Arizona Gun Laws: Permitless Carry, Purchases, and Restrictions

Arizona gun laws let most adults aged 21 and older carry a loaded handgun, openly or concealed, without any permit. The state has operated under permitless carry (often called Constitutional Carry) since 2010, which puts it among the most permissive firearm jurisdictions in the country.¹ That freedom has firm limits. Certain places are off-limits to everyone, specific people are permanently barred from possession, and the rules for buying, carrying in a car, and dealing with police each contain details that catch gun owners off guard.

Who Can Carry and How

If you are at least 21, a U.S. citizen or lawful resident, and not a prohibited possessor, you can carry a handgun concealed on your person anywhere in Arizona without a permit.² Open carry, meaning the firearm is fully or partially visible in a holster, is legal from age 18.

People between 18 and 20 can still carry, but the gun has to be visible. Carrying concealed under 21 is a class 3 misdemeanor unless an exception applies, such as the firearm being inside a case, holster, glove compartment, or trunk in a vehicle.²

Why Some People Still Get a Concealed Weapons Permit

Arizona issues an optional Concealed Weapons Permit (CWP) through the Department of Public Safety even though no one needs one to carry in-state. A new application costs $60, renewal is $43, and applicants must complete a firearms safety training course that demonstrates competence.³ Three practical reasons drive most applications:

Reciprocity. Roughly 37 states recognize an Arizona CWP, so you can carry concealed when you travel without having to sort out each destination’s permit requirements.
Faster gun purchases. A valid CWP issued within the last five years lets a licensed dealer skip the federal NICS background check at the point of sale.⁴
Access to some restricted spots. A CWP holder may carry at a private K–12 school that has not independently banned firearms, where a permitless carrier cannot.

An out-of-state concealed carry permit is not transferable to Arizona, though DPS may accept it as proof of firearms competency when you apply.

Buying a Firearm in Arizona

How a purchase works depends on who you buy from.

Licensed Dealers

At a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), you fill out ATF Form 4473 and the dealer runs a NICS background check.⁵ You must be 21 to buy a handgun from an FFL, 18 for a long gun. A valid Arizona CWP issued in the last five years waives the NICS check.⁴

Private Sales

Arizona requires no background check, registration, or waiting period for private sales between residents. A private seller is not legally obligated to run a check or record the transaction. The lack of paperwork does not erase liability, though. Transferring a firearm to someone you know is a prohibited possessor is a class 6 felony, selling or giving a firearm to a minor without written parental consent is a class 6 felony,⁶ and supplying a firearm to someone you know plans to use it in a felony is a class 3 felony.²

Guns in Your Vehicle

If you are 21 or older and not a prohibited possessor, you can carry a loaded handgun anywhere in your vehicle: glove box, center console, on your person. No permit needed.²

Between 18 and 20, you can also transport a firearm in a vehicle, and the concealed carry rule loosens in a way most people miss. The under-21 concealed carry prohibition does not apply when the firearm is stored in a case, holster, glove compartment, trunk, map pocket, or any storage compartment inside the vehicle.² An 18-year-old can legally keep a handgun in the glove box.

Employers, landlords, and business property owners cannot ban employees or tenants from keeping a firearm locked inside a privately owned vehicle (or locked compartment on a privately owned motorcycle) parked on the property, as long as the gun is not visible from outside.⁷

Where You Can’t Carry

Carrying in a restricted location is usually a class 1 misdemeanor, and can escalate to a class 6 felony if tied to drug trafficking or criminal street gang activity.²

Schools

Firearms are prohibited on the grounds of any K–12 school, public or private. At a private school, a CWP holder may be exempt unless the school has independently banned firearms. At public schools, governing boards are required to prohibit weapons, and a CWP does not create an exception. The only route to carrying on public school grounds is specific written authorization from the school administrator.

Polling Places

On election day, firearms are not allowed at any polling location, regardless of permit status.

Government, Federal, and Secure Facilities

Correctional and detention facilities and nuclear or hydroelectric generating stations are off-limits under state law. Federal law adds post offices, federal courthouses, and other federal buildings. The postal prohibition reaches into parking lots on postal property, including firearms left in your vehicle.⁸

Bars and Restaurants

You can carry a concealed handgun into a restaurant or bar that holds an on-sale liquor license unless the business has posted the specific “no firearms” sign required by A.R.S. 4-229 next to the posted liquor license.⁹ If the sign is up and you go in armed, you are in violation.

Even where carrying is allowed, you cannot drink. Arizona law makes it illegal to consume any alcohol while carrying a firearm on the premises of an on-sale liquor retailer.¹⁰ That rule is one of the more common enforcement scenarios.

