Alabama’s permitless carry law took effect on January 1, 2023, and it means any Alabama resident who is legally allowed to possess a firearm can carry a handgun openly or concealed without first getting a permit from the sheriff. Act 2022-133 removed the permit requirement, not the rules about who can carry or where. And it left one federal problem in place that catches many gun owners by surprise.
What Act 2022-133 Actually Changed
Before the law took effect, carrying a loaded handgun in a vehicle or concealed on your person in Alabama required an Alabama Pistol Permit from your county sheriff. Carrying without that permit was a criminal offense. Act 2022-133 struck that requirement out of the state code.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-73 – Permit to Carry Pistol in Vehicle or Concealed on Person
What matters now is whether you are legally eligible to possess a firearm. If state and federal law allow you to have a gun, you can carry it loaded in your vehicle or concealed on your body without a permit. The change covers handguns and applies to both open and concealed carry.
Who Still Cannot Carry
Permitless carry does not override the federal categories of people prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), you cannot legally have a gun in Alabama or anywhere else if you:2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Have a felony conviction, meaning any crime punishable by more than one year in prison, in state or federal court
- Are a fugitive from justice
- Use controlled substances with sufficient regularity and recency to show an ongoing pattern (including marijuana, even where legalized at the state level)3Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
- Have been committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally defective
- Are subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order issued after a hearing, containing a finding of credible threat, and restraining you from threatening an intimate partner or child
- Have a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction
- Were dishonorably discharged from the military
- Have renounced U.S. citizenship
- Are in the country unlawfully or on a nonimmigrant visa, with limited exceptions
Carrying under Alabama’s permitless framework is still a federal crime if any of these categories applies to you.
Federal law also prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing a handgun, with narrow exceptions for farming, ranching, and target practice. Licensed dealers cannot sell a handgun to anyone under 21, though private sales to people 18 and older are permitted under federal law. Alabama’s permitless carry rules do not change these age floors.
Where You Still Cannot Carry
Even if you are eligible to carry, Alabama law keeps firearms off-limits at specific locations. These restrictions survived Act 2022-133.
Firearms are prohibited on the property of any public or private K-12 school, college, or university, including their parking lots, grounds, and athletic events unrelated to firearms.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-1-24.3 – Local Boards of Education to Implement Policies Requiring Expulsion of Students Who Possess Firearms in School Areas State law also bars firearms from:
- Courthouses and courthouse annexes
- Police stations, sheriff’s offices, jails, prisons, and other detention facilities
- Inpatient psychiatric or mental health treatment facilities
- Buildings where a county commission or city council is holding a meeting
- Public demonstrations
Private property owners and employers can also ban firearms on their premises. If you are asked to leave because you are armed and refuse, you can be charged with trespassing.
Federal Buildings
State law has no authority over federal property. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, possessing a firearm in any building owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees regularly work is a separate federal offense punishable by up to one year in prison. Bringing a firearm into a federal building intending to use it during a crime raises the maximum to five years.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities Post offices, federal courthouses, Social Security offices, and VA hospitals all fall inside this rule.
The 1,000-Foot School Zone Problem
The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of any public or private school. That radius covers many residential neighborhoods, shopping centers, and public roads. The penalty is up to five years in federal prison.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
Federal law includes an exception for individuals who hold a state-issued carry license, but only if the state required law enforcement to verify the person’s eligibility before issuing it. Permitless carry, by its nature, involves no license and no prior verification. A 2025 federal court decision in Montana found that a state’s permitless carry framework does not satisfy this federal exception, and the court’s reasoning suggests the same analysis would apply to any of the roughly 29 states with permitless carry laws, including Alabama.
The practical consequence is that someone carrying without a permit in Alabama could technically be violating federal law every time they pass within 1,000 feet of a school. Getting an Alabama Pistol Permit, which requires a background check, is the cleanest way to fit inside the federal licensing exception.
If an Officer Asks Whether You Are Armed
Act 2022-133 added a new obligation when it removed the permit requirement. Under Section 13A-11-95 of the Alabama Code, if you are carrying a concealed handgun on your person or in a vehicle and a law enforcement officer directly asks whether you are armed, you must answer truthfully and immediately.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-11-95
The duty is triggered only when an officer specifically asks about a concealed firearm. You are not required to volunteer the information at the start of a traffic stop. Once the question is asked, failing to disclose is a violation of state law. Officers who reasonably believe you are armed may also temporarily secure your firearm during a stop for their safety, and it should be returned at the end of the encounter if you are not under arrest and are legally allowed to possess it.
Why Many Alabamians Still Get a Pistol Permit
Sheriffs’ offices still issue the Alabama Pistol Permit, and there are several reasons to hold one even when the state does not require it.
Faster Firearm Purchases
When you buy from a licensed dealer, federal law requires a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). A valid state carry permit can substitute for that check if the permit was issued within the last five years and the state required a background check before issuing it.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Brady Permit Chart Alabama’s permit qualifies because the sheriff verifies eligibility. Presenting the permit at a gun store lets you skip the NICS wait, which matters during high-demand periods when the system runs slow.
Reciprocity With Other States
Permitless carry only applies inside Alabama. Once you cross a state line, that state’s rules govern. Many states recognize the Alabama Pistol Permit through reciprocity agreements, letting permit holders carry concealed when traveling. Without the permit, some states will not let you legally carry at all.
Federal School Zone Coverage
Holding the Alabama Pistol Permit is the most direct way to stay inside the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act licensing exception while going about a normal daily routine.
Traveling Out of State With a Firearm
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 926A gives limited safe harbor for transporting a firearm through states where you might not otherwise be allowed to carry. To qualify, you must be traveling from a place where you can legally possess the firearm to another place where you can legally possess it, and during the trip the firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not 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 center console.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
This federal protection covers transporting, not carrying. It will not help you carry a loaded, accessible handgun through a state that does not recognize Alabama’s permit or have its own permitless carry law. Check the laws of every state on your route before you leave. New York, New Jersey, and Illinois have strict carry laws that will not recognize Alabama’s permitless status, and some have aggressively prosecuted travelers who relied on the federal transport safe harbor while making extended stops.