s SB 357 cleared a Senate committee in May 2026.

The Original Map

State Gun Law Maps 2021 Constitutional CarryThe original 2021 map, drawn by hand when only 21 states had constitutional carry. Eight more states and one robot later, the live map took over.

Across the Gun Websites Network

Sources