Handgun Laws in Texas: Carry, Self-Defense, and Restrictions

Most adults 21 and older can carry a handgun in Texas without a permit, but the handgun laws in Texas still restrict who may possess a firearm at all, how it must be carried, where it is banned, and when it can lawfully be used. The permissive framework created by the Firearm Carry Act of 2021 sits on top of those limits, not in place of them.

Who Can Legally Possess a Handgun

The baseline age is 21. If you are at least 21 and have no disqualifying history, you can possess and carry a handgun in Texas.¹ People under 21 can still have a handgun on their own property, inside their own vehicle, or while traveling directly to one, but public carry is off the table until their 21st birthday.

A felony conviction brings a two-stage restriction. For the first five years after release from confinement or supervision (whichever is later), a convicted felon cannot possess a firearm anywhere. After those five years, possession is legal only at the felon’s own home.² A felon caught carrying away from home faces a second-degree felony with a five-year minimum prison sentence.¹

A conviction for Class A misdemeanor assault against a family or household member creates a five-year firearm ban, measured from the later of release from confinement or community supervision. Violating that ban is a Class A misdemeanor. Anyone subject to an active protective order under the Family Code or Code of Criminal Procedure is also prohibited from possessing a firearm while the order is in effect.²

Federal law layers on more categories. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), you cannot possess a firearm if you are a fugitive, an unlawful user of controlled substances, dishonorably discharged from the military, under a domestic restraining order, or convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, among others.³ These federal bars apply even where Texas law would otherwise allow possession.

Permitless Carry and the License to Carry

Since September 2021, the Firearm Carry Act (House Bill 1927) has let anyone 21 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm carry a handgun in public without a state-issued license.⁴ You still have to follow holster rules and stay out of prohibited places, but no permit is required to carry openly or concealed.

Texas still issues the License to Carry (LTC), and there are practical reasons to get one. An LTC lets you skip the federal background check (NICS) when buying a handgun from a licensed dealer, because the license itself qualifies as an alternative under the Brady Act as long as it was issued within the past five years.⁵ The LTC also provides reciprocity in roughly 35 other states. Without the license, you are subject to whatever carry laws exist in each state you visit.

The license is issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Applicants pay a $40 fee, complete four to six hours of classroom training with a certified instructor, pass a written exam and a shooting proficiency test, and submit fingerprints and a training certificate.⁶ Range qualification must be in person; classroom work can be done online.

Holster and Carry Method Rules

Open carry is legal, but any handgun visible in public must be in a holster. Intentionally displaying a handgun in plain view without a holster is a separate offense, and the statute exempts the gun only when it sits in a holster, whether on the belt, shoulder, ankle, or elsewhere.¹ The same rule applies in a vehicle: if a handgun is in plain view and you are 21 or older, it must be holstered.

Carrying without a holster when one is required, or displaying a handgun in public without one, is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.⁷

Where You Cannot Carry

Even under permitless carry, Texas bans handguns from a specific list of places. Carrying into any of them is generally a third-degree felony, punishable by two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁸⁹ Prohibited locations include:

Schools and school-sponsored events, public or private
Polling places during elections or early voting
Government court premises and offices used by the court, absent written authorization
Racetracks
Secured areas of airports
Within 1,000 feet of a designated execution site on the day a death sentence is scheduled

Bars and similar establishments that derive 51 percent or more of their income from on-premises alcohol sales are also off-limits, and they must post a red warning sign at every entrance.¹⁰ If you see that red sign, treat it as a hard line.

Federal Buildings and National Parks

Federal law independently prohibits firearms in any building owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees regularly work. A first offense carries up to one year in prison; possession in a federal courthouse can bring up to two years.¹¹ Post offices, federal courthouses, Social Security offices, and VA buildings all fall under this rule, and a Texas LTC does not override it.

National parks in Texas follow a different rule. Under federal regulation, you can carry a firearm in a National Park System unit as long as you comply with the law of the state where the park sits and are not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.¹² Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains, and other Texas national parks follow Texas carry law on park grounds. Firearms remain prohibited inside any federal building within the park, such as a visitor center or ranger station.

