Arizona 2nd Amendment Laws: Carry, Prohibited Persons, and Penalties

Arizona gun laws are among the most permissive in the country: any adult 18 or older who is not a prohibited possessor may openly carry a firearm, anyone 21 or older may carry concealed without a permit, and the state imposes no magazine limits or bans on commonly available semi-automatic firearms. Those freedoms sit alongside hard limits. Certain people cannot legally touch a gun, certain places are off-limits regardless of permit, and specific transfers and conduct carry felony penalties. Article II, Section 26 of the Arizona Constitution protects the individual right to bear arms in language stronger than the federal Second Amendment, but the legislature still regulates how, where, and by whom that right can be exercised.¹

Who Can Carry, and How

Arizona does not require a permit to carry a firearm, open or concealed. The age rules differ by method.

For open carry, 18 is effectively the floor. State law makes it illegal for an unaccompanied minor under 18 to carry or possess a firearm in any public place, on any street, or on private property they don’t own, with exceptions for supervised activities such as hunting and formal firearms training.²

For concealed carry on your person without a permit, you must be at least 21 and not a prohibited possessor. Carrying concealed under 21 is a class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail. There is a practical exception for adults 18 to 20: a firearm stored in a vehicle’s glove compartment, console, trunk, luggage, or a case is not treated as concealed on the person, so storing a gun in your car this way is legal.³

One duty applies to everyone carrying concealed. If a law enforcement officer contacts you during a traffic stop or criminal investigation and asks whether you’re armed, you must answer truthfully. Lying is a class 1 misdemeanor with up to six months in jail.³

When a Concealed Weapons Permit Still Matters

Because the state does not require one, Arizona’s Concealed Weapons Permit exists for optional benefits. A new application costs $60; renewal is $43. The Arizona Department of Public Safety handles processing.⁴

To qualify you must be at least 21, or at least 19 with proof of current military service or an honorable discharge, and you cannot be a prohibited possessor under state or federal law. Training options are flexible: any NRA-certified course, a hunter education course approved by Arizona Game and Fish, law enforcement training, a course offered by an approved public or private institution, or a concealed carry permit from another state that required training.⁵

Two things a CWP actually buys you. First, reciprocity: Arizona’s permit is recognized by roughly 37 other states. California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oregon, and several Northeastern states do not recognize it.⁴ Second, the ATF recognizes Arizona’s CWP as a qualifying alternative to the federal NICS background check, so a licensed dealer can skip the point-of-sale check and complete your purchase immediately.⁶ A CWP also lets you carry a concealed handgun inside a bar or restaurant that has not posted a no-firearms sign, which permitless carriers cannot do.

Who Cannot Possess a Firearm

Under ARS 13-3101, you are a prohibited possessor if you fall into any of these groups:⁷

Anyone convicted of a felony in any state whose civil firearms rights have not been restored.
Anyone found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others, or to have a persistent or acute disability, whose firearms rights have not been restored.
Anyone found incompetent under Arizona’s criminal procedure rules who has not later been found competent.
Anyone adjudicated guilty except insane.
Anyone currently incarcerated, on probation for a felony or domestic violence offense, on parole, or on community supervision.
Undocumented individuals and most nonimmigrant visa holders, with narrow exceptions for valid hunting permits and diplomatic personnel.

Possessing a firearm as a prohibited possessor is a class 4 felony, carrying a presumptive sentence of 2.5 years in prison for a first offense.³

Domestic Violence Creates Overlapping Bans

If you’re on probation for a domestic violence offense in Arizona, you’re a prohibited possessor for the duration of that probation.⁷ Federal law goes further. A conviction for any misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers a permanent federal firearm ban, regardless of the state classification. A protective order that includes a finding of credible threat also bars firearm possession federally for as long as the order is active.⁸

Buying, Selling, and Transferring

Purchases from a Federal Firearms Licensee go through NICS, the federal background check system.⁹ Arizona adds no state check and no waiting period. A valid Arizona CWP lets the dealer skip NICS entirely.⁶

Private sales between individuals require no background check in Arizona. You can sell, trade, or gift a firearm to another person without going through a dealer. Federal law still makes it illegal to transfer a firearm to anyone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is prohibited from possessing one. The federal prohibited-persons list includes convicted felons, people under indictment, unlawful drug users, anyone dishonorably discharged, and other categories.⁸

Transferring a deadly weapon to a prohibited possessor is a class 6 felony under Arizona law. Selling or giving a firearm to a minor without written parental consent is also a class 6 felony.³

Buying a firearm on behalf of someone who cannot legally purchase one is a straw purchase, and it is a federal offense carrying up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If the gun ends up in a felony, act of terrorism, or drug trafficking crime, the maximum rises to 25 years.¹⁰

Where You Cannot Carry

Carrying in a prohibited location is typically a class 1 misdemeanor, with some locations rising to felony level.³

K-12 schools, public or private. You may keep an unloaded firearm in a locked vehicle on school property if it is not visible from outside.
Polling places on election day.
Nuclear or hydroelectric generating stations. This one is a class 4 felony, not a misdemeanor.
Correctional facilities and the secured areas of airports, under both state and federal law.

