Concealed Carry Laws in Tennessee: Permits and Restricted Places

Concealed carry laws in Tennessee allow most adults to carry a handgun concealed without any permit, a policy that took effect in 2021 and is often called constitutional carry. If you are at least 21, can legally possess a firearm, and are somewhere you have a right to be, you can carry concealed in most public places with no application and no training requirement. The state still issues two optional handgun permits, and there is a long list of places where carrying is a crime no matter your permit status.

Who Can Carry Concealed Without a Permit

The permitless carry rule is in T.C.A. § 39-17-1307(g). Three conditions have to be true at the same time: you are at least 21 years old, you lawfully possess the handgun, and you are in a place where you have a legal right to be.¹

The age drops to 18 for certain military members and veterans: honorably discharged or retired veterans of the U.S. armed forces, honorably discharged reserve or National Guard members who completed basic training, and current active-duty, reserve, or Guard members who completed basic training.¹

“Lawfully possesses” is the condition that trips people up. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) bars several categories of people from possessing firearms at all, including anyone convicted of a felony, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, and unlawful users of controlled substances.² Tennessee adds its own disqualifiers through T.C.A. § 39-17-1316, including people convicted of stalking, people addicted to alcohol, and people judicially committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally defective.³ If any of those categories applies to you, permitless carry does not.

Carrying a handgun without meeting the requirements, in a public place where other people are present, is a Class A misdemeanor.¹

Why You Might Still Want a Permit

Permitless carry is enough for most day-to-day situations inside Tennessee. A permit matters if you drive to other states (which may not honor Tennessee’s permitless status for nonresidents), want formal documentation of training, or want the option of open carry statewide. Tennessee issues two permits, and the differences are real.

Concealed Handgun Carry Permit

The Concealed Handgun Carry Permit (CHCP) is created under T.C.A. § 39-17-1366. Training is lighter: an approved online course of at least 90 minutes with a competency quiz and a printable certificate.⁴ It covers concealed carry only; it does not authorize open carry in public.

Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit

The Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit (EHCP), under T.C.A. § 39-17-1351, authorizes both open and concealed carry. Applicants must complete an eight-hour in-person safety course from a Tennessee-certified handgun safety school, including live-fire at a range, with the certificate dated within 12 months of application. Military veterans and active-duty members with at least four hours of handgun training documented on a DD-214 or equivalent can skip the range portion but still complete the classroom segment.⁵ The Enhanced permit is the one more other states recognize, so pick it if reciprocity matters to you.

How to Apply, Pay, and Renew

Both permits are handled by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. You need to prove Tennessee residency, which the department determines by your driver’s license state, where you pay taxes, and where your vehicle is registered.⁶ Bring your original training certificate and government-issued photo ID, and expect questions about criminal history, mental health, and citizenship.

You visit a full-service Driver Services Center in person to pay fees and have your photo taken. Then you schedule electronic fingerprinting through IdentoGo, the state’s designated vendor. The fingerprints trigger a background check through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Your application also goes to the sheriff in your county, who has 30 days to report anything relevant.⁷

The Enhanced permit fee is $100, or $65 for military applicants. The Concealed permit is $65.⁸ IdentoGo charges a separate fingerprinting fee. Both permits are valid for eight years. Renewal can be done online up to six months before expiration or as late as eight years after it lapses.⁹ If the online renewal option isn’t available when you log in, you either aren’t eligible to renew online or need to visit a Driver Services Center for a new photo.

Places You Still Can’t Carry

Permit or no permit, Tennessee bans concealed carry in several specific places. The penalties are serious, so these are worth memorizing.

