Guns are legal in New York, but the state puts more conditions on ownership and carry than almost anywhere else in the country. Handguns and semi-automatic rifles require a state-issued license before you can possess them, even at home. Standard bolt-action, pump-action, and lever-action long guns can be bought without a license in most of the state, though New York City requires a permit for those too. Assault weapons and magazines holding more than 10 rounds are banned outright. Concealed carry is possible with a license, but the list of places you cannot bring a firearm is long, and no out-of-state permit is recognized.
What You Can Own Without a License
Manually operated rifles and shotguns (bolt-action, pump-action, lever-action) do not require a license in most of New York.1NYC.gov. Gun Permit If you want a pump-action shotgun for home defense or a bolt-action hunting rifle and you live outside the five boroughs, you can buy one from a licensed dealer after passing the federal background check at the point of sale. No state permit needed.
Everything else needs a license. Any handgun (Glock, Sig Sauer, revolver, any pistol) requires one. So does any semi-automatic rifle, which was added to the licensing requirement by the Concealed Carry Improvement Act in 2022.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 400.00 – Licensing and Other Provisions Relating to Firearms There is no exception for keeping an unlicensed handgun at home.
New York City is its own universe. Inside the five boroughs, every firearm needs a permit, including the bolt-action and pump-action long guns that are license-free upstate.1NYC.gov. Gun Permit
Getting a Handgun License
Eligibility is set by Penal Law 400.00. You must be at least 21, with an exception for honorably discharged military veterans, who face no age restriction.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 400.00 – Licensing and Other Provisions Relating to Firearms You must show “good moral character,” which the statute defines as having the temperament and judgment to be trusted with a weapon without endangering yourself or others.
Felony convictions disqualify you automatically. So do certain serious misdemeanors, past involuntary mental health commitments, active protective orders, and being the subject of an extreme risk protection order. The licensing officer can also deny the application for other “good cause,” so a clean record alone does not guarantee approval.
For a concealed carry license, the vetting goes deeper. You must sit for an in-person interview with the licensing officer and provide at least four character references with contact information. You also have to disclose whether minors live in your home and identify every adult at your address.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 400.00 – Licensing and Other Provisions Relating to Firearms The statute originally required you to hand over three years of social media account names, but a court order has blocked enforcement of that provision.
Training
Before a concealed carry license will issue, you have to complete a state-approved firearms safety course: a minimum of 16 hours of in-person classroom instruction plus a separate two-hour live-fire range session.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 400.00 – Licensing and Other Provisions Relating to Firearms The classroom portion covers firearm safety, state and federal gun laws, conflict de-escalation, use of deadly force, suicide prevention, and the specific locations where carrying is prohibited.3Gun Safety in New York State. Frequently Asked Questions – New Concealed Carry Law
You must score at least 80 percent on a written exam at the end of the classroom portion, then demonstrate range proficiency at a level set by the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Superintendent of State Police. Instructors must be state-authorized. The certificate of completion goes into your application packet.
Fees and Timing
Fees vary sharply by county. Some upstate counties charge roughly $100 to $110 total, combining a processing fee and a fingerprint fee. In New York City, the handgun license application fee alone is $340, plus $88.25 for fingerprinting.4New York City Police Department. New Application Instructions
Expect to wait. The NYPD estimates about six months once all documents are received. Upstate counties range from four months to over a year depending on backlog. There is no statutory deadline the licensing officer must meet.
What Is Banned Outright
New York bans assault weapons. The definition in Penal Law 265.00(22) uses a one-feature test: if a semi-automatic rifle takes a detachable magazine and has even one prohibited characteristic, it is an assault weapon, and possessing it is a felony regardless of your licensing status.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.00 – Definitions
For semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines, the prohibited features include a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action, a thumbhole stock, a second handgrip for the non-trigger hand, a bayonet mount, a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accept one, and a grenade launcher. Semi-automatic pistols and semi-automatic shotguns have their own feature lists under the same statute. For shotguns, a detachable magazine alone is enough to qualify. Revolving-cylinder shotguns are banned categorically. Bolt-action, pump, and lever-action firearms are exempt from the assault weapon definition.
Because of these rules, manufacturers sell “New York compliant” versions of popular rifles with the prohibited features stripped out. Buying from a licensed New York dealer, you’ll get a compliant configuration. The risk is bringing in a firearm from out of state or inheriting one that fails the feature test.
Magazines Over 10 Rounds
Any ammunition feeding device that holds more than 10 rounds is illegal to possess. This is now criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree under Penal Law 265.02(8), a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.02 – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree There is no grandfather clause. Magazines made before the ban are still illegal to possess today.7New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Notice
Where You Can Carry With a License
A concealed carry license does not let you carry everywhere. The Concealed Carry Improvement Act created a long list of “sensitive locations” where firearms are flatly prohibited under Penal Law 265.01-e. Carrying into one is a Class E felony with up to four years in prison.8New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.01-e – Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Rifle or Shotgun in a Sensitive Location
The sensitive locations list covers:
- Government buildings and courts
- Healthcare facilities
- Places of worship
- Schools, colleges, and preschools
- Public parks, playgrounds, libraries, and zoos
- Public transit, including subways, buses, ferries, trains, and their stations
- Bars, restaurants serving alcohol, and cannabis lounges
- Entertainment venues, sporting events, and gaming facilities
- Polling places
- Homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters
- Times Square, specifically designated by name in the statute
Some provisions have been challenged in court. In late 2023, the Second Circuit upheld most of the sensitive locations list but issued narrow injunctions, including one affecting the places-of-worship provision as applied to specific plaintiffs.9Justia Law. Antonyuk v Chiumento, No. 22-2908 (2d Cir. 2023) Treat the full list as enforceable unless your attorney tells you otherwise.
