Minnesota Gun Laws: Possession, Permits, and Carry Rules

Minnesota gun laws combine a shall-issue carry system, a permit requirement for buying handguns and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons, universal background checks on private sales of those same firearms, and a list of people who cannot possess any firearm at all. State rules sit on top of federal law, and penalties run from a $25 petty misdemeanor for ignoring a business’s posted ban to 15 years in prison for possession by someone convicted of a crime of violence.

Who Cannot Possess a Firearm

Minnesota Statute 624.713 lists the people barred from possessing firearms or ammunition in the state. Anyone under 18 is generally prohibited from possessing a pistol or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon, with exceptions for minors under direct supervision of a parent or guardian, participating in a military drill, using an approved firing range under supervision, or who have completed an approved marksmanship and safety course.¹ There is no state age restriction on possessing long guns, though federal law bars licensed dealers from selling long guns to anyone under 18 or handguns to anyone under 21.

Beyond age, the other categories of prohibited persons under state law are:

Anyone convicted of a crime of violence, including equivalent out-of-state convictions. This is a lifetime ban.¹
Anyone ever judicially committed as mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or mentally ill and dangerous to the public, unless a court has formally restored the right.¹
Anyone subject to an active order for protection that includes a finding of a credible threat to physical safety. Firearms must be surrendered within three business days.²
Anyone convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor domestic violence offense, for three years after conviction.¹
Unlawful users of controlled substances. Federal law separately disqualifies anyone who uses a controlled substance, including marijuana, from possessing firearms or ammunition, even in states where marijuana is legal.

Penalties depend on the category. Someone with a crime-of-violence conviction found with any firearm faces up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. A minor caught with a pistol or semiautomatic weapon faces up to five years and a $10,000 fine. Most other prohibited-person violations are gross misdemeanors.¹

Buying a Handgun or Semiautomatic Weapon

Before you buy a handgun or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon in Minnesota, from a dealer or a private seller, you need either a permit to purchase (the transferee permit) or a valid permit to carry. The transferee permit is governed by Minnesota Statute 624.7131 and is free. No agency may charge any fee for the application, investigation, or issuance.³

Applications go to the chief of police in your city if the city has a full-time department, or to the county sheriff. You submit your name, current residence, phone number, driver’s license or state ID number, and physical descriptors like height, weight, and eye color. You also sign a statement authorizing the release of any mental health commitment records and affirming you are not prohibited from possessing firearms.³ Forms are available through local law enforcement or the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.⁴

The agency must issue the permit or provide a written denial within seven days. A denial has to state the specific legal grounds. The permit is valid statewide for one year, does not limit the number of purchases, is not transferable, and can be renewed the same way you applied.³

Private Sales

As of August 2023, Minnesota Statute 624.7134 requires background checks on all private transfers of handguns and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons. An unlicensed seller cannot transfer one of these firearms to another unlicensed person unless the buyer presents a valid transferee permit or the sale goes through a licensed dealer.⁵

When two private parties transfer using a transferee permit, both must complete a record of transfer form from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It requires copies of both parties’ government-issued ID, a signed statement from the buyer that they are not prohibited from possessing firearms, and the firearm’s serial number, manufacturer, make, and model. Both parties keep a copy for 10 years. Failing to produce the record when a peace officer requests it during a criminal investigation is a misdemeanor.⁵

Rifles and shotguns that are not semiautomatic military-style assault weapons fall outside these rules and can still be privately transferred without a permit or background check under state law.

Permit to Carry

Minnesota is a shall-issue state under Minnesota Statute 624.714. The sheriff must issue a permit to any applicant who meets the statutory criteria: at least 21 years old, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, not disqualified from possessing firearms, not listed in the state’s criminal gang investigative data system, and having completed a qualifying training course.⁶

Training

Complete a firearms safety or training course within one year before applying. The course must cover the fundamentals of pistol use, include an actual shooting qualification exercise, and address the legal aspects of carrying and using deadly force. Current peace officers satisfy the requirement through their employment. Instructors must be certified within the past five years by an organization or government entity approved by the Department of Public Safety, and must issue a signed completion certificate.⁶

Application and Fee

Submit the application, your training certificate, and a copy of your government-issued photo ID to the sheriff in your county of residence. The sheriff can charge up to $100 for a new application, or the actual processing cost, whichever is less. Of that amount, $10 goes to the state general fund.⁶

The sheriff has 30 days to issue or deny. If the sheriff does not respond within that window, the permit is considered issued by operation of law. The permit is valid for five years and can be renewed under the same criteria, with a new training certificate completed within the prior year.⁶

Denials and Appeals

A sheriff can deny only on two grounds: the applicant fails the statutory qualifications, or there is a substantial likelihood the applicant would be a danger to themselves or the public. The denial must be in writing and state the specific factual basis. You then have 20 business days to submit additional documentation, and the sheriff must reconsider and respond within 15 business days.⁶

If the denial stands, you can petition the district court for a de novo review. The court must hold a sealed hearing within 60 days of filing, and it evaluates the evidence independently rather than deferring to the sheriff.⁶

Carrying Without a Permit and Duty to Inform

Carrying a pistol in public without a valid permit, whether on your person, in a vehicle, on a snowmobile, or in a boat, is a gross misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for a second or subsequent conviction. A gross misdemeanor in Minnesota carries up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine; a felony conviction would also strip your right to possess firearms going forward.⁶

If a peace officer asks whether you are currently carrying a firearm, you must answer truthfully. The statute does not require you to volunteer the information, but you cannot deny it when asked.⁶

Where You Cannot Carry Even With a Permit

Private Businesses

Under Minnesota Statute 624.714, subdivision 17, a private business can ban firearms by posting a conspicuous sign at every entrance or by personally informing a permit holder that guns are not allowed. The statute specifies the sign’s language, typeface, size, background, and placement.⁷

The penalty is smaller than most people expect. If you remain on the premises after a reasonable request to leave, you are guilty of a petty misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $25 for a first offense. The firearm is not subject to forfeiture, and this is the exclusive penalty; the business cannot pursue criminal trespass charges for the same conduct.⁷

Schools and Child Care Facilities

Possessing a dangerous weapon on school property is a felony under Minnesota Statute 609.66, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. “School property” includes public and private K-12 buildings and grounds, school buses while transporting students, licensed child care centers while children are present, and portions of buildings under temporary school control where signs are posted at each entrance.⁸

Permit holders get a carve-out. If you have a valid carry permit and knowingly bring a firearm onto school property on your person, the offense drops to a misdemeanor and the firearm is not subject to forfeiture. Without a permit, the full felony applies.⁸

Federal Property

A Minnesota carry permit does not authorize firearms inside federal buildings, including courthouses, post offices, and federal office buildings. On U.S. Postal Service property, carrying or storing a firearm is prohibited except for official purposes, with penalties of up to one year in prison.⁹ National parks in Minnesota follow state law for outdoor possession, so a valid permit holder can carry on trails and in campgrounds, but firearms are prohibited inside federal facilities within park boundaries such as visitor centers, ranger stations, and museums. Secure the firearm in your vehicle before entering those buildings.

Self-Defense and Use of Force

Minnesota recognizes a version of the castle doctrine. Inside your own home, you have no duty to retreat before using reasonable force, including deadly force, to prevent the commission of a felony. The force must remain proportional to the threat; once the threat ends, so does the right to use force.

Outside the home, Minnesota imposes a duty to retreat. Before using force in self-defense, you must not have had a reasonable possibility of retreating to avoid the danger. This sets Minnesota apart from stand-your-ground states, where no retreat is required in any location where the person has a legal right to be. Proposals to eliminate the duty to retreat outside the home have been introduced but, as of this writing, have not been enacted.

When Firearms Must Be Surrendered

Orders for Protection

When a court issues an order for protection restraining someone from harassing or threatening the petitioner, and includes a finding of a credible threat to physical safety, the order must prohibit firearm possession for as long as it is in effect. The respondent has three business days to transfer all firearms to a licensed firearms dealer, a law enforcement agency, or a third party who can legally possess them. The transfer can be permanent or temporary, and a third party holding the firearms cannot live with the person surrendering them.²

Proof of transfer must be filed with the court within two business days after the transfer. If firearms go to a third party, that person must sign a notarized affidavit listing the serial number, make, and model of each firearm and acknowledging potential criminal and civil liability if the surrendering person regains access.²

Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Effective January 1, 2024, Minnesota law allows certain people to petition a court for an extreme risk protection order, which temporarily prohibits a person from purchasing or possessing firearms. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety administers the program.¹⁰ These orders are separate from domestic abuse orders for protection. They address situations where someone poses a risk of harming themselves or others, regardless of whether a domestic relationship exists. A court hearing decides whether the order is warranted, and the person subject to it can contest it.

Storing Firearms Around Children

It is a gross misdemeanor to store or leave a loaded firearm where you know, or should know, a child is likely to gain access, unless you take reasonable steps to prevent that access. A gross misdemeanor conviction for negligent storage triggers a three-year prohibition on possessing firearms. Proposals to expand the requirement into a general locking-device or storage mandate regardless of whether children are present have been introduced but have not become law as of this writing.

Local Ordinances

Minnesota Statute 471.633 preempts all local government authority to regulate firearms, ammunition, or their components. Cities, counties, towns, and other subdivisions cannot pass their own gun ordinances, with two exceptions: they may regulate the discharge of firearms (for example, banning shooting within city limits), and they may adopt regulations identical to state law. Any local regulation beyond those boundaries is void.¹¹ Firearm rules are effectively uniform statewide, so what applies in Minneapolis applies in rural counties, aside from local discharge ordinances.

Traveling Through Minnesota With a Firearm

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. 926A protects travelers moving a firearm between two states where they may legally possess it. During transport the firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not accessible from the passenger compartment, typically in a locked trunk or a locked container in the cargo area. The protection applies only during continuous travel; extended stops in states where you cannot legally possess the firearm can jeopardize the defense.

For air travel, TSA rules allow firearms only in checked luggage. The firearm must be unloaded and placed in a locked hard-sided container, and you must declare it at the ticket counter during check-in. Ammunition may go in the same locked case or in separate secure packaging in checked baggage, but never in a carry-on.¹²

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.713 – Certain Persons Not to Possess Firearms
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 518B.01 – Domestic Abuse Act
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7131 – Transferee Permit, Penalty
4
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Permit to Purchase/Transfer a Firearm
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.7134 – Private Party Transfers, Background Check Required
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.714 – Carrying of Weapons Without Permit, Penalties
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 624.714 – Carrying of Weapons Without Permit, Penalties – Section: Subdivision 17
8
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.66 – Dangerous Weapons
9
USPS.com. Poster 158 – Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property
10
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Extreme Risk Protection Orders
11
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 471.633 – Firearms
12
Transportation Security Administration. Firearms and Ammunition