Gun Laws in North Carolina: Carry, Permits & Storage

Gun laws in North Carolina changed substantially in 2023: the state repealed its pistol purchase permit, so buying a handgun no longer requires a trip to the sheriff’s office. You can openly carry a firearm without any permit, but carrying concealed still requires a state-issued concealed handgun permit with training and a background check. Where you can carry, who is allowed to own a firearm at all, and what happens if you get it wrong are all governed by a mix of state statute and federal law.

Buying a Firearm in North Carolina

Since Senate Bill 41 took effect in March 2023, North Carolina no longer requires a pistol purchase permit from the county sheriff.¹ Handgun buyers at a licensed dealer now go through the same federal point-of-sale NICS background check that has always applied to rifles and shotguns.² You must be at least 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun from a licensed dealer and at least 21 to buy a handgun.

North Carolina does not have its own dealer licensing scheme. Anyone in the business of selling firearms needs a federal firearms license from ATF and must run a NICS check before every transfer to a non-licensee.³

Private Sales

Private, in-state sales between individuals do not require a background check under state law, and North Carolina has no firearm registry. Federal law still applies. You cannot sell to anyone you know or reasonably suspect is a prohibited person, and any sale to a buyer in another state has to run through a federally licensed dealer.³ Transferring a handgun to anyone under 18 is prohibited.¹ Dealing in firearms without a federal license can bring federal prosecution and up to five years in prison.⁴

Open Carry

North Carolina allows open carry of a handgun or long gun in most public places without any permit. Counties have authority to regulate the display of firearms on public roads, sidewalks, and other public property, so local ordinances can add restrictions. The location-based bans described below still apply whether the gun is visible or concealed.

Concealed Handgun Permit

Carrying a concealed handgun requires a permit issued by the sheriff of your county of residence. The application fee is $90 and renewals are $75. To qualify you must meet all of the following:⁵

Be at least 21 years old.
Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who has lived in North Carolina for at least 30 days.
Have no physical or mental condition that prevents safe handling of a handgun.
Complete an approved firearms safety course covering live-fire instruction and North Carolina’s concealed carry and deadly force laws. Approved courses include those certified by the NC Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, the NRA, or the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.
Have no disqualifying history: no felony conviction (with narrow exceptions), no status as a fugitive or unlawful drug user, no involuntary mental health commitment, among others.

Training courses generally run $50 to $250, so the total out-of-pocket cost usually falls between roughly $140 and $340. The sheriff has 45 days to issue or deny a completed application.

Who Can and Cannot Own a Firearm

Federal law sets the baseline. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the following categories of people are barred from possessing any firearm or ammunition:⁴

Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
Fugitives from justice.
Unlawful users of controlled substances.
Anyone adjudicated as mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental health institution.
People unlawfully in the United States, or admitted under a nonimmigrant visa (with limited exceptions).
Anyone discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions.
Anyone who has renounced U.S. citizenship.
Anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order.
Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Marijuana Users Under the 2026 ATF Rule

In January 2026, ATF issued an interim final rule redefining “unlawful user” of a controlled substance for the federal firearms prohibition. Under the revised definition, a person is an unlawful user only if they regularly use a controlled substance over an extended period continuing into the present, without a lawful prescription or in a way that substantially deviates from what a doctor prescribed.⁶ Isolated or sporadic use no longer triggers the prohibition, and the old guidance treating any possession conviction in the past year as automatically disqualifying is gone. Marijuana is still a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, though, so regular ongoing use will still bar you from possessing a firearm, regardless of state medical or recreational status.

Where You Cannot Carry

Even with a concealed handgun permit, firearms are prohibited in several categories of places. Some restrictions apply whether you carry openly or concealed.

Schools and educational property. Possessing a firearm on school grounds is a Class I felony.⁷
Law enforcement and correctional facilities.
State and federal government buildings and offices.
Private property posted with a conspicuous notice prohibiting concealed carry.
Picket lines and demonstrations at health care facilities or public places.
Anywhere federal law prohibits firearms.

Permit holders can keep a firearm locked in a vehicle on the grounds of schools and government buildings but cannot bring it inside. Willfully discharging a firearm on educational property is a Class F felony, which is more serious than possession.⁷

SB 41 opened one narrow exception. On property that serves as both a school and a place of religious worship, a concealed handgun permit holder can carry outside of “school operating hours.” Those hours cover any time the premises are being used for curricular activities, extracurricular activities, school-sponsored programs, or programs for minors run by unaffiliated organizations.¹ The exception applies only to concealed handguns and only to permit holders.

