Arizona gun laws let any adult 21 or older who is not a prohibited possessor carry a handgun openly or concealed in public without a permit, buy firearms privately with no paperwork or background check, and use force, including deadly force, to defend themselves without any duty to retreat. The state has no firearm registry, no magazine capacity limit, no waiting period, and no local gun ordinances, because state law blocks cities and counties from writing their own. Federal rules still apply on top of all of this, and a few of them matter more in Arizona than people realize.
Who Can Legally Own and Carry
Arizona sets different age thresholds depending on how you carry. Concealed carry requires you to be at least 21. Carrying concealed under that age is a class 3 misdemeanor. Open carry is allowed from age 18, provided the firearm or its holster is at least partially visible.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions No training, registration, or state ID is required for either.
Separately, state law identifies categories of people who cannot possess a firearm at all. Under ARS 13-3101, you are a prohibited possessor if you have a felony conviction and have not had your firearm rights restored, you are serving a sentence in a correctional or detention facility, you are on probation or parole for a felony or domestic violence offense, a court has found you a danger to yourself or others or found you to have a persistent or acute mental disability, you have been found incompetent to stand trial and not later found competent, or you are an undocumented immigrant or a nonimmigrant alien present for business, pleasure, or study.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3101 – Definitions Possessing a firearm while in any of these categories is a class 4 felony.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions
Federal law layers on its own prohibitions. Under 18 USC 922(g), anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order, or convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in any court, is barred from possessing firearms or ammunition, with federal penalties of up to 10 or 15 years depending on the circumstances.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Buying a Firearm
Purchases from licensed dealers follow the standard federal process. You complete ATF Form 4473 and the dealer runs you through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System before handing over the gun.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Firearms Checks (NICS) Federal minimum ages apply: 21 for handguns, 18 for rifles and shotguns.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Private sales work very differently. Arizona requires no background check, no waiting period, and no paperwork for transfers between private individuals. There is no state firearm registry, no cap on how many guns you can buy at one time, and no magazine capacity limit. The transaction ends and you walk away with the firearm.
Carrying Without a Permit, and Why You Might Still Want One
Arizona is a permitless carry state. If you are 21 or older and not a prohibited possessor, you can carry a handgun concealed on your person or in your vehicle without any license. Even so, the state’s Concealed Weapons Permit, issued by the Department of Public Safety under ARS 13-3112, is worth getting for several concrete reasons.5Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits
The main one is travel. According to the most recent DPS data, 36 other states recognize an Arizona CWP, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and most of the South and Midwest.5Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits Without a permit, your right to carry generally stops at the state line. California, New York, Illinois, and several other states with major cities do not recognize Arizona permits at all, so check before you travel.
The permit also qualifies as a NICS alternative, meaning licensed dealers can skip the federal background check when you present it at purchase.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart And it exempts you from the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, which otherwise makes it a federal offense to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts That 1,000-foot zone covers large parts of most Arizona cities, so a permitless carrier driving around town with a gun in the car is routinely in technical violation of federal law.
Applicants must show firearm competence through an approved training course or qualifying military service and pass a background and fingerprint check. A new permit costs $60; renewals are $43.5Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits
Where You Cannot Carry
Permitless carry is not carry-anywhere. Several locations are off-limits regardless of whether you hold a CWP.
Schools
Having a firearm on school grounds is a class 1 misdemeanor, with up to six months in jail. If the possession ties to drug-related criminal activity, it becomes a class 6 felony. One exception applies: a firearm that is unloaded and locked inside a vehicle under an adult’s control is allowed, but if the driver leaves the car, the gun must not be visible from outside and the vehicle must be locked.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act sits on top of state law and reaches 1,000 feet past the school fence unless you have a CWP issued by the state where the school is located.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Polling Places and Power Plants
Carrying a firearm into a polling place on election day is a class 1 misdemeanor. Bringing one into a nuclear or hydroelectric generating station is a class 4 felony, which can mean one to three-and-three-quarter years in prison.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions
Government Buildings
Government buildings can prohibit firearms, but only if an operator or event sponsor asks you to remove the weapon and offers temporary secure storage. Refusing after being asked is a class 1 misdemeanor.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions A government building that neither offers storage nor asks you to disarm generally cannot prosecute you for carrying there.
