Arizona gun laws let most adults 21 and older carry a firearm openly or concealed without any permit, a policy known as constitutional carry. Adults 18 to 20 can carry openly but not concealed. Because state law blocks cities and counties from writing their own firearm rules, what applies in Phoenix also applies in Flagstaff, Yuma, and everywhere in between.
Who Can Carry and How
If you are at least 21, not a prohibited possessor, and the location is not off-limits, you can carry a handgun or long gun openly or concealed. No permit, no registration, no mandated holster type. Reckless handling can still bring disorderly conduct charges, but the act of carrying is lawful on its own.
Between 18 and 20, you lose the concealed option. Open carry is permitted as long as some part of the firearm or its holster is visible. Carrying concealed before age 21 is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Several categories of people cannot possess a firearm at all. Being caught with a gun as a prohibited possessor is a Class 4 felony carrying a presumptive 2.5-year prison sentence.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders; Sentencing You are a prohibited possessor if you:2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3101 – Definitions
- Have a felony conviction and have not had your firearm rights restored.
- Are on probation or parole for a felony or a domestic violence offense.
- Have been found by a court to be a danger to yourself or others, or to have a persistent or acute mental disability.
- Have been found incompetent to stand trial without a later finding of competence.
- Are currently incarcerated.
- Are an undocumented immigrant, or a nonimmigrant alien in the state for business, pleasure, or study.
Minors under 18 generally cannot possess a firearm in public unless they are with a parent, grandparent, or guardian. Teens 14 through 17 get narrow exceptions for hunting, target shooting at an established range, and agricultural work.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3111 – Minors Prohibited From Carrying or Possessing Firearms; Exceptions; Seizure and Forfeiture; Penalties; Classification
Buying a Gun in Arizona
Arizona requires no state permit, no registration, and no waiting period to buy a gun. The rules that do apply come almost entirely from federal law, and they turn on who is selling.
At a licensed dealer (an FFL holder), the federal minimum age is 21 for handguns and 18 for rifles and shotguns.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers The dealer runs a background check through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Arizona dealers contact the FBI directly rather than routing the check through a state agency.
Private sales between two individuals who are not dealers work differently. Arizona has no universal background check law, so a private seller is not required to run a NICS check. Federal law still makes it illegal to sell a firearm to someone you know or have reason to believe is a prohibited possessor, and anyone who regularly buys and sells firearms as a business needs a federal firearms license. Private interstate transfers must go through a licensed dealer in the buyer’s home state.
Where You Cannot Carry
Constitutional carry has location limits. Depending on the place, violations range from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions
- K-12 school grounds. Possessing a firearm on school property is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Adults can keep an unloaded firearm locked in a vehicle and out of plain view.
- Polling places on election day.
- Nuclear and hydroelectric generating stations, unless specifically authorized.
- Public university and community college campuses. The Arizona Board of Regents prohibits firearms on university property, and community college districts have similar authority. ASU, U of A, NAU, and the state’s community colleges are off-limits.
Bars and Restaurants Serving Alcohol
You can carry a concealed handgun into a liquor-licensed bar or restaurant unless the establishment has posted a sign prohibiting weapons. The sign must be conspicuous and placed next to the posted liquor license.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 4-229 – Licenses; Handguns; Posting of Notice If that sign is up, carrying inside is illegal whether or not you hold a permit. Check the entrance before walking in.
Public Establishments, Events, and Private Property
The operator of a public establishment or the sponsor of a public event can ask you to surrender your weapon, but only if they provide temporary, secure, easily accessible storage with immediate retrieval on your way out.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102.01 – Storage of Deadly Weapons This does not apply to liquor-licensed establishments. Refusing to comply or refusing to leave is a Class 1 misdemeanor and can bring a trespassing charge.
Private property owners can prohibit firearms on their premises with no required signage format. If the owner or occupant asks you to leave while armed and you refuse, you are trespassing.
Talking to Police While Armed
Arizona is not a duty-to-inform state. You do not have to volunteer that you are carrying during a traffic stop. If an officer directly asks whether you are carrying a concealed weapon, you must answer truthfully. Lying or refusing to answer when asked is a Class 1 misdemeanor, up to six months in jail. The obligation only kicks in when the officer poses the question during a lawful stop or investigation.
