Open carry in Maryland is illegal unless you hold a Maryland Wear and Carry Permit. Maryland Criminal Law § 4-203 prohibits carrying a handgun on your person or in a vehicle “whether concealed or open,” so wearing a holstered pistol on your hip in public without a permit is a crime. Even with a permit, open display is legally allowed but practically a bad idea: it invites law-enforcement contact and runs you into Maryland’s extensive location-based restrictions. A first offense for carrying without a permit can mean 30 days to five years in prison.
What Section 4-203 Actually Prohibits
Maryland’s carry statute bans wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun on your person, in a vehicle, or on any public road, waterway, or airway unless you have a state-issued Wear and Carry Permit or qualify for one of a few narrow exceptions. The ban is written to cover both open and concealed carry in the same breath, which means Maryland has no separate “open carry” status the way some states do. If you don’t have a permit, the method of carry doesn’t save you.
The statute applies specifically to handguns. Rifles and shotguns are regulated under different Maryland laws covering assault weapons, transport, and restricted locations, so if your question is about a long gun, the rules are different and this article isn’t the right place to look.
Penalties for Carrying Without a Permit
Punishment escalates sharply with prior convictions:
- First offense: 30 days to 5 years in prison, a fine of $250 to $2,500, or both.
- Second offense: 1 to 10 years, with a mandatory minimum of 1 year the court cannot suspend.
- Third or subsequent offense: 3 to 10 years or more, with mandatory minimums that cannot be suspended.
Prior convictions under related statutes count toward escalation, including § 4-204 (use of a handgun in a crime of violence), § 4-101 (deadly weapons on school property), and § 4-102 (firearms in areas for children or vulnerable individuals). Carrying a handgun in connection with a drug offense triggers additional mandatory minimums with no part of the sentence eligible for suspension or parole. Maryland prosecutors pursue these charges routinely.
The Only Legal Way to Carry: A Wear and Carry Permit
Maryland is a shall-issue state under Public Safety § 5-306. The Maryland State Police must issue a permit if you meet the statutory criteria. Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, applicants had to show a “good and substantial reason” to carry; that requirement is no longer enforced, and self-defense now suffices. The old language remains in the statute, but Maryland suspended enforcement after Bruen.
Who Qualifies
You must be at least 21, unless you serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, the National Guard, or the uniformed services, which is the only path under 21. Beyond age, the State Police will deny your application if any of these apply:
- A felony conviction, or a misdemeanor that carried a potential sentence of more than one year, unless you have been pardoned or granted federal relief.
- A conviction involving possession, use, or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
- Alcoholism, drug addiction, or habitual use of a controlled substance outside legitimate medical direction.
- A background that shows a propensity for violence or instability that would make you a danger to yourself or others.
If you’re under 30, the State Police look at your juvenile record too. A juvenile adjudication for conduct that would have been a violent crime, felony, or serious misdemeanor as an adult is disqualifying, as is a juvenile commitment of more than a year.
Training and Fees
First-time applicants must complete a 16-hour firearms training course approved by the Maryland State Police, covering Maryland firearm law, home safety, handgun operation, and a live-fire qualification requiring at least 70% accuracy. Renewal applicants take an 8-hour refresher. The training must be completed within two years before you apply.
The initial application fee is $125 plus fingerprinting costs. Renewals cost $75 with no new fingerprints. Active and retired Maryland law enforcement officers pay nothing. Course costs typically run another $150 to $275 depending on the instructor. Fees are non-refundable and paid electronically through the Licensing Portal. Once a complete application is in, expect a decision within 90 days. Incomplete applications are usually flagged within one to five business days, so monitor your portal status.
Why Open Carry Is Impractical Even With a Permit
Nothing in the statute requires a permit holder to conceal, so open carry with a permit is lawful on its face. In practice, Marylanders with permits carry concealed. Open display draws law-enforcement attention, and Maryland’s 2023 firearms legislation stacks location-based restrictions on top of the carry framework that make an openly carried handgun a liability in most public settings.
In January 2026, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on those restrictions in Kipke v. Moore, upholding most of them. Carrying a firearm is prohibited regardless of permit status at:
- Preschools, private K-12 schools, and their surrounding grounds.
- Any building owned or leased by a state or local government unit.
- Polling places in use for voting or ballot canvassing.
- Healthcare facilities.
- Mass transit facilities.
- State parks, state forests, and Chesapeake Forest Lands, with exceptions for permitted hunting and target shooting.
- Museums, stadiums, racetracks, amusement parks, and casinos.
- Locations selling alcohol or cannabis for on-site consumption.
- Within 1,000 feet of a public demonstration.
The Fourth Circuit did strike down one piece of the 2023 law: the provision that had required private property owners to post signs or give express permission before a permit holder could carry on property open to the public. Permit holders may now carry in places like retail stores unless the owner posts signage or otherwise says firearms aren’t welcome. On truly private residential property, you still need the owner’s express permission. This area of law remains unsettled, and the state may seek Supreme Court review, so verify the current rule before you rely on it.
Vehicle Carry Without a Permit
With a Wear and Carry Permit, your handgun travels with you in the car under the same rules as on your person. Without a permit, vehicle carry is illegal except under narrow exceptions in § 4-203(b). Those exceptions require the handgun to be unloaded and in an enclosed case or enclosed holster, and allow you to transport the gun:
- Between your home and a place of purchase or sale.
- To or from a repair shop.
- Between your residences.
- Between your home and a business you substantially own and operate.
- To, from, or during a shooting event, hunting, or related sporting activity.
The firearm and ammunition cannot be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In most vehicles that means the trunk. In vehicles without a separate trunk, use a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.
Out-of-State Permits Don’t Work in Maryland
Maryland does not recognize concealed carry permits from any other state. An out-of-state permit gives you no legal authority to carry here, and carrying on one exposes you to the same penalties as carrying with no permit at all. Maryland does issue Wear and Carry Permits to non-residents on the same terms as residents: the training, fingerprints, $125 fee, and background investigation all apply.