Private Property

Any private property owner or event operator can prohibit firearms on their premises. If a business posts a sign or asks you to leave, remaining on the property while armed can result in a criminal trespass charge. Outside of liquor-licensed venues, no specific sign format is required, so any reasonably clear notice counts.

Talking to Police While Armed

Arizona does not require you to volunteer that you are carrying. The moment an officer asks whether you have a concealed weapon, though, you must answer truthfully. Lying or refusing is a class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and fines up to $2,500.² An officer who contacts you while you are armed may also temporarily take custody of the firearm for the duration of the encounter.

Self-Defense and Castle Doctrine

Arizona recognizes stand-your-ground. You have no duty to retreat before using force if you are somewhere you may legally be and are not engaged in an unlawful act.¹¹

Ordinary physical force is justified when a reasonable person would believe it is immediately necessary to defend against someone else’s unlawful physical force. Two limits: verbal provocation alone is not enough, and if you started the fight, you lose the justification defense unless you clearly try to withdraw and the other person keeps attacking.¹²

Deadly force sits on a higher threshold. It is justified only when a reasonable person would believe it is immediately necessary to protect against someone else’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force.¹¹

Castle doctrine extends extra protection to your home and occupied vehicle. You may use deadly force against someone unlawfully or forcefully entering either, or attempting to forcibly remove someone from either, with no duty to retreat. The statute defines “vehicle” broadly, covering any conveyance designed to transport people or property.¹³

Who Cannot Own a Gun

Possessing a firearm as a prohibited person is a class 4 felony.² Under Arizona law, you are a prohibited possessor if you:

Have a felony conviction and have not had your right to possess firearms restored.
Are serving a sentence in any correctional or detention facility.
Are on probation, parole, community supervision, home arrest, or work furlough for a felony or domestic violence offense.¹⁴
Are an undocumented immigrant or a nonimmigrant alien, with narrow exceptions for valid state hunting license holders, sanctioned shooting competitors, and those with diplomatic designations.¹⁴

Federal law adds categories: anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, dishonorably discharged from the armed forces, subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order, convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, or who has renounced U.S. citizenship.¹⁵

Arizona has not enacted an extreme risk protection order (red flag) law. There is no mechanism under current state law for a family member or officer to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone considered an imminent threat.

Restoring Firearm Rights After a Conviction

For most offenses, a felony conviction does not permanently end your firearm rights. After completing your sentence and any probation or supervision, you can petition the court to set aside the judgment of guilt. If granted, your right to possess a firearm is restored. There is no filing fee.¹⁶

Waiting periods depend on the severity of the original offense:

Some convictions are permanent bars: dangerous offenses, anything requiring sex offender registration, any offense with a finding of sexual motivation, and felonies with a victim under 15. Serious offenses as defined by Arizona law also permanently disqualify.¹⁷

Statewide Uniformity and NFA Items

Arizona bars cities, counties, and other local governments from passing firearms regulations more restrictive than state law. A local ordinance that tries to impose its own licensing, registration, or carry rules is automatically invalid, and courts can issue permanent injunctions against enforcement.¹⁸ Firearm rules are uniform statewide, so you do not need to track different regulations when crossing from one Arizona city into another.

Arizona permits possession of items regulated by the federal National Firearms Act, including suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and fully automatic weapons. State law specifically prohibits the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from restricting lawful suppressor possession or use, including while hunting.¹⁹ To own any NFA item legally, you still have to complete the federal registration process and pay the applicable transfer tax, which is $200 for machine guns and destructive devices.²⁰

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona’s Concealed Carry Laws
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions
3
Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3109 – Sale or Gift of Firearm to Minor
7
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-781 – Transportation or Storage of Firearms; Motor Vehicles; Applicability
8
USPS Employee News. USPS Wants Everyone to Know Its Policy Regarding Firearms on Postal Property
9
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 4-229 – Licenses; Handguns; Posting of Notice
10
Department of Liquor Licenses and Control. Firearms FAQ
11
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-405 – Justification; Use of Deadly Physical Force
12
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-404 – Justification; Self-Defense
13
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-418 – Justification; Use of Force in Defense of Residential Structure or Occupied Vehicles; Definitions
14
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3101 – Definitions
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
16
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge; Application; Release From Disabilities; Certificate of Second Chance; Firearm Possession; Exceptions
17
Arizona Judicial Branch. Restore Firearm Rights
18
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3108 – Firearms Regulated by State; State Preemption; Injunction; Civil Penalty; Cause of Action; Violation; Classification; Definition
19
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 17-251 – Possession or Use of a Firearm Silencer or Muffler While Hunting
20
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 5320.4 – Application to Transfer and Register NFA Firearm