How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy a Gun in Louisiana?

In Louisiana, you have to be at least 18 to buy a long gun (a rifle or shotgun) from a licensed dealer, and at least 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer. Those age floors come from federal law, and Louisiana does not add any state-level minimum on top of them. Private sales between individuals follow a different, looser set of rules, and a recent federal appeals court decision may soon lower the handgun age at licensed dealers.

Buying a Long Gun at 18

Federal law lets a licensed dealer sell a rifle or shotgun to anyone 18 or older who passes a background check and is not otherwise prohibited from owning a firearm. Louisiana does not impose any additional age requirement, so 18 is the practical minimum for buying a long gun from a gun store, sporting goods retailer, or any other federally licensed seller in the state.

Before the sale is finalized, the dealer runs your information through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which cross-references criminal history, mental health adjudications, and other disqualifying records.¹ Louisiana has no waiting period between purchase and delivery and no state background check system layered on top.

Buying a Handgun at 21

To buy a handgun from a licensed dealer, federal law currently requires you to be 21. That rule applies in Louisiana just as it does everywhere else, and the state does not lower it.

That threshold is under active legal challenge. In January 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that barring 18-to-20-year-olds from buying handguns through licensed dealers violates the Second Amendment. The Fifth Circuit covers Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Whether the decision changes day-to-day enforcement depends on further proceedings and a possible Supreme Court review, so the practical rule may shift. If you are 18, 19, or 20 and want to buy a handgun from a dealer in Louisiana, check the current status of that ruling before you assume the answer is yes or no.

Private Sales Follow Different Age Rules

A private (unlicensed) seller is a different situation from a licensed dealer. Under federal law, a private seller can transfer a handgun to anyone 18 or older, and there is no federal minimum age for a private long-gun sale. Louisiana does not add a state minimum on top.

Private sales in Louisiana also do not require a background check. Buying from a neighbor, a friend, or an unlicensed seller at a gun show does not trigger the NICS check that dealers must run, and private sellers have no state-law recordkeeping obligation. If you want a private buyer’s eligibility verified, you can take the transaction to a licensed dealer and pay a transfer fee, typically $25 to $50, but nothing in state law requires it.

One thing that is illegal at any age: a straw purchase. If you buy a firearm on behalf of someone who cannot legally own one, you have made a false statement on the federal transfer form, which is a serious federal felony.

Carrying at 18 Is Not the Same as Buying

Louisiana changed its concealed carry law on July 4, 2024. Under RS 14:95(M), anyone 18 or older who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm can carry a concealed handgun without a permit.² That is a change from the prior law, which required a permit and set the minimum age at 21.

Permitless carry only affects how you carry a handgun you already lawfully possess. It does not change the age at which a licensed dealer can sell you one. An 18-year-old in Louisiana can legally carry a handgun concealed, but under current federal law cannot walk into a gun store and buy that handgun from a licensed dealer.

Permitless carry also does not mean carry-anywhere. The same location restrictions that apply to permit holders still apply: schools and school zones, courthouses, the state capitol, police stations, jails, bars, polling places, airport secured areas, and places of worship that have not authorized carry. Private property owners can also ban firearms on their premises. If a police officer approaches you in an official capacity while you are carrying, you have to tell the officer you have a weapon, submit to a pat-down, and allow temporary disarming.²

Age Alone Is Not Enough

Meeting the age requirement only gets you past one screen. Both federal and Louisiana law bar entire categories of people from buying or possessing firearms at any age.

Federal law lists nine prohibited categories, including anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, fugitives, unlawful drug users, people adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, anyone subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.³

Louisiana adds its own overlapping prohibitions. RS 14:95.1 bars anyone convicted of a felony crime of violence, certain drug offenses, sex offenses, or felony weapons charges from possessing a firearm or carrying a concealed weapon.⁴ RS 14:95.10 separately targets people convicted of domestic abuse battery or repeat battery of a dating partner, with a penalty of one to twenty years in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $5,000, with no probation or parole.⁵

Under 18: Handgun Possession Rules

People under 18 cannot buy a handgun through any channel, and under RS 14:95.8 they generally cannot knowingly possess one either.⁶ Penalties climb with each offense:

First offense: fine up to $100 and 90 days to six months in jail
Second offense: fine up to $500 and up to two years imprisonment
Third or subsequent offense: fine up to $1,000 and up to five years at hard labor

A juvenile with a prior conviction for a crime of violence faces a fine of $500 to $1,000 and six months to five years, with at least 90 days served without probation or parole.⁶

The statute carves out several situations where a minor can lawfully have a handgun: while attending a hunter’s safety or firearms safety course, target shooting at an established range, hunting or trapping with a valid license, traveling to or from those activities with an unloaded gun, on private property with permission from both a parent or guardian and the property owner, at home with parental or guardian permission, or carrying a handgun with written parental permission kept on their person.⁶ The at-home exception requires parental permission but does not require adult supervision or an emergency.

1
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Firearms Checks (NICS)
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:95 – Illegal Carrying of Weapons
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
4
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:95.1 – Possession of Firearm or Carrying Concealed Weapon by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies
5
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:95.10 – Possession of a Firearm or Carrying of a Concealed Weapon by a Person Convicted of Domestic Abuse Battery and Certain Offenses of Battery of a Dating Partner
6
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:95.8 – Illegal Possession of a Handgun by a Juvenile