Bars, Restaurants, and Private Businesses
You can carry concealed in a bar, restaurant with a liquor license, or brewery unless the business posts a sign clearly prohibiting weapons on the premises.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 4-229 – Licenses; Handguns; Posting of Notice If a sign is posted, carrying inside violates the statute. Other private businesses may also prohibit firearms on their property; being asked to leave or disarm and refusing can lead to trespassing charges.
Self-Defense and Use of Force
Arizona is a stand-your-ground state. You have no duty to retreat before using force, including deadly force, as long as you are somewhere you have a legal right to be and are not engaged in unlawful activity.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-411 – Justification; Use of Force in Crime Prevention; Applicability
Non-deadly physical force is justified when a reasonable person in your position would believe it immediately necessary to defend against another person’s unlawful use or attempted use of force. Verbal provocation alone never justifies physical force, and you generally cannot use force to resist an arrest, even an unlawful one, unless the officer uses excessive force.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-411 – Justification; Use of Force in Crime Prevention; Applicability
Deadly force is justified when a reasonable person would believe it immediately necessary to protect against another person’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. Arizona also allows deadly force to prevent certain serious crimes in progress, including armed robbery, burglary of an occupied building, kidnapping, sexual assault, murder, and aggravated assault.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-411 – Justification; Use of Force in Crime Prevention; Applicability The justification applies in your home, your business, your vehicle, land you own or lease, and anywhere else in Arizona you have a right to be, and the state shields people who lawfully use force in self-defense from civil suits for damages.
Justification is not automatic. If you provoked the confrontation, the defense disappears unless you clearly tried to withdraw and the other person kept coming. Force that is wildly disproportionate to the threat will also undercut a claim. Prosecutors look at proportionality, immediacy, and whether your belief about the threat was objectively reasonable.
Losing and Restoring Firearm Rights
Losing your firearm rights in Arizona is not necessarily permanent. The route back depends on how you lost them.
After completing a felony sentence or probation and being discharged, you can petition the court to set aside your judgment of guilt under ARS 13-905. If the court grants the petition, your right to possess a firearm is automatically restored. The court weighs the nature of the offense, your compliance with sentencing terms, time elapsed, and any later criminal history. This route is not available if the conviction was for a dangerous offense, a crime requiring sex offender registration, an offense with sexual motivation, or a felony against a child under 15.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge
If you became a prohibited possessor because of a court-ordered mental health finding, ARS 13-925 lets you petition the court that issued the original order. You will need psychiatric or psychological evidence, and the court looks at whether the original circumstances still apply and whether you remain a danger. The standard is clear and convincing evidence that you are not dangerous and that restoration serves the public interest.10Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-925 – Restoration of Right to Possess a Firearm; Mentally Ill Persons; Petition
Restoring state rights does not clear a federal firearms disability. Federal relief is a separate process under 18 USC 925(c), and anyone pursuing restoration needs to address both levels.
No Local Gun Rules
Arizona has one of the strongest firearms preemption statutes in the country. Under ARS 13-3108, no city, county, or other political subdivision can pass any ordinance, rule, or tax relating to the sale, possession, carrying, storage, registration, or use of firearms, ammunition, or accessories.11Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3108 – Firearms Regulated by State; Preemption Any local rule more restrictive than state law is void, even if it predates the preemption statute. For a gun owner, the practical result is simple: Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, and every county in between operate under the same rules, and you do not need to track a patchwork of local ordinances when you travel inside Arizona.
What Arizona Does Not Have
Arizona has not enacted an extreme risk protection order, often called a red flag law. There is no state mechanism for family members, law enforcement, or anyone else to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from a person believed to pose a danger. As of 2026, no such law exists in Arizona.