Private Property Signs

Private property owners can ban handguns by posting one of three specific signs:

Section 30.05 signs prohibit firearms for anyone, including permitless carriers. The sign must reference Section 30.05 in English and Spanish, in contrasting colors with letters at least one inch high.¹³
Section 30.06 signs prohibit concealed carry by LTC holders.¹⁴
Section 30.07 signs prohibit open carry by LTC holders.¹⁵

Ignoring any of these signs is typically a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $200. The offense rises to a Class A misdemeanor if you are personally told to leave by the owner or someone acting for them and you refuse.¹³¹⁵

Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine

Texas gives handgun owners unusually broad latitude to defend themselves. Those rules matter as much as knowing where you can carry.

Deadly Force Against a Person

You are justified in using deadly force against another person when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against their use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. Deadly force is also justified to prevent murder, aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery against you.¹⁶

The law presumes your belief was reasonable if someone unlawfully forced their way into your home, vehicle, or workplace, was attempting to, or was trying to forcibly remove you from any of those places. That presumption is the heart of what people call the Castle Doctrine. It applies as long as you did not provoke the encounter and were not engaged in criminal activity at the time.¹⁶

Texas also does not require you to retreat before using deadly force. As long as you have a legal right to be where you are and are not the initial aggressor, you can defend yourself without first trying to escape.

Deadly Force to Protect Property

Texas goes further than most states by allowing deadly force to protect property in limited circumstances. You can use deadly force to prevent arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft or criminal mischief committed at night, if you reasonably believe the property cannot be protected any other way or that using lesser force would expose you or someone else to a substantial risk of death or serious injury.¹⁷ The same justification covers stopping someone fleeing immediately after a burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or nighttime theft while they escape with your property. Most property-defense claims fail on the “no other means” requirement, which is hard to satisfy after the fact.

Buying and Transferring Handguns

Buying from a licensed dealer requires completing ATF Form 4473 and passing a federal background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.¹⁸ Texas has no waiting period. If your check clears, you leave with the handgun that day. LTC holders can skip the NICS check entirely.⁵

Private sales between two Texas residents who are not prohibited from possessing firearms do not require a background check, a permit, or registration with any state agency. Texas has no handgun registry. Sellers in private transactions still cannot knowingly transfer a handgun to someone who intends to use it unlawfully, to someone under an active protective order, or to a felon within five years of release. Most unlawful transfer violations are Class A misdemeanors, though selling a handgun to someone under 18 or making a false statement on a purchase form is a state jail felony carrying 180 days to two years of confinement.¹⁹²⁰

Buying a firearm on behalf of someone prohibited from owning one, or for someone trying to avoid a background check, is a federal crime. Under statutes enacted by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, a straw purchase can bring up to 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, rising to 25 years if the firearm is later used in a felony, an act of terrorism, or drug trafficking.²¹

Traveling with a Handgun

Texas law lets you keep a handgun in your vehicle without a license, as long as it is not in plain view or, if visible, is holstered and you are 21 or older.¹ Once you cross state lines, Texas law stops protecting you. An LTC provides reciprocity in roughly 35 states, but each state sets its own carry and storage rules. Without an LTC, you should research each state’s laws individually before traveling armed.

Flying with a handgun from a Texas airport follows federal TSA rules. The handgun must be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided container, and transported only in checked baggage, and you must declare it at the airline ticket counter each time you fly.²² The container must fully prevent access to the firearm; a flimsy case or the manufacturer’s original box usually will not qualify. Airlines may charge additional fees, and you are responsible for complying with the firearm laws of your destination.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
3
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
4
Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Bill 1927 – Firearm Carry Act of 2021
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart
6
Texas.gov. Texas Handgun License
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor Punishment
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
9
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
10
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Sign Requirements
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
12
eCFR. 36 CFR 2.4 – Weapons, Traps and Nets
13
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.05 – Criminal Trespass
14
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.06 – Trespass by License Holder With a Concealed Handgun
15
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.07 – Trespass by License Holder With an Openly Carried Handgun
16
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.32 – Deadly Force in Defense of Person
17
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.42 – Deadly Force to Protect Property
18
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide
19
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.06 – Unlawful Transfer of Certain Weapons
20
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.35 – State Jail Felony Punishment
21
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy
22
Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition