In Louisiana, there is no penalty for carrying a concealed handgun without a permit if you are at least 18, legally allowed to possess a firearm, and following the state’s carry rules. That has been the law since July 4, 2024, when permitless carry took effect under R.S. 14:95(M).1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:95 – Illegal Carrying of Weapons The penalties kick in when a person who isn’t eligible carries anyway, when a carrier is intoxicated, or when the handgun ends up somewhere Louisiana forbids. Those violations range from misdemeanors to five-to-twenty-year felony sentences at hard labor.
When Carrying Without a Permit Is Legal
R.S. 14:95(M) exempts anyone 18 or older from the state’s general ban on concealed carry, as long as the person is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state law (R.S. 14:95.1), federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)), or any other statute.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:95 – Illegal Carrying of Weapons There is no residency requirement, so visitors passing through the state carry on the same terms as residents.
Permitless carriers are still bound by the rules that apply to permit holders under R.S. 40:1379.3: the list of prohibited locations, the intoxication limit, and the duty to inform law enforcement during a stop.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:95 – Illegal Carrying of Weapons Where you can carry and how you must behave while carrying are identical with or without a permit. Step outside those rules and the fact that permitless carry is legal becomes irrelevant to your case.
When Carrying Without a Permit Is a Crime
Four scenarios cover almost every concealed carry prosecution in Louisiana. The penalties differ sharply depending on which one applies.
You’re a Prohibited Person
R.S. 14:95.1 bars several categories of people from possessing a firearm at all. The list includes anyone convicted of a felony crime of violence, certain property felonies such as burglary of an inhabited dwelling, any felony under the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, any sex offense under R.S. 15:541, and anyone barred by 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (which sweeps in misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, people under certain protective orders, unlawful drug users, and those adjudicated as mentally defective).
Carrying concealed as a prohibited person is a felony. The sentence is five to twenty years at hard labor with no probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, plus a fine between $1,000 and $5,000.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:95.1 – Possession of Firearm or Carrying Concealed Weapon by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies If the offense happens while you are on probation or parole, the sentence runs consecutively with the existing one. Even attempted possession as a prohibited person brings one to seven and a half years at hard labor and the same fine range.
These are among the most aggressively charged gun offenses in the state. The permitless carry law changes nothing here. If you fall under R.S. 14:95.1, you cannot carry concealed, openly, in your home, or in your car.
You’re Intoxicated
Louisiana’s threshold for “under the influence” while carrying is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%, which is lower than the 0.08% DUI threshold.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 40 RS 40:1379.3 – Statewide Permits for Concealed Handguns For many adults, one or two drinks puts you there. Carrying while under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance is also barred.
Permit holders who hit 0.05% see their permits suspended automatically and revoked on confirmation. Permitless carriers face the underlying criminal exposure for illegal carrying of weapons under R.S. 14:95, because the permitless carry exemption is conditioned on following the same rules permit holders follow. If you plan to drink, leave the handgun secured at home or in the vehicle.
You’re in a Prohibited Location
R.S. 40:1379.3(N) lists the places where concealed carry is off limits for permit holders and permitless carriers alike:3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 40 RS 40:1379.3 – Statewide Permits for Concealed Handguns
- Law enforcement offices, stations, and buildings
- Prisons, jails, and detention facilities
- Courthouses and courtrooms (a judge may carry in his or her own courtroom)
- Polling places
- Any municipal or public building used as a meeting place for a local governing authority
- The state capitol building
- Churches, synagogues, mosques, and similar places of worship, unless the person overseeing the building has authorized firearms
- Any business operating under a Class A-General retail permit to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption
- Schools, school campuses, and school buses
You also cannot carry anywhere another state or federal statute bans firearms, and you cannot bring a concealed handgun into another person’s home without consent.
Schools get their own statute. R.S. 14:95.6 defines a firearm-free zone as any school campus plus a 1,000-foot perimeter, along with the interior of any school bus, and schools must post signs marking those zones.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:95.6 – Firearm-Free Zone; Notice; Signs; Crime; Penalties A separate offense under R.S. 14:95.2 covers carrying a firearm on school property or at a school-sponsored event. Beyond the criminal sentence, a conviction tied to a school zone can affect professional licenses, employment, and child custody disputes.
You’re Carrying During Another Crime
Possessing a firearm while committing a crime of violence, or while illegally possessing more than 14 grams of marijuana or any other controlled substance, triggers an enhanced penalty under R.S. 14:95: a fine of up to $10,000 and five to ten years at hard labor without probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. A second conviction under this provision brings twenty to thirty years.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:95 – Illegal Carrying of Weapons A handgun that would have been legal to carry empty-handed becomes a serious felony enhancement the moment another offense is involved.
The Federal School Zone Trap
This is the exposure most permitless carriers don’t see coming. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), it is a federal crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school unless you hold a state-issued license that required a background check before issuance.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts A Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit satisfies that exemption because the application involves fingerprinting and a criminal history check. Permitless carriers have no such exemption.
In practice, driving across any Louisiana city with a concealed handgun means passing through overlapping federal school zones. For a permit holder, that’s a non-event. For someone carrying under R.S. 14:95(M) alone, each pass is potential federal felony exposure independent of anything Louisiana charges.
Long-Term Consequences of a Firearm Conviction
A felony firearm conviction in Louisiana costs more than prison time. You lose the right to possess firearms going forward, lose the right to vote until rights are restored, and become ineligible for many professional licenses. Federal law adds a lifetime possession ban on anyone convicted of a felony in any state. Employers screen for weapons convictions as a matter of course, and these records are difficult to expunge.
Defenses to a Concealed Carry Charge
A charge is not a conviction, and several defenses come up regularly.
The strongest is often a challenge to the search. The Fourth Amendment requires a warrant, probable cause, or a recognized exception before law enforcement can search you or your belongings. If the firearm came to light through an unlawful traffic stop, a search without consent, or a pat-down lacking reasonable suspicion, a court can suppress the gun as evidence. With no gun in evidence, the prosecution usually has nothing left.
Lack of knowledge is harder but viable. If the firearm was in a borrowed bag, a vehicle you were a passenger in, or luggage packed by someone else, you can argue you did not knowingly possess it. Prosecutors will push back, but the defense works when the facts genuinely support it, such as when several people had access to the same space.
For a prohibited-location charge, a defendant can argue there was no reasonable way to know the location was restricted. A polling place that ordinarily operates as a community center, or a building used temporarily for a government meeting, may not have been posted with adequate notice. The outcome turns on the specific facts.
In a prohibited-person case, eligibility itself can be the defense. If the underlying conviction was expunged, your rights have been restored, or the conviction does not actually fit within the categories listed in R.S. 14:95.1, you may not be a prohibited person at all. That requires a careful read of your record against the statute.
Why a Permit Still Matters
Permitless carry removed the state penalty for ordinary concealed carry by eligible adults, but it did not remove every reason to apply for a Concealed Handgun Permit. Two reasons stand out, and both relate to penalty exposure.
First, reciprocity. Louisiana has reciprocity agreements with more than 30 states, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and most of the Southeast and Midwest.6Louisiana State Police. Reciprocity Without a permit, you can carry concealed in another state only if that state independently allows permitless carry for non-residents. Second, the federal school zone exemption discussed above. A permit closes a gap that a permitless carrier simply cannot close any other way.