Any public establishment or event may also ask you to surrender temporary custody of your weapon or leave. Refusing is a class 1 misdemeanor.³

Bars, Restaurants, and Alcohol

Firearms are prohibited by default on the premises of any on-sale liquor retailer (bars, restaurants serving alcohol for on-site consumption, and similar establishments). The main exception: holders of a valid CWP may carry a concealed handgun inside, provided the business has not posted the no-firearms notice specified by ARS 4-229.¹¹ If a conforming sign is posted, no one may carry inside regardless of permit.

One rule has no exceptions: you may not consume alcohol while carrying a firearm on any licensed premises, permit or not.

Self-Defense and Stand Your Ground

Arizona imposes no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, as long as you are somewhere you are legally allowed to be and not engaged in unlawful activity. Deadly force is justified when a reasonable person would believe it immediately necessary to protect against another’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force.¹²

State law also authorizes deadly force to prevent certain enumerated violent crimes, including burglary of an occupied structure, armed robbery, kidnapping, arson of an occupied structure, sexual assault, and murder. This applies in your home, your vehicle, your workplace, land you own or lease, or any other place where you have a right to be, and the person acting is presumed to be acting reasonably.¹³

Self-defense is a justification defense in Arizona. Once you introduce evidence supporting it, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your actions were not justified.

What Weapons Are Off-Limits

Arizona’s “prohibited weapons” category includes bombs, grenades, improvised explosive devices, automatic firearms, short-barreled rifles (under 16 inches), short-barreled shotguns (under 18 inches), and firearm silencers.⁷ Possessing one is a class 4 felony.³

Arizona recognizes a defense for items properly registered under the federal National Firearms Act. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and registered automatic firearms are lawful to own in Arizona if you complete the federal registration process through the ATF. The state prohibition kicks in only when federal compliance is missing.

Arizona imposes no state-level magazine capacity limits and no bans on specific categories of semi-automatic firearms.

Penalties by Class

Arizona’s misconduct involving weapons statute spans several penalty tiers. The ranges below apply to first-time offenders; priors increase both floors and ceilings.³

Class 1 misdemeanor, up to 6 months in jail: lying to an officer about carrying concealed, carrying at a polling place on election day, refusing to leave or surrender a weapon at a public establishment.
Class 3 misdemeanor, up to 30 days: carrying concealed while under 21.
Class 6 felony, 4 months to 2 years: carrying a weapon to further a serious offense, transferring to a prohibited possessor, defacing a firearm, possessing a defaced firearm.
Class 4 felony, 1 to 3.75 years: possession by a prohibited possessor, possessing a prohibited weapon without federal authorization, using a weapon during a drug offense, carrying at a nuclear or hydroelectric facility.
Class 3 felony, 2 to 8.75 years: firing at an occupied structure for gang activity, trafficking weapons to assist a street gang, providing a weapon to someone you know will use it in a felony.
Class 2 felony, 3 to 12.5 years: possessing a weapon to commit an act of terrorism.

Local Governments Cannot Add Their Own Gun Laws

ARS 13-3108 bars counties, cities, and other political subdivisions from passing any local ordinance, rule, or tax related to the possession, carrying, sale, transfer, storage, or use of firearms and ammunition. Local governments also cannot register or license firearms. Narrow exceptions allow general sales taxes, standard commercial zoning for gun shops and ranges, restrictions on unaccompanied minors carrying in public, and limits on discharging firearms in parks and densely populated areas.¹⁴ The practical effect: state law is the ceiling, and you don’t need to track a patchwork of city rules.

Restoring Firearm Rights After a Conviction

If a felony conviction is what makes you a prohibited possessor, ARS 13-905 offers a path back. After you complete all conditions of your sentence or probation and the court discharges you, you can apply to have the judgment of guilt set aside. If granted, your right to possess a firearm is restored under state law.¹⁵

The set-aside process excludes convictions classified as dangerous offenses, offenses requiring sex offender registration, offenses involving sexual motivation, and felonies where the victim was a minor under 15.¹⁵ Even when Arizona restores your state rights, the federal prohibition may remain in place separately. Confirm your eligibility under both state and federal law before possessing a firearm again.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 2 Section 26 – Bearing Arms
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3111 – Minors Prohibited From Carrying or Possessing Firearms; Exceptions; Seizure and Forfeiture; Penalties; Classification
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification
4
Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3112 – Concealed Weapons; Qualification; Application; Permit to Carry
6
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart
7
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3101 – Definitions
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
eCFR. 28 CFR 25.6 – Accessing Records in the System
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy
11
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 4-229 – Licenses; Handguns; Posting of Notice
12
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-405 – Justification; Use of Deadly Physical Force
13
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-411 – Justification; Use of Force in Crime Prevention; Applicability
14
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3108 – Firearms Regulated by State; State Preemption
15
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge