Most adults 21 and older can carry a handgun openly or concealed in Texas without a permit, but Texas gun laws still set firm limits on who may own a firearm, where guns are banned outright, and when using one in self-defense is justified. The framework combines federal restrictions with Texas Penal Code Chapter 46, and the penalties for crossing a line run from a $200 trespass fine to a decade in federal prison.
Who Can Legally Own a Firearm
Federal law prohibits several categories of people from possessing any firearm or ammunition. A felony conviction is the most common disqualifier and carries up to 15 years in federal prison for violation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Also prohibited: anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, and anyone involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated mentally unfit.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons The domestic violence misdemeanor rule catches people off guard, because a past family assault conviction still triggers a lifetime federal ban.3U.S. Marshals Service. Lautenberg Amendment
Texas adds its own restriction on felons. Under Penal Code 46.04, a person convicted of a felony cannot possess a firearm for five years after completing their sentence, parole, or community supervision, whichever ends later.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm After that window closes, the person may possess a firearm only at the premises where they live. Carrying it elsewhere remains illegal. Federal law has no home exception, so a Texas felon who keeps a rifle at home under state law can still face federal charges.
Age rules depend on the weapon. You must be 18 to possess a rifle or shotgun. State law traditionally set 21 as the minimum age to carry a handgun outside the home or a vehicle you control, but a 2022 federal ruling in Andrews v. McCraw struck down the ban on 18-to-20-year-olds applying for a License to Carry; Texas withdrew its appeal, and that ruling stands.5Justia. Andrews et al v. McCraw et al, No. 4:2021cv01245 – Document 74 (N.D. Tex. 2022) A new felony, protective order, or mental health commitment strips your right to possess any firearm immediately, regardless of prior eligibility.
Buying a Gun in Texas
Purchases from a Federal Firearms Licensee require ATF Form 4473 and a valid government-issued photo ID showing Texas residency.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record Revisions The dealer runs the National Instant Criminal Background Check System check on the spot. Texas has no state waiting period, so a cleared check means a same-day pickup. Buyers under 21 can face a federal delay of up to 10 business days if the check flags juvenile records. Holders of a valid Texas License to Carry can skip the point-of-sale background check, because the LTC screening already covers it.
Private sales between two Texas residents are different. No Form 4473, no background check, no required paperwork.7Texas State Law Library. How Can I Sell My Gun to Another Person A bill of sale is optional, though many sellers keep one. The one hard rule: you cannot transfer a firearm to someone you know or have reason to believe is prohibited from owning one. Doing so is a state and federal crime. If you’re unsure about the buyer, run the sale through a licensed dealer who can perform the background check.
Carrying a Handgun Without a Permit
Since September 1, 2021, most Texans 21 and older who aren’t otherwise prohibited can carry a handgun in public, openly or concealed, without any permit.8Texas Legislature Online. H.B. No. 1927 A visible handgun must be in a holster, but the law doesn’t specify a holster type.9City of Houston. Firearms Carry Act of 2021 HB 1927 Concealed handguns have no holster requirement.
Permitless carry has real limits. Anyone under 21 who carries a handgun outside their home or personal vehicle commits a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. A convicted felon caught carrying faces a second-degree felony with a five-year minimum if the prior conviction was a standard felony, or a third-degree felony for certain other disqualifying offenses.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
In your own vehicle, a person 21 or older can have a visible handgun as long as it’s holstered. Under-21 non-license-holders must keep the handgun concealed, out of plain view. In all cases, you can’t be engaged in criminal activity or otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Why a License to Carry Still Matters
The License to Carry costs $40 to apply and requires four to six hours of classroom instruction plus a shooting proficiency test.11Texas.gov. Texas Handgun License Course fees typically add $100 to $260. Two benefits make it worth the trouble for regular carriers.
The first is reciprocity. Texas has agreements with dozens of states that recognize the LTC, so you can carry legally when you travel. Permitless carry stops at the state line.
The second is the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. That law bans possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a K–12 school, but it exempts people licensed by the state to carry, and the Texas LTC qualifies.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Given how many schools sit inside residential and commercial areas, the exception matters for anyone who carries daily.
Where Guns Are Prohibited
Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 lists locations where carrying a firearm is illegal no matter your permit status. Most violations are a third-degree felony, punishable by two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.13State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited14State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment The prohibited locations include:
- K–12 school campuses and grounds. Public universities must allow concealed carry by license holders in most buildings under a separate campus carry law, but K–12 schools are completely off-limits.
- Polling places on election day and during early voting.
- Courtrooms and court offices, unless the court authorizes it in writing.
- Racetrack premises.
- Secured airport areas past the security checkpoint.
- Premises where a high school, college, or professional sporting event is taking place.
- Correctional and civil commitment facilities.
- Within 1,000 feet of a designated execution site on a scheduled execution day.
Bars With 51% Alcohol Revenue
Any business that earns 51 percent or more of its income from on-premises alcohol sales is a prohibited location under the same statute.13State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission requires these establishments to post a red handgun warning sign at each entrance.15Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Sign Requirements Carrying past that sign is a third-degree felony, the same penalty as carrying in a school, and it applies even if you never order a drink. Restaurants that serve alcohol but earn most revenue from food are not covered, so the sign is what matters, not the presence of a bar.
Posted Private Property
Property owners can ban firearms with legally compliant signs. Three signs cover three situations:
- Section 30.06 signs prohibit concealed carry by license holders.
- Section 30.07 signs prohibit open carry by license holders.
- Section 30.05 signs prohibit carry by people relying on permitless carry.
Signs under 30.06 and 30.07 must display specific statutory language in English and Spanish, in contrasting-color block letters at least one inch high.16Department of Public Safety. Laws That Relate to Carrying a Handgun FAQs Entering posted property with a firearm under Section 30.05 starts as a Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $200, but rises to a Class A misdemeanor if you receive personal notice that firearms aren’t allowed and refuse to leave.17State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.05 – Criminal Trespass
Federal Buildings and Post Offices
A Texas LTC does not override federal law. Possessing a firearm in a standard federal building carries up to a year in prison; in a federal courthouse, up to two.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities Post offices are covered by a separate federal regulation that bans all firearms on postal property, including the parking lot, with penalties of up to a year, or up to five if the weapon was intended for use in a crime.19United States Postal Service. Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property
Air Travel
Flying out of a Texas airport, federal TSA rules apply. Firearms travel only in checked baggage, unloaded, inside a locked hard-sided container, and you must declare the firearm at the airline ticket counter at check-in.20Transportation Security Administration. Firearms and Ammunition Ammunition doesn’t need its own declaration but must be securely packaged; loaded magazines go inside the locked case with the unloaded firearm. Nothing firearm-related belongs in a carry-on. TSA treats a firearm as loaded whenever the weapon and its ammunition are both accessible to you, so keeping everything locked together in checked luggage is the only safe approach.
Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine
Texas allows deadly force when you reasonably believe it’s immediately necessary to protect yourself against another person’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. The statute also authorizes deadly force to prevent certain violent felonies, including murder, robbery, sexual assault, and kidnapping.21State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.32 – Deadly Force in Defense of Person
The castle doctrine creates a legal presumption that your fear was reasonable if someone unlawfully forced their way into your home, vehicle, or workplace. That presumption shifts the burden: prosecutors must disprove the reasonableness of your fear rather than you having to prove it. It applies only if you didn’t provoke the intruder and weren’t engaged in serious criminal activity.
Texas is also a stand-your-ground state. If you have a right to be where the confrontation happens and you didn’t provoke the other person, you have no duty to retreat before using deadly force, and a jury isn’t permitted to consider whether you could have retreated. The legal framework is generous, but every use of deadly force triggers a criminal investigation, and grand juries do indict people who claim self-defense. A clear, articulable threat and a proportional response matter more than the statute after the fact.
Storing Guns Around Children
Texas Penal Code Section 46.13 creates criminal liability when a child under 17 gains access to a loaded firearm you failed to secure. “Secure” means the steps a reasonable person would take to prevent access, such as a locked container or trigger lock.22State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.13 – Making a Firearm Accessible to a Child Mere access is a Class C misdemeanor. If the child fires the weapon and causes death or serious bodily injury, the charge rises to a Class A misdemeanor with up to a year in jail.
Defenses exist if an adult supervised the child’s use for a lawful purpose like hunting, if the child used the firearm in lawful self-defense, or if the child obtained the weapon by breaking into the property. Small biometric or rapid-access safes that allow emergency retrieval typically run $70 to $560.
NFA-Regulated Weapons
Certain weapons require federal registration under the National Firearms Act regardless of state permission. These include short-barreled rifles (barrels under 16 inches), short-barreled shotguns (barrels under 18 inches), suppressors, machine guns, and destructive devices.23Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act Texas adds no restrictions on NFA items beyond federal law, so once ATF approves the registration, the item is legal to possess in the state.
Acquisition means submitting an ATF Form 4 for a transfer or Form 1 to build the item yourself, along with a government ID, passport-style photo, and fingerprints. The registration historically required a $200 tax stamp, though that tax was reduced to $0 effective January 2026. ATF approval and the registration requirement stay in place regardless of the tax change. Processing times vary from days to months.
One rule allows no exception: there is no way to register an unregistered NFA item after the fact. Possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle or suppressor is a federal felony carrying up to 10 years in prison, whether or not you knew it required registration. Machine guns manufactured after May 19, 1986 cannot be registered for civilian ownership at all.