Missouri Carry Laws: Permitless, Vehicle, and Concealed Permit

Missouri carry laws let any resident who is at least 19 and legally allowed to possess a firearm carry it openly or concealed without a permit. This has been the rule since January 1, 2017, when the legislature overrode the governor’s veto on SB 656 and eliminated the requirement to hold a concealed carry permit before carrying a hidden firearm in public.¹ A voluntary permit is still available and useful for out-of-state travel, and a separate set of statutes controls who is disqualified, where firearms are banned, and when force can be used.

Who Can Carry Without a Permit

Permitless carry in Missouri is available to any resident who meets three conditions:

Age 19 or older, or age 18 if serving on active duty or honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces.
Not disqualified from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.
Not carrying into a place where firearms are prohibited.

You are not required to tell an officer during a traffic stop or other encounter that you are carrying. Volunteering the information tends to make the encounter easier for both sides, but Missouri imposes no legal duty to disclose.

Who Cannot Possess a Firearm

RSMo 571.070 bars several categories of people from possessing any firearm, whether openly or concealed. You cannot legally possess a firearm in Missouri if you:

Have been convicted of a felony under Missouri law, another state’s law, or federal law.
Are a fugitive from justice.
Are habitually intoxicated or in a drugged condition.
Have been adjudged mentally incompetent.

Unlawful possession is a class C felony, punishable by three to ten years in prison. If the person has a prior “dangerous felony” conviction or a prior unlawful firearm possession conviction, the charge rises to a class B felony, carrying five to fifteen years.²³

Certain misdemeanors won’t strip your right to possess a firearm but will block you from getting a concealed carry permit: one or more violent misdemeanors, or two or more DUI or drug-possession misdemeanors, within the five years before you apply.⁴

Carrying While Intoxicated

Having a loaded firearm on you while intoxicated, combined with negligent or unlawful handling or discharge, is a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison. The same conduct with an unloaded firearm is a class A misdemeanor.¹ Simple intoxication while carrying is not enough on its own — the statute requires negligent handling, unlawful handling, or discharge. A lawful defensive use under RSMo 563.031 does not count, even if the shooter was intoxicated.⁵

Where You Cannot Carry

Constitutional carry does not mean you can bring a firearm everywhere. RSMo 571.107 lists categories of prohibited locations, and some restrictions can be lifted by the property owner or the official in charge, while others are absolute.

Absolute or Near-Absolute Prohibitions

Courthouses and courtrooms of the circuit, appellate, and supreme courts, along with their administrative offices and libraries.
Adult and juvenile detention facilities.
Any meeting of a local governing body, the General Assembly, or a legislative committee.
Polling places, within 25 feet, on any election day.
Airport security areas where entry is controlled by inspection.
Hospitals accessible to the public.
Sports arenas and stadiums with a seating capacity of 5,000 or more.
Gated areas of amusement parks.
Federal buildings and post offices, under federal law that overrides any state permit.

Prohibited Unless Consent Is Given

Police, sheriff, and highway patrol stations, unless the chief law enforcement officer consents.
Elementary and secondary schools, school buses, and school-sponsored functions, without consent of a school official or the district’s school board.
Higher education institutions, without consent of the governing body.
Child care facilities, without consent of the manager.
Churches and other places of worship, without consent of the minister or governing religious organization.
Riverboat gambling operations accessible to the public, without consent of the owner or manager.

The General Assembly, the supreme court, counties, and municipalities can also prohibit or limit concealed carry in portions of buildings they own, lease, or control.⁶

Bars vs. Restaurants

Missouri draws a firm line between the two. You cannot carry concealed into a business primarily devoted to selling liquor for on-premises consumption — a bar, tavern, or nightclub — without the owner’s or manager’s consent. A restaurant that serves alcohol is treated differently: if it is open to the general public, seats at least 50 in its dining area, and earns at least 51% of its gross annual income from food, the prohibition does not apply and you can legally carry concealed inside. Even at a bar where carrying inside is prohibited, a firearm left in your vehicle in the parking lot is legal so long as you don’t remove or brandish it on the premises. And no permit holder may possess a firearm while intoxicated, whatever the setting.⁶

Posted Private Property

Any private property owner or business can bar concealed firearms by posting a sign at least 11 by 14 inches, with lettering at least one inch tall, in a conspicuous place. If you carry into a properly posted business and are asked to leave, refusing carries escalating penalties: up to $100 for a first offense; up to $200 plus a one-year suspension of your concealed carry permit for a second within six months; and up to $500, revocation of your permit, and a three-year ban on reapplying for a third within one year of the first.⁶

Carrying in a Vehicle

Missouri treats the passenger cabin of your vehicle much like an extension of your home. Anyone legally allowed to possess a firearm can keep one concealed on their person or stored anywhere inside — glove compartment, center console, under the seat, or in plain view — with no permit required. Storage in the trunk is also legal. If other passengers include prohibited persons or minors, keep the firearm where they cannot access it.¹

Why Some Missourians Still Get a Concealed Carry Permit

Two reasons stand out. First, reciprocity: a Missouri permit is recognized by many states that would not otherwise honor Missouri’s permitless carry. If you travel armed, the permit is close to essential. Second, open carry in cities: a local government can regulate open carry within its jurisdiction, but a person with a valid Missouri or recognized out-of-state concealed carry permit may still open carry in those cities, provided they carry the permit and show it to law enforcement if asked.⁷

Applying for a Permit

Applications go to the sheriff of your county of residence. To qualify you must be at least 19 (or 18 with qualifying military service), be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living in Missouri, and be free of the criminal history and mental health bars discussed above. You must complete a certified firearms safety course of at least eight hours covering handgun safety, marksmanship, safe storage, and the law on the use of deadly force, and pass a live-fire test. The application fee is capped at $100, and the sheriff runs a fingerprint-based background check before issuing.⁴⁸

Renewing a Permit

A Missouri permit is valid for five years. To renew, file a renewal application with your county sheriff and pay a fee capped at $50. You do not have to retake the safety course, and the sheriff runs a name-based background check rather than a full fingerprint check. Miss the expiration date and you can still renew within six months by paying a $10-per-month late fee. After six months the permit is cancelled and you must apply again from scratch.⁹

When You Can Use Your Firearm

Carrying is one question; using is another. Under RSMo 563.031, physical force is justified when you reasonably believe it is necessary to defend yourself or someone else from what you reasonably believe is unlawful force. Deadly force is justified only when you reasonably believe it is necessary to protect against death, serious physical injury, or a forcible felony such as robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, or sexual assault.⁵

Castle Doctrine and No Duty to Retreat

Missouri’s Castle Doctrine permits deadly force against someone who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter your home, your vehicle (while you are lawfully in it), or private property you own or lease. You do not have to prove the intruder intended to hurt you; the unlawful entry itself triggers the protection. Missouri also imposes no duty to retreat. You are not required to back away before using force in your home, on your own property, in your vehicle, or anywhere else you have a legal right to be.⁵

Limits on the Justification

You lose the self-defense justification if:

You were the initial aggressor, unless you clearly withdrew and communicated that withdrawal and the other person kept attacking.
You were committing, attempting, or fleeing from a forcible felony.
The person you were defending would not have been justified in using that level of force.

In a Castle Doctrine case involving unlawful entry into a dwelling, residence, or vehicle, the prosecution bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that your belief in the necessity of deadly force was unreasonable. In other self-defense cases, you carry the initial burden of raising the justification.⁵

Purchases, Registration, and Local Rules

Missouri does not require background checks for private firearm sales between individuals. Licensed dealers must still run a federal NICS check under federal law, but a private sale between neighbors requires no state check. Missouri also maintains no state firearm registry, and there is no requirement to register a firearm you own.

Under the state’s preemption statute, RSMo 21.750, the General Assembly occupies the field of firearms regulation and local ordinances that conflict with state law are void. No county or city can ban carry where the state allows it, add its own permit requirements, or set up a local registry. The narrow exceptions are that local governments may regulate the discharge of firearms and may regulate open carry, but even a local open-carry ban yields to a valid concealed carry permit carried on the person.⁷ The practical effect is that your carry rights don’t shift as you cross city or county lines: the prohibited-location list in RSMo 571.107 is the same everywhere in Missouri.

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.030 – Unlawful Use of Weapons, Offense of — Exceptions — Violation, Penalties
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.070 – Possession of Firearm Unlawful for Certain Persons — Penalty — Exception
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.101 – Concealed Carry Permits, Application Requirements — Approval Procedures — Issuance, When — Information on Permit — Fees
5
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 563.031 – Use of Force in Defense of Persons
6
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.107 – Permit Does Not Authorize Concealed Firearms, Where — Penalty for Violation
7
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 21.750 – Firearms Legislation Preemption by General Assembly, Exceptions — Limitation on Civil Recovery Against Firearms or Ammunitions Manufacturers, When, Exception
8
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.111 – Firearms Training Requirements — Safety Instructor Requirements — Penalty for Violations
9
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.104 – Suspension or Revocation of Endorsements and Permits, When — Renewal Procedures