Self-Defense and Use of Force
Arizona has some of the broadest self-defense protections in the country. There is no duty to retreat before using force anywhere you are legally allowed to be, provided you are not engaged in unlawful activity.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-405 – Justification; Use of Deadly Physical Force
Non-deadly force is justified when a reasonable person would believe it is immediately necessary to protect against someone else’s unlawful physical force.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-404 – Justification; Self Defense Deadly force sits on a higher standard: a reasonable person must believe deadly force is immediately necessary to defend against someone else’s use or attempted use of deadly force.
You can also use deadly force to prevent certain violent crimes, including kidnapping, sexual assault, armed robbery, arson of an occupied building, murder, and aggravated assault. Someone acting to prevent one of those crimes is presumed to be acting reasonably.10Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-411 – Justification; Use of Force in Crime Prevention; Applicability These protections apply at home, at work, in your vehicle, or anywhere else you have a right to be.
Short of pulling the trigger, Arizona recognizes “defensive display” of a firearm. You can verbally mention you have a firearm, place your hand on a holstered weapon, or expose the firearm to show you are prepared to defend yourself. Defensive display is justified under the same standard as non-deadly force.
The Concealed Weapons Permit (Optional)
You do not need a permit to carry concealed in Arizona, but plenty of people still get one. Two main reasons: reciprocity when traveling, and skipping the NICS check on future gun purchases. Federal law waives the point-of-sale background check for buyers who hold a qualifying state permit issued within the past five years.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Arizona also honors permits from every other state.
To apply, you must be at least 21 and not a prohibited possessor. The Arizona Department of Public Safety handles the process, which requires the DPS application form, two sets of fingerprint cards, proof of an approved firearms safety course (or a DD-214, or another state’s CCW permit), and a $60 fee for a new permit or $43 for a renewal.12Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits
The permit is good for five years and renewable. Active-duty military deployed overseas get an automatic extension lasting 90 days after deployment ends.13Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3112 – Concealed Weapons; Qualification; Application; Permit to Carry
Firearms at Work
Your employer cannot ban firearms that you keep locked in your own vehicle. As long as the firearm is in a locked car or locked motorcycle compartment and not visible from outside, a company policy telling you otherwise is void.14Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-781 – Transportation or Storage of Firearms; Motor Vehicles
Exceptions apply. The protection does not reach a fenced, secured, access-controlled parking area where the employer offers temporary firearm storage with immediate retrieval. It also does not cover company-owned vehicles, nuclear generating stations with their own secure parking, or Department of Defense contractors on or near military installations.
Marijuana and Guns
Arizona legalized medical and recreational marijuana, but federal firearms law has not fully followed. Under federal law, anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to” a controlled substance cannot possess firearms or ammunition. Arizona itself does not prohibit marijuana users from owning guns, but the federal rule overrides state law for dealer purchases and in practice reaches virtually all possession.
In April 2026 the DOJ finalized a rule rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III for FDA-approved products and marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license.15Federal Register. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of Food and Drug Administration Approved Products The ATF proposed a revised Form 4473 distinguishing medical from recreational use. Recreational marijuana remains Schedule I, and the federal government continues to defend the ban on gun possession by marijuana users in court. Recreational users are still prohibited possessors under federal law. Medical cardholders are in uncertain territory.
Restoring Firearm Rights After a Felony
A felony conviction strips your right to possess firearms, but Arizona provides paths back. Which path applies depends on the offense and your record.
If you have one non-dangerous, non-serious felony and no prior felony convictions, firearm rights are restored automatically once you complete probation or are discharged from prison and have paid all court-ordered victim restitution in full. No application is required for in-state convictions; restoration happens by operation of law.16Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-907 – Automatic Restoration of Civil Rights for First Offenders; Firearm Rights
If the conviction was classified as dangerous or serious, automatic restoration does not apply. You can petition the court instead, and the judge has discretion to grant or deny.
A separate route is a set-aside of the conviction. If a court grants a set-aside, firearm rights are restored, unless the underlying offense was serious.17Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge Dangerous offenses, offenses requiring sex offender registration, and certain crimes against children under 15 cannot be set aside at all.