Self-Defense: Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground

North Carolina’s castle doctrine, at G.S. 14-51.2, creates a legal presumption in your favor when you use deadly force against someone who unlawfully and forcibly enters your home (including the curtilage), workplace, or motor vehicle. The law presumes both that you reasonably feared imminent death or serious bodily harm and that the intruder intended to commit a violent crime.⁸ The presumption falls away if the person had a legal right to be there (a co-owner or roommate, unless a domestic violence protective order was in place), if you were committing a crime yourself, or if the person entering was a law enforcement officer or bail bondsman acting in an official, identifiable capacity.

Outside the home, G.S. 14-51.3 eliminates the duty to retreat. You may use deadly force in any place you have a lawful right to be if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to yourself or someone else.⁹ A person acting under this section is immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability. The immunity does not cover force used against a law enforcement officer or bail bondsman lawfully performing their duties when you knew or should have known who they were.

The practical difference matters. Inside your home during a break-in, the presumption of reasonable fear does most of the work for you. Outside, you still have to show your belief was reasonable, but you never have to prove you tried to retreat first.

Safe Storage and Minors

G.S. 14-315.1 holds gun owners criminally responsible when a minor gets hold of an unsecured firearm and something goes wrong. If you live with someone under 18, own a firearm, and store it where it can be fired and where you knew or should have known an unsupervised minor could reach it, you face a Class 1 misdemeanor if the minor gains access and then possesses the gun on school property, displays it in public, injures or kills someone, or uses it in a crime.¹⁰ The statute does not apply if the firearm is on your body or close enough to use as quickly as if it were, and it does not apply if the minor obtained the firearm through a break-in or other unlawful entry.

Penalties for Common Violations

Possession by a Felon

A person with any felony conviction who possesses a firearm commits a Class G felony under G.S. 14-415.1.¹¹ Sentencing is structured. Someone with minimal prior convictions faces a presumptive minimum of 8 to 10 months. At the highest prior record level, the aggravated range rises to 20 to 25 months.¹² Brandishing the firearm during a felony bumps the charge to Class D. Firing it during a felony is Class C.

Carrying Concealed Without a Permit

Carrying a concealed weapon without a valid permit is a Class 2 misdemeanor for a first offense, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine. Violations of the concealed carry permit statute itself are also Class 2 misdemeanors.¹³ Repeat violations or carrying in sensitive locations can escalate to felony charges.

Firearms on School Property

Possessing a firearm on educational property is a Class I felony. If you are not a student or employee and the firearm is unloaded, inside a motor vehicle, and stored in a locked container or locked gun rack, the charge drops to a Class 1 misdemeanor.⁷ Encouraging or helping a minor to carry a firearm on school grounds is also a Class I felony.

Restoring Firearm Rights After a Felony

G.S. 14-415.4 lets a person with a single nonviolent felony conviction petition to have firearm rights restored. The requirements are strict:¹⁴

Only one nonviolent felony. The conviction cannot be Class A, B1, or B2, and cannot involve assault, use of a firearm or deadly weapon, or a registrable sex offense.
At least 20 years must have passed since your unconditional discharge or pardon.
Your civil rights must already be restored under North Carolina law or the law of the convicting state.
You must have been a North Carolina resident for at least one year before filing.
No subsequent misdemeanor convictions of the types that disqualify firearm possession.

You file the petition in the district court where you live and pay a $200 filing fee. The sheriff runs a fingerprint-based background check, and the district attorney gets at least four weeks’ notice before the hearing. You carry the burden of proving eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. If the conviction happened in another state, you also need to show that state has restored your right to possess firearms.

1
North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 41 Ratified Bill
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS
3
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 United States Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-415.12 – Criteria to Qualify for the Issuance of a Permit
6
Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-269.2 – Weapons on Campus or Other Educational Property
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-51.2 – Home, Workplace, and Motor Vehicle Protection
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-51.3 – Use of Force in Defense of Person
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-315.1 – Storage of Firearms to Protect Minors
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-415.1 – Possession of Firearms by Felon Prohibited
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-1340.17 – Punishment Limits for Each Class of Offense
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-415.21 – Violations of Article
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North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-415.4 – Restoration of Firearms Rights