Schools, Colleges, and Universities

T.C.A. § 39-17-1309 makes it an offense to possess or carry any firearm on the property of any public or private school, college, or university. That includes buildings, buses, campuses, athletic fields, and recreation areas. Possession without intent to go armed is a Class B misdemeanor. Carrying with intent to go armed is a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000.¹⁰

One narrow exception: a nonstudent adult may keep a firearm inside a private vehicle on school property, as long as neither the adult nor anyone else handles it while the vehicle is there.¹⁰

Buildings With Judicial Proceedings

Under T.C.A. § 39-17-1306, carrying a firearm inside any building where judicial proceedings are in progress is illegal regardless of intent. A Tennessee Attorney General opinion read “judicial proceedings” broadly to include not just courtroom hearings but anything a judge is doing on a case, such as reviewing briefs or writing an opinion in chambers. If a proceeding is underway anywhere in the building, the ban covers the whole building.

Federal Buildings and National Parks

Federal law prohibits firearms in federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. § 930. A federal facility is any building or space owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees regularly work. Federal court facilities carry up to two years in prison; other federal buildings carry up to one year. These buildings must post notice at each public entrance, and you generally cannot be convicted if no notice was posted and you had no actual knowledge of the prohibition.¹¹

In Tennessee’s national parks and wildlife refuges, state carry rules apply on trails and roads, so your Tennessee permit or permitless carry status works outdoors. The buildings inside those parks (visitor centers, ranger stations, fee-collection offices) are federal facilities and off-limits.¹¹

Posted Private Property

Any individual, business, or government entity can ban firearms on property it owns, operates, or controls under T.C.A. § 39-17-1359. To make the ban legally enforceable, the property has to post a specific sign at every primary entrance. The sign must include the phrase “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED” in letters at least one inch high and eight inches wide, the citation “As authorized by T.C.A. § 39-17-1359,” and a pictorial symbol of a firearm inside a circle with a diagonal line, at least four inches by four inches.¹²

Property owners can also take a middle approach and allow concealed carry only, limiting access to people who hold an Enhanced or Concealed permit.¹²

Alcohol and Controlled Substances

Possessing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance is a Class A misdemeanor under T.C.A. § 39-17-1321, with or without a permit, anywhere you are.¹³

A separate rule targets drinking in public: possessing a handgun while consuming alcohol inside an establishment open to the public that serves alcohol is also a Class A misdemeanor. Permit holders who violate this rule in a drinking establishment lose the permit for three years on top of the criminal penalty.¹³ Carrying into a restaurant that serves alcohol is fine, as long as you don’t drink while you are there.

In Your Vehicle

Vehicle carry is a separate exception. Under T.C.A. § 39-17-1307(e), you can keep a firearm (including loaded) and ammunition in a motor vehicle or boat if you are not a prohibited person under federal law or T.C.A. § 39-17-1316 and you lawfully possess the vehicle or boat.¹ No minimum age of 21 applies here, which makes vehicle carry broader than permitless carry on foot. The exception covers rifles and shotguns too, not just handguns.

One limit: if your employer provides the vehicle and has a written policy against firearms, the exception does not apply during the course of your employment.¹

Reciprocity and Travel

Tennessee recognizes any valid out-of-state handgun, firearms, or weapons permit. Visitors must keep the permit on their person while armed. An out-of-state permit only authorizes handgun carry here, even if it covers other weapons back home.¹⁴

If you move to Tennessee or work here regularly on an out-of-state permit, you have six months from establishing residency or regular employment to get a Tennessee permit. If you apply during that window and get denied, the other state’s permit stops working for you in Tennessee immediately.¹⁴

Going the other direction, Tennessee’s Enhanced permit is recognized more widely than the Concealed permit because of its heavier training requirement. The Tennessee Department of Safety publishes a current list of states that honor each one. Permitless carry status gives you no legal protection in another state unless that state independently allows permitless carry by nonresidents, so check before you cross the line.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1307 – Unlawful Carrying or Possession of a Weapon
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
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Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1316 – Sales of Dangerous Weapons
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Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Become an Instructor, School or Approved Online Class
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Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit Training Requirements
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Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Acceptable Proof of Residency for Handgun Carry Permit
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Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1366 – Concealed Handgun Carry Permit
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Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Handgun Permit Fees
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Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Handgun Permit Online Services
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Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1309 – Carrying Weapons on School Property
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
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Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1359 – Posted Notice
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Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1321 – Possession of Handgun While Under Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substance
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Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1351 – Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit