Alabama Concealed Carry Laws, Permits, and Prohibited Places

Alabama’s concealed carry laws let any adult 19 or older carry a concealed handgun without a permit, background check, or training course, provided that person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. The age drops to 18 for active-duty military, honorably discharged veterans, and law enforcement officers. This permitless framework took effect January 1, 2023, under Act 2022-133, but it didn’t erase the rules about where you can carry, who’s disqualified, or how to behave around police when you’re armed.¹

Open carry is legal too, so you aren’t required to keep the handgun hidden. The law covers handguns specifically, and there is no registration requirement.

Who Is Prohibited From Possessing a Firearm

Alabama’s disqualification rules are stricter than many people realize. Possessing a firearm while in a prohibited category is a Class C felony under Alabama Code 13A-11-72, punishable by one year and one day to 10 years in prison.²³

You cannot own or possess a firearm in Alabama if any of these apply to you:

Any felony conviction within the past five years, regardless of the type of felony or the state where you were convicted.
Three or more felony convictions at any point in your life, each arising from a separate charge. This prohibition is permanent.
A conviction for committing or attempting to commit any crime of violence as defined by state law. This is also permanent.
A misdemeanor involving the use or attempted use of physical force or a deadly weapon against a spouse, former spouse, parent, child, co-parent, or household member.
An active, valid protection order for domestic abuse.
A legal determination that you are of unsound mind.

If you have a single felony older than five years and nothing else on the list, Alabama no longer bars you from possession. The domestic violence prohibition also exists at the federal level, where a qualifying conviction carries up to 15 years in prison.²⁴ One important note: an expungement by itself does not restore firearm rights in Alabama.

Where You Cannot Carry Concealed

Permitless carry does not mean carry-everywhere. Alabama Code 13A-11-61.2 lists locations where firearms are forbidden even for permit holders unless the person in charge gives explicit permission:

Police stations, sheriff’s offices, and highway patrol stations. One narrow exception lets you keep a handgun locked in your vehicle while on the property of a sheriff’s office that issues concealed carry permits.
Prisons, jails, halfway houses, and community corrections facilities.
Any facility providing inpatient or custodial care for people with psychiatric, mental, or emotional disorders.
Courthouses, courthouse annexes, district attorney’s offices, primary offices of elected officials, and buildings where a county commission or city council is meeting.
Facilities hosting athletic events sponsored by a public or private K-12 school or postsecondary institution. A valid concealed carry permit plus the venue’s permission is the only way in.
Professional sporting events, under the same rule: permit plus venue permission.

Athletic events are one of the few places having a permit gives you a concrete legal advantage. Without a permit, you’re barred from those facilities regardless of whether the venue would otherwise let you in. Restricted locations are required to post notices at public entrances.⁵

Federal Property and Post Offices

Alabama’s permitless carry law has no effect on federal property. Under 18 U.S.C. 930, bringing a firearm into any federal building where federal employees regularly work is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison, five years if you intend to use it in a crime. Federal courthouses carry up to two years.⁶

Post offices are the trap people hit most often. Federal regulations prohibit anyone from carrying or storing firearms on Postal Service property, openly or concealed, except for official purposes. The parking lot counts, not just the building.⁷

Private Property Is a Separate Rule

This is the most commonly misunderstood piece of Alabama gun law. Under Alabama Code 13A-11-52, you cannot carry a pistol on private property that isn’t yours unless you either hold a valid concealed carry permit or have the owner’s consent.⁸

In practice: permitless carry covers you on public sidewalks and public roads. The moment you step onto someone else’s private property — a store, a restaurant, a friend’s home — you need either a permit or that owner’s permission. The absence of a posted “no weapons” sign doesn’t help you. The default rule already requires consent or a permit; a sign just makes the prohibition more visible.

This is the main reason many Alabamians still get a concealed carry permit even when one isn’t required for public carry. A permit lets you walk into any private business that hasn’t specifically posted against firearms without needing to ask each time.

Firearms in Workplace Parking Lots

Alabama Code 13A-11-90 protects employees who store firearms in their personal vehicles at work. Your employer cannot fire you or take other adverse action against you solely because you have a lawfully possessed handgun in your car, provided you follow the storage rules.⁹

If you’re sitting in the vehicle, the handgun must be kept out of ordinary view. If you leave the vehicle unattended, the handgun must be out of view and locked in a compartment, container, or the vehicle’s interior. Tucking it under a seat with the doors unlocked does not satisfy the statute.

What to Do When Stopped by Police

You are not required to volunteer that you’re armed. But if an officer asks whether you have a concealed firearm on your person or in the vehicle, you must answer immediately and truthfully. That duty applies to anyone carrying concealed, permit or no permit.¹⁰

Traffic stops have an extra rule people regularly get wrong. From the moment an officer begins approaching your vehicle until the contact ends, you may not touch a loaded handgun with your hands or fingers unless the officer specifically directs you to. Reaching for, adjusting, or securing the weapon on your own initiative in that window is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail.¹¹

An officer who reasonably suspects a firearm might be used for criminal conduct can take it into temporary custody during the stop. If the officer confirms you’re carrying lawfully, the firearm must be returned before the interaction ends.

Why Still Get a Permit

Alabama’s pistol permit is optional for carry within the state, but several practical reasons keep people applying:

You can carry on other people’s private property (as long as it isn’t posted) without getting individual consent from every business or host.
Only permit holders can carry at school or professional sporting events, and only with the venue’s permission.
Alabama’s permitless carry law ends at the state line. Many states honor Alabama permits through reciprocity, but none are obligated to recognize your right to carry without one. If you travel armed, a permit is the only way to maintain legal carry across those states.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency advises permit holders to independently verify whether their destination state honors the Alabama permit and to learn that state’s specific rules before traveling.¹²

How to Apply for a Pistol Permit

You apply at the sheriff’s office in your county of residence. Alabama offers one-year, five-year, and lifetime permits. Fees are set by local county law, but the state statute establishes default rates where no local law exists: $25 for one year, $125 for five years. Lifetime permits are $300, or $150 if you’re 60 or older when you apply. Active-duty military, honorably discharged veterans, and law enforcement officers pay no fee for any permit type.¹³

Some counties set fees lower than the default. Jefferson County, for example, charges $7.50 per year.¹⁴

Once you submit a completed application, the sheriff has 30 days to approve or deny it. The sheriff runs a background check and may weigh factors including prior mental health commitments, involuntary psychiatric treatment, findings of not guilty by reason of insanity, and incompetency proceedings.¹³

1
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Understanding the New Permit-less Carry Law
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-72 – Certain Persons Forbidden to Possess Firearm
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-6 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-61.2 – Possession of Firearms in Certain Places
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
7
United States Postal Service. Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-52 – Carrying Pistol on Private Property
9
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-90 – Restrictions on Firearms by Employers
10
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-95 – Duty to Inform Law Enforcement Officer Upon Request
11
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-96 – Driver or Occupant of Motor Vehicle Stopped for Law Enforcement Purpose
12
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Gun Laws
13
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-75 – Permit to Carry Pistol in Vehicle or Concealed on Person
14
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Pistol Permits