Indiana Gun Laws: Carry, Restrictions, and Penalties

Indiana gun laws let any adult who qualifies as a “proper person” carry a handgun openly or concealed without a permit, as long as they stay out of restricted locations and clear of federal prohibitions. The permitless carry rule took effect July 1, 2022, and applies to residents and visitors alike. Indiana still issues a voluntary handgun license, mainly for people who travel to states that recognize it.

Who Can Legally Have a Gun in Indiana

Almost every firearm right in the state depends on whether you meet the “proper person” definition in Indiana Code 35-47-1-7. The statute lists 14 disqualifiers, and a single one is enough to strip the right to carry or possess a handgun under state law. The most common include:

A conviction for a crime that could have carried more than a year in prison.
A domestic violence conviction, though a court can restore firearm rights after five years.
A current court order prohibiting handgun possession.
A documented record of alcohol or drug abuse.
An involuntary commitment to a mental institution (other than a short observational hold), a 90-day commitment, or a regular civil commitment.
A court finding of mental incompetence, including verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity, guilty but mentally ill, or incompetent to stand trial.
A current court designation as “dangerous” under the Jake Laird Law.

Other disqualifiers include a conviction for resisting law enforcement within the past five years, a conviction for any crime involving the inability to safely handle a handgun, documented evidence of a propensity for violent or emotionally unstable conduct, and, for applicants under 23, a juvenile adjudication for conduct that would be a felony if committed by an adult.¹

The Federal Overlay

State eligibility is only half the picture. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) separately bars certain people from possessing any firearm or ammunition. The federal list overlaps with Indiana’s but adds categories the state rule does not explicitly cover, including fugitives from justice, unlawful users of controlled substances, people dishonorably discharged from the military, people who have renounced U.S. citizenship, and anyone under indictment for a felony-level offense.² A federal prohibition makes possession a federal crime carrying up to 10 years in prison, even if Indiana law would allow it.

Restoring Firearm Rights

People convicted of domestic violence can petition an Indiana court to restore their firearm rights five years after conviction. For felony convictions, restoration generally requires the conviction to have been expunged or the person’s rights restored by the governor. The Department of Justice is developing a program under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) to allow applications for relief from federal firearms disabilities, but that program is not yet fully operational.³

Age Rules

Indiana sets the carry age at 18. Anyone at least 18 who is not otherwise prohibited may carry a handgun without a permit.⁴ State law also prohibits selling or transferring a handgun to anyone under 18, with an exception for transfers from a parent or guardian.

Federal law pushes the age higher for dealer purchases. A federally licensed dealer cannot sell a handgun or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21. Long guns can be bought from a dealer at 18.⁵ So an 18-year-old Indiana resident can legally carry a handgun but cannot buy one from a gun store until turning 21. Private sales between individuals remain legal at 18 under state law.

For younger minors, Indiana Code 35-47-10 allows firearm handling in specific supervised circumstances: hunter safety courses, target shooting at an established range under adult supervision, organized shooting competitions, hunting with a valid license, and while on property controlled by a parent or guardian with that parent’s permission.⁶ Outside those situations, giving a firearm to a child exposes the adult to criminal liability.

Carrying Without a Permit

House Enrolled Act 1296 eliminated Indiana’s handgun permit requirement on July 1, 2022.⁷ Under the current version of Indiana Code 35-47-2-3, anyone at least 18 who is not otherwise prohibited may carry a handgun openly or concealed without a license, and the rule covers both residents and non-residents while they are in the state.⁴

Permitless carry does not override location restrictions, federal prohibitions, or the laws of other states. Driving into Ohio, Illinois, or Michigan with a handgun based solely on Indiana’s law can be a felony across the state line.

The Voluntary Handgun License

Indiana still issues handgun licenses for residents who want a recognized credential for interstate travel. States with reciprocity agreements honor the Indiana license. The application goes through your local police chief or county sheriff, and the state charges no fee. The process involves a background investigation, fingerprinting, and forwarding your information to the superintendent of the Indiana State Police for final approval.⁴

No Duty to Inform Officers

Indiana does not require you to volunteer that you are carrying a firearm during a police encounter. The Indiana Attorney General recommends calmly informing an officer anyway, as a safety courtesy, but it is not legally required.

Buying and Selling

Dealer sales and private sales follow different rules. Purchases through a Federal Firearms Licensee require a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System before the dealer can complete the sale. Indiana Code 35-47-2.5 governs those transactions.⁸

Private sales between individuals do not require a background check, and the seller is not obligated to run the buyer through NICS or keep records. Indiana has no waiting period for any firearm purchase. One rule still binds private sellers: knowingly selling or transferring a firearm to someone prohibited from possessing one is a crime under both state law and 18 U.S.C. § 922(d).⁵ Verifying the buyer’s eligibility protects you even when no formal process is required.