Private Property Is Off-Limits by Default
New York flipped the usual rule for private property. Under Penal Law 265.01-d, you cannot carry a firearm onto any private property unless the owner has posted signage permitting it or given you express consent.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.01-d – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in a Restricted Location In most other states, a business has to post a “no guns” sign to prohibit carry. In New York, the absence of a “guns welcome” sign means no carry. This is also a Class E felony. The Second Circuit upheld this rule for truly private property but issued a narrow injunction for private property held open to the general public, so its enforceability in commercial settings is in flux.
Federal buildings, courthouses, and post offices are off-limits regardless of your state license. Postal Service property bans both carrying and storing firearms, including in the parking lot, with up to one year in prison for a violation (five years if the weapon was intended for use in a crime).11United States Postal Service. Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property
Safe Storage
Under Penal Law 265.45, if you share your home with anyone under 18, anyone subject to an extreme risk protection order, or anyone prohibited from possessing firearms due to a felony or serious offense conviction, every firearm must be kept locked in a safe storage container or rendered inoperable with a gun lock whenever it is not in your immediate possession or control.12New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.45 – Failure to Safely Store Rifles, Shotguns, and Firearms in the First Degree
The same statute covers firearms left in vehicles. The ammunition must be removed and the firearm locked in a container that is out of sight from outside the vehicle. A glove compartment does not qualify. A qualifying container must be fire-resistant, impact-resistant, tamper-resistant, and lockable with a key, combination, or keypad. Failing to comply is a Class A misdemeanor with up to one year in jail.
Buying Ammunition and Transferring Guns
Ammunition sales are regulated under Penal Law 400.03. Every sale must go through a licensed firearms dealer or registered ammunition seller, who runs the buyer through a background check and records the date, caliber, manufacturer, and quantity.13New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 400.03 – Sellers of Ammunition Online ammunition purchases must be shipped to a licensed dealer, who conducts the background check and hands the ammunition to you in person.14Gun Safety in New York State. Ammunition Registration
Private firearm transfers also require universal background checks. Selling, trading, or giving away a firearm to another private individual means routing the transaction through a licensed dealer, who conducts the federal background check before completing the transfer. The only exception is transfers between immediate family members. A dealer may charge up to $10 for facilitating the sale. This applies to all firearms, including the rifles and shotguns that do not otherwise require a license upstate.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
New York treats unlicensed possession as a serious crime, and the charges escalate quickly:
- Possessing an unlicensed handgun (unloaded, at home): criminal possession of a firearm under Penal Law 265.01-b, a Class E felony, up to four years in prison.
- Possessing a loaded handgun outside your home or business without a license: criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree under Penal Law 265.03(3), a Class C felony, up to 15 years in prison.15New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.03 – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree
- Possessing three or more firearms: criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree under Penal Law 265.02, a Class D felony, up to seven years.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 265.02 – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree
- Possessing ten or more firearms: criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree, a Class B felony.
The loaded-firearm charge is where most people land in the deepest trouble. Carrying a loaded handgun anywhere outside your home or workplace without a New York license is an automatic Class C felony, and prosecutors pursue these cases aggressively. There is no “I didn’t know I needed a permit” defense.
New York City Is Different
A license issued by an upstate county is not valid in New York City. If you hold a pistol permit from Erie County or Onondaga County, you cannot legally carry or even possess that handgun once you cross into the five boroughs. You need a separate NYC license from the NYPD License Division.1NYC.gov. Gun Permit
NYC also requires permits for rifles and shotguns, including the manually operated ones that need no license upstate. Fees are substantially higher: $340 for a handgun license, $140 for a rifle or shotgun permit, plus $88.25 for fingerprinting.4New York City Police Department. New Application Instructions The city limits concealed carry license holders to acquiring one handgun every 90 days and to carrying only one handgun at a time.
If you drive between Long Island and upstate New York, the practical reality is that you have to pass through the city, which can turn a lawfully licensed upstate gun owner into a potential felon mid-commute. Plan the route accordingly or secure the firearm under the federal safe-passage rules below.
Visitors, Travelers, and Out-of-State Permits
New York does not recognize or honor concealed carry permits from any other state. A Florida, Texas, or Utah permit is meaningless here. Carrying a handgun into New York on an out-of-state permit exposes you to the same felony charges as carrying with no permit at all. The only way to legally carry a handgun in New York is to hold a New York-issued license, and in New York City, it must be a city-issued license specifically.
If you are only passing through, federal law offers a limited defense. Under 18 U.S.C. 926A, you may transport a firearm through any state, including New York, as long as you can legally possess it at both your origin and destination.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms The firearm must be unloaded, and neither the gun nor the ammunition can be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle with a trunk, the firearm goes in the trunk. Without a separate trunk, it must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.
This protection applies only while you are genuinely in transit. Stopping to sightsee, spending the night, or running errands can forfeit the safe-passage defense. New York law enforcement and prosecutors have historically taken a narrow view of what counts as “traveling through.” Keep stops to fuel and essentials, and store ammunition in a separate locked container from the firearm as a precaution, even though the federal statute does not explicitly require that.