Concealed Carry by State 2026: Permitless, Permit and Reciprocity Hub

29 states: 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 and Wyoming. In these states anyone legally allowed to own a handgun may carry it concealed without a permit.

Any firearm or other deadly weapon carried hidden from ordinary sight. Florida’s law, for example, lists dirks, metallic knuckles, billies and chemical sprays as concealed weapons when carried out of view.

It is a state license to carry a concealed handgun in public. In the 21 states and D.C. that still require one, you must have it to carry concealed. In permitless states it is optional but still useful, because other states may honor it when you travel. Virginia’s, for example, is a five-year permit.

Apply where your state directs (sheriff, court clerk or state agency), finish the required training, submit fingerprints and pay the fee. Each state’s page here lists its issuing office.

You can usually start online, but not finish there. Florida takes applications online, in person or by mail, and at an in-person appointment staff take your photo and fingerprints. Texas takes License to Carry applications online, then sends you to be fingerprinted. Wake County, North Carolina, takes the application and fee online but fingerprints by appointment.

The other 21 states and Washington, D.C. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin all require a permit, with California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and D.C. imposing the heaviest requirements.

Reciprocity is when one state recognizes a concealed-carry permit issued by another state, so you can legally carry there. It is a state-by-state patchwork that changes frequently, and permitless states generally let you carry regardless. Always check the destination state's current reciprocity before traveling.

No. Permits are honored only in states that have reciprocity with your issuing state, and even then you must follow the destination state's laws. Permitless-carry states let you carry without a recognized permit, but restrictive states may not honor any outside permit.

No. The 2022 NYSRPA v. Bruen decision ended “may-issue” discretion, so remaining permit states must issue to qualified applicants. But several — California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and D.C. — responded with extensive requirements and expanded “sensitive place” bans that still make carry difficult.

Today Virginia honors out-of-state permits through its reciprocity agreements. Starting July 1, 2027, the Attorney General will decide which states' permits Virginia honors, based on whether their rules are substantially similar to Virginia's, and Virginia residents will no longer be able to carry in Virginia on another state's permit (active-duty service members and spouses excepted).

No court has said so. In 2026 the Eighth Circuit held that honoring another state's permit is a courtesy between states, not a Second Amendment right, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal (Johnson v. Jacobson) on October 5, 2026.

Not yet. North Carolina's permitless-carry bill (SB 50) passed the Senate over the governor's veto in July 2025, but the House has not voted on the override, so a permit is still required to carry concealed.