Where You Can’t Carry

Permitless carry does not mean carry anywhere. State and federal law both set off-limits locations regardless of your eligibility.

School Property

Possessing a firearm on school property or on a school bus is a Level 6 felony, punishable by six months to two and a half years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁹¹⁰ A vehicle exception lets a person who is legally allowed to possess a firearm keep it in a locked vehicle in a school parking lot, provided it is stored in the trunk, a locked glove compartment, or out of plain sight. A visible firearm in a vehicle on school property is a Class A misdemeanor.

Airports

Bringing a firearm into the controlled-access area of an airport, past security, is a Class A misdemeanor under Indiana Code 35-47-6-1.3.¹¹ Firearms remain allowed in the general non-secured areas and in checked luggage that meets TSA requirements.

Courthouses

Local governments can ban firearms in any building housing a circuit, superior, city, town, or small claims courtroom. When the building also contains residential tenants or private businesses, the restriction applies only to the courthouse portion and common areas.¹² Most Indiana courthouses prohibit firearms and screen entrants with metal detectors.

Federal Property and Post Offices

Federal law prohibits firearms in federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. § 930, carrying penalties up to one year in prison. Post offices go further: 39 C.F.R. § 232.1 bans carrying or storing firearms anywhere on postal property, including the parking lot and surrounding grounds, openly or concealed.¹³

Private Property

Private property owners can generally prohibit firearms on their premises. Posted signs or verbal notice carry real weight; staying after being told to leave can lead to trespassing charges.

Using a Gun in Self-Defense

Indiana has a strong stand-your-ground law. Under Indiana Code 35-41-3-2, deadly force is justified, with no duty to retreat, if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to yourself or a third person, or to stop a forcible felony.¹⁴

The castle doctrine extends this to your home, the surrounding curtilage (yard, porch, driveway), and your occupied vehicle. When someone unlawfully enters or attacks any of those spaces, you may use reasonable force, including deadly force, without retreating.¹⁴

The protection has limits. You lose it if you were committing a crime at the time, if you provoked the confrontation intending to cause injury, or if you were the initial aggressor and did not clearly withdraw. Deadly force to protect property alone, outside your dwelling, curtilage, or occupied vehicle, is not permitted unless the situation also meets the serious-bodily-injury or forcible-felony threshold.

When Police Can Take Your Guns

Indiana’s red flag law, known as the Jake Laird Law and codified at Indiana Code 35-47-14, lets law enforcement petition a court to seize firearms from someone deemed “dangerous.” A person is dangerous if they present an imminent risk of injury to themselves or others, or if it is probable they will present such a risk in the future because of a mental illness not controlled by voluntary, consistent medication, or documented evidence of a propensity for violent or suicidal conduct.¹⁵

Officers can seize firearms without a warrant in an emergency, but they must file a sworn written statement with the court afterward explaining why they believed the person was dangerous. Warrant or not, the court must hold a hearing within 14 days to decide whether the firearms are returned or retained.¹⁶ Release from a mental health facility or a mental illness currently controlled by medication does not, by itself, make someone dangerous under this law.¹⁵

Penalties at a Glance

Selling or transferring a firearm to a prohibited person carries criminal penalties under both state and federal law, so knowing the buyer’s status matters.

Suppressors, Short-Barreled Rifles, and Other NFA Items

Indiana allows possession of items regulated under the federal National Firearms Act: suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and machine guns. Owning any of them requires full federal compliance, meaning the appropriate ATF form, an enhanced background check with fingerprints and photographs, and a $200 tax stamp per item. A short-barreled rifle is defined federally as a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches or an overall length under 26 inches. NFA requirements sit on top of Indiana’s possession rules, so the proper-person test still applies.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-1-7 – Proper Person
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
3
The United States Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-2-3 – License Requirement; Application
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 Criminal Law and Procedure 35-47-10-1
7
Indiana State Police. Permitless Carry Website Messaging
8
Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 47, Chapter 2.5 – Sale of Handguns
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-9-2 – Possession of Firearms on School Property or a School Bus
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-6-1.3 – Firearm, Explosive, or Deadly Weapon; Possession in Controlled Access Areas of an Airport
12
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 Criminal Law and Procedure 35-47-11.1-4
13
United States Postal Service. Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property Is Prohibited by Law
14
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 Criminal Law and Procedure 35-41-3-2
15
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-14-1 – Dangerous
16
Justia. Indiana Code 35-47-14 – Proceedings for the Seizure and Retention of a Firearm
17
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-4-5 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm by Serious Violent Felon